Chapter 3

“Little sister’s room is so big. Can I move into this room after your brother and I get married? You’ll be marrying out anyway eventually. I think the light and space here are the best. It would be such a waste if it just sat empty.”

It sounded like a question, but her tone was a declaration. She'd had her eye on my room from the start.

I glanced at my brother, who was standing nearby. He didn't say a word.

My anger turned into a mocking laugh.

“Really? You’re not even married in yet, and you’re already planning to snatch my room? Besides, you’ve already snagged my brother, so why doesn’t he buy you your own marital home? Why do you need to squat in my house?”

“Cassidy! Don’t talk nonsense.”

Mom heard what I said and walked over.

“Vanessa, don’t mind her.”

Mom actually turned to comfort Vanessa, then told me,

“Is that how you should talk? Apologize to your brother and Vanessa right now.”

No way. Even though I realized I shouldn’t have said that, I refused to apologize in front of Vanessa.

Vanessa saw Mom siding with her and looked at me with even more triumph.

“It’s okay, Auntie. Cassidy is just being moody. We won’t move out; Ryan and I want to stay with you both. I even want to take care of you in your old age.”

After giving me a provocative look, she spouted flattering words to Mom.

Ryan also played peacemaker,

“It’s not Cassidy’s fault. Vanessa was teasing her about switching rooms, and Cassidy took it seriously.”

He then turned to me, as if coaxing an unruly younger sister.

“Your sister-in-law was just playing with you, don’t be angry, okay?”

Mom also kept saying how sensible Vanessa was, and how I’d become so petty. She scolded me for being unforgiving over a simple joke.

Seeing that they were actually starting to plan the wedding, I began to panic.

I couldn't let her actually marry into my family.

I couldn't possibly live with this master manipulator.

One day, when Vanessa wasn’t at our house, I called a family meeting with Mom, Dad, and my brother.

“I disagree with Vanessa marrying into our family.”

The moment I said that, Mom, Dad, and Ryan all looked at me. Mom said,

“Cassidy, don’t be silly.”

Ryan looked unsurprised.

“Just as your sister-in-law predicted, you really don’t agree.”

*Seriously, she actually anticipated this.*

Ryan looked a bit helpless.

“Why are you so unhappy with Vanessa? You seem to find fault with her everywhere. When she told me, I didn’t believe it, but I can’t believe you’re making things difficult for her now.”

Ryan even looked a little wronged on her behalf.

“Cassidy, please, for my sake, stop targeting Vanessa, okay? If you really dislike her, after we get married, I’ll move out so you two don’t have to live together.”

It seemed Vanessa had pre-emptively warned Ryan.

Any words I said next, he would just dismiss as reasons stemming from my dislike of Vanessa.

She was truly cunning.

Knowing that anything more I said would be useless, I directly pulled out those SnapChat chat logs between Vanessa and her girlfriends.

*Seeing is believing,* I thought. *They have to believe me now, right?*

I showed them the screenshots one by one, but Ryan remained unmoved.

He barely glanced at them before answering resolutely,

“This can’t be something Vanessa said.”

I knew he’d say that. I pulled out a full screen recording, showing the account, the real-name verification—everything was recorded.

Ryan’s expression finally lost its complete trust in her. He watched carefully, including the voice messages.

“You’ll be my bridesmaid on my wedding day.”

It was Vanessa’s bragging tone.

“I’m about to become the mistress of the Thompson family. Soon I’ll be living the easy life there.”

Her so-called best friend replied,

“Is this good news on the horizon? Congrats, but being the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family isn’t easy. It’s hard to say if it’ll be a life of luxury or suffering. Good luck to you.”

It seemed these "sisters" weren’t truly genuine; one was boasting, the other consumed by jealousy.

“Hmph, his parents are easy to fool. They’re getting old too. Once I’m in, they’ll have to listen to me anyway. Only his sister, she always gets in my way. I’ll find a way to kick her out then, so she doesn’t get in my way in our family home.

She’s just a girl; she won’t inherit anything substantial anyway. Everything belonging to the Thompson family would be my husband’s!

He even told me he’s going to take over the company soon.”