Chapter 4
906 Words
I screwed my face up into a miserable grimace and said, "Can we swap husbands? I don't think I can handle this much pressure."
Amelia smiled faintly. "No way. You know the saying... if you want to wear the crown, you've got to bear its weight."
In my past life, I could strut around like I owned the place in front of Logan, who never bothered to argue with me.
But my cold, strict mother-in-law? She scared the living daylights out of me.
This old money family, wealthy since my husband's great-great-grandfather's time, had always looked down on me, their crass, unpolished eldest daughter-in-law.
After all, Logan was the one running the family business, which meant I, the poor schmuck married to him, would be the one stuck attending all the fancy banquets and social events down the line.
She was convinced only a refined, well-born lady like Cilia was good enough for her precious eldest son.
I, on the other hand, never had anything worthwhile to say when I was around her, just stood there grinning like an i***t.
She was way more lenient with Amelia, though.
So when we had to decide who would go to work and who would go to grad school, I jumped at the chance to get a job first.
My whole plan was to use work as an excuse to avoid being dragged back to the old family mansion all the time for her constant nagging and lectures.
Of course, the event just had to be scheduled for a weekend.
There was no way out of this one.
Saturday, the old Rowan family mansion.
Amelia and I showed up together, and ran straight into Cilia right inside the door.
She was clinging to my mother-in-law's arm all cozy and sweet, gushing about how beautiful her bracelet was and how perfectly it complemented her skin tone.
My mother-in-law was so delighted she tugged the bracelet right off her wrist and gave it to Cilia on the spot.
I was green with envy, and Amelia was clearly panicking beside me.
She pinched me surreptitiously, a sharp little pinch to my arm, and murmured under her breath.
"Brownnose! Copy her! Start brownnosing like your life depends on it!"
I've always been terrible with words. In the past, I would've just swallowed that bitter pill and said nothing.
But not this time. I'd done time as a call center rep and a sales specialist, and I'd picked up a silver tongue in the process.
"What, the bracelet makes Mom look good?" I piped up. "It's the other way around! Mom's skin is so fair and gorgeous, she's the one making the bracelet look nice!"
My mother-in-law finally deigned to look at me properly and asked, "I heard you've been working lately?"
"Yep! I want to help lighten Logan's load, so I'm gaining experience now to get ready to join the family company later."
The corner of her mouth tilted up in a small smile, and she gave a slight nod.
"Looks like you've made some progress at last."
That was the first time she'd ever said anything approving to me in the two years I'd been married into the Rowan family.
But Cilia couldn't stand seeing me get any sort of positive attention. She hovered right under our noses the entire rest of the time, practically shoving herself in our faces to get attention.
She kept flipping her hair over her shoulder, or holding her wine glass so high it was almost above her head, desperate to make sure no one missed that seven-figure bracelet on her wrist.
I was so furious my gaze could have burned a hole right through that stupid bracelet.
"Alissa, I can tell you like this bracelet too. I'm so sorry, but the things Auntie gives me, I really can't just pass them off to other people, you know?"
Oh, nice one with that "other people", huh?
I let out a cold snort. "No big deal. We've got tons of this kind of stuff at home."
She fluttered her eyelashes, putting on her best innocent act.
"Really? How come I never see you wearing any, then? Did Logan never buy you any? Wait, I have an idea! This necklace I'm wearing is a gift from Logan. Given the relationship I have with him, he definitely won't mind if I give it to you."
Logan had actually bought me loads of jewelry, for the record.
But first off, I've never really cared much about that kind of bling. And second... Well, every time we fought, and he sat there stone-faced, unable to get a single word out, I'd throw out or smash every gift he'd ever given me.
Thinking about that mess now still makes me wince.
I squared my shoulders, ready to fire back.
"Pfft, I wouldn't even glance twice at that necklace of yours. Ugh, when you actually become Mrs. Rowan one day, you'll get it. Once you're surrounded by nice things 24/7, your standards get so high it's almost a pain."
I glanced over at Amelia with a smug grin, practically dying for her to gush about how well I did.
Instead, she was panicking so bad her eyes were darting around like ping pong balls.
I frowned, confused. "What's up with you? Did your contact lens slip?"
A low, icy voice rumbled right behind me.
"You're that eager to give up your spot, Mrs. Rowan?"
- Writer
