The Ten-Dollar Manicure That Cost My Parasite In-Laws Everything

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The Ten-Dollar Manicure That Cost My Parasite In-Laws Everything

NovelMaster new Completed
现实主义-Realistic浪漫-Romance

My three-million-dollar year-end bonus was about to hit my account. To celebrate, I went to the salon downstairs from my office and got a manicure for $9.90. Yet the second I walked through the front door, before I could even share the good news, my husband, Mark, pointed a finger right in my face and started screaming. "Chloe, you actually threw money away on your nails?!" "How are you supposed to do the chores now?!" His younger sister, Mia, shrieked at the top of her lungs too. "Chloe, why didn't you tell me you were doing your nails?! I just bought a silk blouse, and I was waiting for you to hand-wash it!" My mother-in-law shot up from her seat and joined in, berating me. "You reckless spendthrift! Do you have any idea how much groceries nine dollars and ninety cents can buy?! Hand over your debit card right now—I'm keeping it!" Listening to their increasingly vicious accusations, I laughed. For the first time, I saw just how hideous their true faces were. For the first time, I realized how blind I had been to pour every dime I had into buying them a house and designer clothes. Since they couldn't figure out who the actual breadwinner of this household was, they could fend for themselves from now on. The moment I stepped inside, Mark's sister, Mia, started whining. "Chloe, why are you home so late today? Hurry up and cook dinner already—I'm literally starving!" My husband, Mark, walked over, planning to check what groceries I'd bought, but his eyes locked straight onto my freshly manicured nails. His face instantly darkened. "You're late because you went to get your nails done?" "Where do you get off blowing money like that? How are you supposed to clean the house with those on?!" Hearing Mark's aggressive tone, I instinctively explained, "I barely spent anything. This set was only nine dollars and ninety cents." My mother-in-law, who had been sitting on the couch cracking sunflower seeds, jumped up theatrically and pointed her finger at my nose, cursing. "Are your fingers made of pure gold or something?! Wasting that kind of cash—do you know how many household supplies nine-ninety could buy?!" "Do you know how hard my son works for his money? How dare you squander it like garbage!" Mia grabbed my hand, her expression twisted in disgust as she backed up her mother. "Chloe, all you do is blow money on stupid crap. What's the point of these cheap nails? You should've saved that cash to buy me the latest designer bag!" My mother-in-law sneered. "I've lived this long and never once gotten nails that expensive!" "Besides, if you cook dinner wearing that toxic junk, are you trying to poison our whole family to death?!" With that, she grabbed my wrist and tried dragging me toward the door, demanding we go back to the salon to get them removed and demand a nine-ninety refund. I wrenched my hand free, thoroughly annoyed. "They don't do refunds." "Besides, I didn't spend a single cent of Mark's money. I earn my own paycheck, and today I—" Before I could finish, Mark cut me off loudly. "Isn't your salary our family's money too?!" "You don't know the first thing about serving your husband or respecting your mother-in-law. All you care about is this cheap, trashy vanity! Go ask around—what kind of wife acts like you?!" I had always considered myself a dutiful wife. Right after we got married, Mark brought his mother and his sister Mia from their small hometown straight into the house I had bought with my own money. Over all these years, he brought home barely a thousand dollars a month. Every single living expense fell entirely on my shoulders. Mia refused to get a job after graduating college, living off the monthly allowance I gave her—not to mention the constant stream of luxury bags and designer clothes she begged off me. Even my mother-in-law, who went out gambling every single day, demanded money from me whether she won or lost. Yet there Mia stood, carrying the luxury purse I bought her; Mark stood there wearing the clothes I paid for; his mother wore the solid bracelet I purchased. And this whole family had the nerve to gang up on me, screaming that I was reckless for spending nine dollars and ninety cents on my nails. Seeing that the salon wouldn't refund the money, my mother-in-law threw a full-blown tantrum. "I don't care! Do whatever you have to do, but scrape that garbage off your fingers right now!" Only when I mentioned that getting them removed would cost extra money did she finally stop shoving me out the door. But she immediately pivoted, lecturing me on how irresponsible I was with finances. Her beady eyes darted back and forth before she put on a faux-gracious compromise. "Tell you what. Hand over your debit card. I'll hold onto it from now on so you don't go throwing money away." Mia sneered along. "She's right. You can't be trusted with your own card anymore." "Today it's nails, tomorrow it's microblading, and the day after that you'll be dolling yourself up to go flirt with other men behind my brother's back." Mark had zero real capability and an ego the size of a peanut. Hearing Mia's words, he lunged forward and tried to rip my purse from my shoulder. "Give me that card right now!"Mark was physically stronger, and within seconds, he ripped the strap right off my purse. But my payroll card wasn't inside. No matter how frantically he tore through my things, he couldn't find it. Seeing that brute force wasn't working, my mother-in-law softened her voice, trying to play the reasonable elder. "Chloe, honey, I'm not going to spend your money. I'm just looking out for you, keeping it safe." "You're young; money slips right through your fingers. I'm doing this for your own good. Just hand the card over, and I won't hold today's nail incident against you." She shot Mark a look, and he instantly caught on. He moved in, trying to wrap an arm around my shoulders, but I pulled away. "Babe, you heard Mom. She just wants what's best for us. Once we save up enough, we can upgrade to an even bigger house." "A woman holding onto that much cash is bound to waste it. What if you really end up... out there doing something reckless? You have to understand my position, don't you?" "No," I replied flatly, without a second thought. Before Mark could blow his top, I spoke up first. "It's not that I don't want to give it to you. It's just that all my money is currently tied up in my company's new investment project. The returns will double in no time." My mother-in-law and Mark both paused, clearly seduced by the prospect of doubled profits. Only Mia piped up with a venomous smirk. "Who knows if she's just lying through her teeth?" Mia was right. I hadn't invested a single penny; I simply refused to surrender my hard-earned money to this family of leeches. Seeing that I wasn't budging, my mother-in-law insisted that even if there wasn't cash in the account right now, the card still needed to be handed over to her immediately. In the middle of the heated dispute, my phone suddenly rang. My father's shaking, tearful voice came through the receiver. "Chloe... your mom had a terrible accident. Please, hurry over and help me get her to the hospital..." Before I could even ask what happened, my mother-in-law snatched the phone right out of my hand and started screeching into the mic. "Listen to me! Just how on earth did you raise your daughter?!" "Not only does Chloe blow all our money and run around flirting with men, she struts around this house disrespecting her elders! She thinks she runs the world!" My dad didn't answer. Instead, the frantic screams of strangers pierced through the line. "Help! Somebody help! An elderly man just collapsed!" The call abruptly cut off. Panic and fury surged through my veins. All I wanted was to rush to my parents' side. Yet when I turned to run, my mother-in-law grabbed my arm like a vice, blocking the doorway. "You're not going anywhere until you leave that card behind!" "Otherwise, who knows what you're running off to spend our money on!" Boiling with rage, I shoved her off me. "Get out of my way!" She stumbled and fell to the floor. But the moment I bolted down the stairs, Mark and Mia came pounding down after me. "Chloe, how dare you put your hands on my mother?! Get back up there and apologize to her right now!" Mark blocked my path, teaming up with Mia to corner me right at the building's front entrance. It was the evening rush hour. Neighbors returning from work gathered around, whispering and watching the commotion unfold. I had zero interest in their pathetic drama; I just screamed that I had an emergency and told them to get out of my way. My mother-in-law came scurrying down the stairs too. The moment she spotted the crowd of onlookers, she threw herself onto the concrete steps and began wailing theatrically. "What a curse! What sin did our family commit to marry a monster like Chloe?!" "She spent every dime my poor son ever made, and now she's beating her own mother-in-law! Someone please help me, look at what she's doing!" Pushed beyond my absolute limit, I kicked away the hand she was using to grab my pant leg. Ignoring the jeers and furious shouts behind me, I raced frantically all the way to my parents' house.Thank God I made it in time. Kind neighbors had already helped call an ambulance and rushed them to the hospital, narrowly avoiding a complete tragedy. My mom had broken her leg in a fall, and my dad had passed out from extreme stress and high blood pressure. Not wanting to worry them, I only told them that Mark and I had gotten into a small disagreement. Yet early the next morning, Mark brought an entire horde of his extended relatives, storming loudly into my parents' hospital room. "Chloe! You think you can assault my mother and just run away?! You think our family won't stand up for her?!" With Mia's screeching battle cry, the relatives chimed in, tossing accusations left and right. "Wasting money like a spoiled brat, and putting hands on your mother-in-law just because she corrected you? Disgusting!" "Shameless woman! Hitting an elderly lady in broad daylight right in front of the neighbors! Plenty of witnesses saw it!" "Mark is way too gentle with you! If I had a disrespectful, wasteful wife like that, I would've beaten her black and blue long ago!" "Chloe, you owe this family an explanation today!" "..." My parents were jolted awake by the racket, looking terrified and utterly helpless. Forcing down my boiling rage, I glared at Mark. "My parents are recovering. Don't cause a scene here. If you have something to say, take it outside." My mother-in-law let out another piercing shriek. "No way! I want your parents to see with their own eyes what kind of vile, ungrateful brat they raised!" She tried to charge toward my parents' beds, but I blocked her with my entire body. When I spoke, my voice trembled with barely suppressed fury. "What exactly do you want?" Mark acted like he had been waiting for that exact question. He pulled out a folded document, slapped it against my chest, and sneered arrogantly. "You humiliated my mother. You're going to get down on your knees, beg for her forgiveness, and then sign this agreement." I looked down at the paper, barely able to believe my eyes. The agreement stated that all of my future income—including my base salary, commissions, and bonuses—must be handed directly over to Mark. If I ever needed money, I would have to submit a formal request for his approval. Only in that moment did the full, grotesque ugliness of this family truly hit me. When I first met Mark, he had been endlessly attentive and caring, which was why I had been willing to support his entire freeloading family. I never imagined they would use a simple nine-dollar manicure as an excuse to completely strip me of my autonomy. They lived off my sweat and blood, and now they wanted to suck the marrow from my bones. Absolute delusion. I let out a cold, silent scoff. Mark, assuming my silence was a sign of surrender, immediately added another demand. "Mia is dating a wealthy heir right now. You need to buy her several high-end outfits and fine jewelry so she can keep up appearances." Mia chimed in smugly, "And you need to buy me a house. I already picked out a luxury villa downtown. It's only ten million dollars—that shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" "Of course, I won't let you do it for free," Mia said, tossing the words out like scraps to a stray dog. "Once I marry into high society, as long as you take good care of my brother and mom at home, maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll have my husband give your career a boost." Staring at this family of parasites still daydreaming about my total submission, my voice turned razor-sharp and cold as ice. "In your dreams." "Mark, I'm divorcing you."

Chapters (3)

第1章

My three-million-dollar year-end bonus was about to hit my account. To celebrate, I went to the salon downstairs from my office and got a manicure for $9.90. Yet the second I walked through the front door, before I could even share the good news, my husband, Mark, pointed a finger right in my face and started screaming. "Chloe, you actually threw money away on your nails?!" "How are you supposed to do the chores now?!" His younger sister, Mia, shrieked at the top of her lungs too. "Chloe, why didn't you tell me you were doing your nails?! I just bought a silk blouse, and I was waiting for you to hand-wash it!" My mother-in-law shot up from her seat and joined in, berating me. "You reckless spendthrift! Do you have any idea how much groceries nine dollars and ninety cents can buy?! Hand over your debit card right now—I'm keeping it!" Listening to their increasingly vicious accusations, I laughed. For the first time, I saw just how hideous their true faces were. For the first time, I realized how blind I had been to pour every dime I had into buying them a house and designer clothes. Since they couldn't figure out who the actual breadwinner of this household was, they could fend for themselves from now on. The moment I stepped inside, Mark's sister, Mia, started whining. "Chloe, why are you home so late today? Hurry up and cook dinner already—I'm literally starving!" My husband, Mark, walked over, planning to check what groceries I'd bought, but his eyes locked straight onto my freshly manicured nails. His face instantly darkened. "You're late because you went to get your nails done?" "Where do you get off blowing money like that? How are you supposed to clean the house with those on?!" Hearing Mark's aggressive tone, I instinctively explained, "I barely spent anything. This set was only nine dollars and ninety cents." My mother-in-law, who had been sitting on the couch cracking sunflower seeds, jumped up theatrically and pointed her finger at my nose, cursing. "Are your fingers made of pure gold or something?! Wasting that kind of cash—do you know how many household supplies nine-ninety could buy?!" "Do you know how hard my son works for his money? How dare you squander it like garbage!" Mia grabbed my hand, her expression twisted in disgust as she backed up her mother. "Chloe, all you do is blow money on stupid crap. What's the point of these cheap nails? You should've saved that cash to buy me the latest designer bag!" My mother-in-law sneered. "I've lived this long and never once gotten nails that expensive!" "Besides, if you cook dinner wearing that toxic junk, are you trying to poison our whole family to death?!" With that, she grabbed my wrist and tried dragging me toward the door, demanding we go back to the salon to get them removed and demand a nine-ninety refund. I wrenched my hand free, thoroughly annoyed. "They don't do refunds." "Besides, I didn't spend a single cent of Mark's money. I earn my own paycheck, and today I—" Before I could finish, Mark cut me off loudly. "Isn't your salary our family's money too?!" "You don't know the first thing about serving your husband or respecting your mother-in-law. All you care about is this cheap, trashy vanity! Go ask around—what kind of wife acts like you?!" I had always considered myself a dutiful wife. Right after we got married, Mark brought his mother and his sister Mia from their small hometown straight into the house I had bought with my own money. Over all these years, he brought home barely a thousand dollars a month. Every single living expense fell entirely on my shoulders. Mia refused to get a job after graduating college, living off the monthly allowance I gave her—not to mention the constant stream of luxury bags and designer clothes she begged off me. Even my mother-in-law, who went out gambling every single day, demanded money from me whether she won or lost. Yet there Mia stood, carrying the luxury purse I bought her; Mark stood there wearing the clothes I paid for; his mother wore the solid bracelet I purchased. And this whole family had the nerve to gang up on me, screaming that I was reckless for spending nine dollars and ninety cents on my nails. Seeing that the salon wouldn't refund the money, my mother-in-law threw a full-blown tantrum. "I don't care! Do whatever you have to do, but scrape that garbage off your fingers right now!" Only when I mentioned that getting them removed would cost extra money did she finally stop shoving me out the door. But she immediately pivoted, lecturing me on how irresponsible I was with finances. Her beady eyes darted back and forth before she put on a faux-gracious compromise. "Tell you what. Hand over your debit card. I'll hold onto it from now on so you don't go throwing money away." Mia sneered along. "She's right. You can't be trusted with your own card anymore." "Today it's nails, tomorrow it's microblading, and the day after that you'll be dolling yourself up to go flirt with other men behind my brother's back." Mark had zero real capability and an ego the size of a peanut. Hearing Mia's words, he lunged forward and tried to rip my purse from my shoulder. "Give me that card right now!"

第2章

Mark was physically stronger, and within seconds, he ripped the strap right off my purse. But my payroll card wasn't inside. No matter how frantically he tore through my things, he couldn't find it. Seeing that brute force wasn't working, my mother-in-law softened her voice, trying to play the reasonable elder. "Chloe, honey, I'm not going to spend your money. I'm just looking out for you, keeping it safe." "You're young; money slips right through your fingers. I'm doing this for your own good. Just hand the card over, and I won't hold today's nail incident against you." She shot Mark a look, and he instantly caught on. He moved in, trying to wrap an arm around my shoulders, but I pulled away. "Babe, you heard Mom. She just wants what's best for us. Once we save up enough, we can upgrade to an even bigger house." "A woman holding onto that much cash is bound to waste it. What if you really end up... out there doing something reckless? You have to understand my position, don't you?" "No," I replied flatly, without a second thought. Before Mark could blow his top, I spoke up first. "It's not that I don't want to give it to you. It's just that all my money is currently tied up in my company's new investment project. The returns will double in no time." My mother-in-law and Mark both paused, clearly seduced by the prospect of doubled profits. Only Mia piped up with a venomous smirk. "Who knows if she's just lying through her teeth?" Mia was right. I hadn't invested a single penny; I simply refused to surrender my hard-earned money to this family of leeches. Seeing that I wasn't budging, my mother-in-law insisted that even if there wasn't cash in the account right now, the card still needed to be handed over to her immediately. In the middle of the heated dispute, my phone suddenly rang. My father's shaking, tearful voice came through the receiver. "Chloe... your mom had a terrible accident. Please, hurry over and help me get her to the hospital..." Before I could even ask what happened, my mother-in-law snatched the phone right out of my hand and started screeching into the mic. "Listen to me! Just how on earth did you raise your daughter?!" "Not only does Chloe blow all our money and run around flirting with men, she struts around this house disrespecting her elders! She thinks she runs the world!" My dad didn't answer. Instead, the frantic screams of strangers pierced through the line. "Help! Somebody help! An elderly man just collapsed!" The call abruptly cut off. Panic and fury surged through my veins. All I wanted was to rush to my parents' side. Yet when I turned to run, my mother-in-law grabbed my arm like a vice, blocking the doorway. "You're not going anywhere until you leave that card behind!" "Otherwise, who knows what you're running off to spend our money on!" Boiling with rage, I shoved her off me. "Get out of my way!" She stumbled and fell to the floor. But the moment I bolted down the stairs, Mark and Mia came pounding down after me. "Chloe, how dare you put your hands on my mother?! Get back up there and apologize to her right now!" Mark blocked my path, teaming up with Mia to corner me right at the building's front entrance. It was the evening rush hour. Neighbors returning from work gathered around, whispering and watching the commotion unfold. I had zero interest in their pathetic drama; I just screamed that I had an emergency and told them to get out of my way. My mother-in-law came scurrying down the stairs too. The moment she spotted the crowd of onlookers, she threw herself onto the concrete steps and began wailing theatrically. "What a curse! What sin did our family commit to marry a monster like Chloe?!" "She spent every dime my poor son ever made, and now she's beating her own mother-in-law! Someone please help me, look at what she's doing!" Pushed beyond my absolute limit, I kicked away the hand she was using to grab my pant leg. Ignoring the jeers and furious shouts behind me, I raced frantically all the way to my parents' house.

第3章

Thank God I made it in time. Kind neighbors had already helped call an ambulance and rushed them to the hospital, narrowly avoiding a complete tragedy. My mom had broken her leg in a fall, and my dad had passed out from extreme stress and high blood pressure. Not wanting to worry them, I only told them that Mark and I had gotten into a small disagreement. Yet early the next morning, Mark brought an entire horde of his extended relatives, storming loudly into my parents' hospital room. "Chloe! You think you can assault my mother and just run away?! You think our family won't stand up for her?!" With Mia's screeching battle cry, the relatives chimed in, tossing accusations left and right. "Wasting money like a spoiled brat, and putting hands on your mother-in-law just because she corrected you? Disgusting!" "Shameless woman! Hitting an elderly lady in broad daylight right in front of the neighbors! Plenty of witnesses saw it!" "Mark is way too gentle with you! If I had a disrespectful, wasteful wife like that, I would've beaten her black and blue long ago!" "Chloe, you owe this family an explanation today!" "..." My parents were jolted awake by the racket, looking terrified and utterly helpless. Forcing down my boiling rage, I glared at Mark. "My parents are recovering. Don't cause a scene here. If you have something to say, take it outside." My mother-in-law let out another piercing shriek. "No way! I want your parents to see with their own eyes what kind of vile, ungrateful brat they raised!" She tried to charge toward my parents' beds, but I blocked her with my entire body. When I spoke, my voice trembled with barely suppressed fury. "What exactly do you want?" Mark acted like he had been waiting for that exact question. He pulled out a folded document, slapped it against my chest, and sneered arrogantly. "You humiliated my mother. You're going to get down on your knees, beg for her forgiveness, and then sign this agreement." I looked down at the paper, barely able to believe my eyes. The agreement stated that all of my future income—including my base salary, commissions, and bonuses—must be handed directly over to Mark. If I ever needed money, I would have to submit a formal request for his approval. Only in that moment did the full, grotesque ugliness of this family truly hit me. When I first met Mark, he had been endlessly attentive and caring, which was why I had been willing to support his entire freeloading family. I never imagined they would use a simple nine-dollar manicure as an excuse to completely strip me of my autonomy. They lived off my sweat and blood, and now they wanted to suck the marrow from my bones. Absolute delusion. I let out a cold, silent scoff. Mark, assuming my silence was a sign of surrender, immediately added another demand. "Mia is dating a wealthy heir right now. You need to buy her several high-end outfits and fine jewelry so she can keep up appearances." Mia chimed in smugly, "And you need to buy me a house. I already picked out a luxury villa downtown. It's only ten million dollars—that shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" "Of course, I won't let you do it for free," Mia said, tossing the words out like scraps to a stray dog. "Once I marry into high society, as long as you take good care of my brother and mom at home, maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll have my husband give your career a boost." Staring at this family of parasites still daydreaming about my total submission, my voice turned razor-sharp and cold as ice. "In your dreams." "Mark, I'm divorcing you."