🔥 CHAPTER 1 — "HE SLAPPED HIS PREGNANT SISTER-IN-LAW... THEN HER HUSBAND WALKED IN."
The sound of the slap echoed through the dining room.
Lauren staggered backward, one hand covering the burning mark across her cheek while the other instinctively protected her swollen belly. The room froze.
Tyler stood over her, breathing hard.
"You ruined everything!" he shouted. "Do you know how expensive this shirt is?"
Broken pieces of ceramic lay scattered across the floor, mixed with gravy and mashed potatoes.
Diane didn't rush to Lauren.
She rushed to Tyler.
"Oh my poor boy!" she cried as she dabbed at his shirt with a napkin. "She can't do one simple thing right."
Ron shook his head in disgust.
"I told Ethan she wasn't strong enough to handle this family."
Lauren stared at them in disbelief.
Not one person asked if she—or the baby—was okay.
Then...
The front door opened.
Footsteps echoed across the hardwood floor.
Ethan.
Still wearing his work jacket, carrying his briefcase.
He stopped in the doorway.
His eyes immediately found Lauren's trembling body.
Then the red handprint on her face.
Then the shattered plate.
Silence.
No one dared speak.
Tyler finally laughed.
"Perfect timing."
He pointed at Lauren.
"Your wife attacked me with dinner."
Lauren opened her mouth.
"I tripped because—"
"Don't lie!" Diane snapped. "She always plays the victim."
Ron folded his arms.
"If she weren't so clumsy, none of this would've happened."
Lauren looked at Ethan.
For three years...
She had defended his family.
Protected them.
Excused them.
Now...
She prayed he would protect her.
Instead...
Ethan slowly placed his briefcase on the floor.
His face showed nothing.
No anger.
No sadness.
No emotion at all.
Then he quietly asked one question.
"Who hit my wife?"
Tyler smirked.
"I did."
"I had to teach her some respect."
No one noticed Ethan's hands slowly clenching into fists.
Not even Lauren.
Because she'd never seen her husband truly angry before.
And tonight...
May you like
Someone was about to.
👇 Continue to Chapter 2... because what Ethan reveals next changes everything.
