His redemption: He wants me back

***ANNIKA'S POV*** As I stood in the kitchen, trying to get dinner ready, I heard the door slam. I knew what that meant - my mother-in-law was home. And I knew what was coming. Sure enough, I heard her footsteps in the hallway, getting closer and closer. And then, she was there, standing in the doorway, a scowl on her face. "What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice sharp. "You're taking too long, dinner should have been ready by now." I felt my heart sink, the stress of the day coming to a head. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I had prepared one of the dish, it is remaining the other." I informed. My mother-in-law tasted the dish that I prepared. "This is terrible!" she exclaimed, her voice loud and angry. "How could you make something so awful? You're supposed to be a good cook, I thought you knew what you were doing!" She yelled. She grabbed the pot of food and flung it across the kitchen, the contents splattering all over the wall. And then, she turned to me, her eyes blazing. "You're useless!" she shouted. "You can't even do something as simple as cook dinner!" I felt like I was going to cry, the tears welling up in my eyes. I just stood there, frozen in place. I didn't want to make things worse, I didn't want to provoke her. So I just took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But it was hard, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking. I could feel the tears starting to fall, but I tried to hold them back. I couldn't let her see me cry. I could see my mother-in-law's eyes narrow, a look of satisfaction on her face. She knew she had won, that she had gotten under my skin. The tears were flowing freely now, my body shaking with sobs. I couldn't believe this was my life. I had been sold like a piece of property, like I had no value beyond what I could bring to the Cassanio family. And now, I was trapped in a loveless marriage, a victim of my uncle's greed. And I was expected to be the perfect wife, to cook and clean and have children. But I knew I couldn't do it, not like this. I sank to the floor, my body racked with sobs. I felt like my world was collapsing around me. At my uncle's house, I had been treated like a servant, expected to work all day and never complain. His mistress had made my life a living hell, tormenting me and making my life miserable. I had thought things would be different when I married Alex, that he would be different. But I had been wrong. He had shown no interest in me, no affection. I was nothing more than a means to an end for him, a way to get his inheritance. As the tears continued to fall, I felt like a failure. I had tried so hard to make things work, but I couldn't. I heard a car honk and I looked through the window and saw that it was Alex my husband. He drove in with his expensive car and he was back from work. I smiled, trying to appear welcoming. But as soon as I saw Alex's face, I knew that something was wrong. His eyes were cold, his expression hard. Without a word, he tossed his briefcase at me, expecting me to catch it. I fumbled, barely managing to grab it before it hit the floor. I looked up at him, my heart sinking. "I had a terrible day at work," he said, his tone sharp. "And you're not helping matters. You can't even do a simple thing like catching my briefcase. You're useless." I told him about my encounter with his mother and how she had poured away the meal that I prepared. "For the past three years that you got married to me, you should have learnt how to use your head in my family house." He replied. "I understand that you want me to fit in with your family," I said, my voice calm and measured. "But your mother has been nothing but cruel to me. She has made my life miserable, and I can't take it anymore. I'm trying my best, but it's not enough for her." I looked at Alex, my eyes pleading with him to understand. But he just shook his head, his eyes cold and hard. "You're weak," he replied, his voice cold. "You're not fit to be my wife. I went into the lounge to mop and I saw my sister-in-law there. "You can't be accepted here." She whispered to me. I felt a sharp pang of hurt at her words, but I knew it was true. I had never been accepted by my husband's family, and I wasn't sure I ever would be. As I was still trying to finish mopping the floor, the door suddenly swung open and my mother-in-law stormed in, an armful of clothes in her hands. Without even saying hello, she threw the clothes on the ground in front of him. "Iron these," she demanded. "And make sure you do a good job. I want to look my best for the party." I tried not to show my frustration, but it was difficult. I had been nothing but kind to my mother-in-law, but she had always treated me like a servant. "But I haven't even finished mopping the floor," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "That's not my problem!" My mother-in-law snapped. "Just do as you're told." She turned to leave and she mistakenly kicked the mopping bucket and the water spilled on the floor, soaking the pile of clothes that she had earlier kept. "Ooppss.. you have to rewash those clothes and make them dry in an hour time. You useless woman." I felt humiliated, they had never treated me like a human, more or less a daughter-in-law. As I tried to move from my spot, the slippery floor made me fall to the ground and I slightly fractured my wrist. My mother-in-law bursted into laughter, "even with that fractured wrist of yours, wash those clothes clean." "Yes ma" I replied. I had no other choice, I stood up and went ahead to wash the clothes. "I feel so useless" I muttered to himself. I finished with the ironing, I went over to the dining room to inform my mother in-law that I was done. "I'm done with the ironing ma." I informed her. "Hmph," my mother-in-law scoffed. "You'll never be a part of this family. No matter how hard you try, you'll always be an outsider. You're not good enough for us." She just glared at me, spat on my face and left the room.