Chapter 5

I don’t know when Alex came back.

I also don’t know what they talked about that day.

All I know is that from the next day on, Alex began a one-sided cold war with me.

No matter what I said, he’d respond with indifference.

At first, for the sake of family stability, I tried to mend our relationship.

But after repeated rejections, I had accumulated a lot of anger myself.

I stopped cooking his meals.

I stopped washing his clothes.

It wasn't until three months later, when Daniel called to tell me he was getting engaged to Mia, that I had to initiate a conversation with Alex.

“Daniel is getting engaged in two days. Get ready to go with me.”

“To whom? If it’s not Jane, I’m not going.”

He refused me flatly.

I bit my lip, and tears of frustration spilled uncontrollably.

“Alex, you’re almost forty years old! Can you stop acting like a child? You can’t even control Jane over minor issues, so why are you making *my* life difficult over something as big as Daniel’s relationship and marriage? Daniel is a person, not a puppet. What right do I have to demand he be with someone?”

Perhaps seeing me cry.

Alex’s icy face finally softened a bit.

He pressed his lips together and sighed.

“Jane and Daniel are different. My dad passed away when Jane was two, so she grew up in an incomplete family. She’s really pitiful, and it’s understandable that she’s a little headstrong. Daniel, on the other hand, grew up in a happy, healthy family environment. So what if he makes a small sacrifice for his marriage? Besides, Jane has grown up and matured now. It might not be a bad thing for Daniel to marry her.”

*Was he serious?*

Jane’s misfortune wasn’t Daniel’s fault.

Why should Daniel be forced to make sacrifices?

I wiped away my tears.

I asked him expressionlessly:

“Daniel’s engagement. Are you going or not?”

He glanced at me.

And firmly said:

“If it's not Jane, I won't go. It'll just upset her if she finds out.”

“Fine.”

I nodded, utterly disappointed.

Go or don’t go. Who cares? A brother-in-law, that’s all he was. Did he really think he was that important?