CHAPTER 1

"Damn it! Look at what you've done you dimwit!" An elegantly dressed woman screamed, glaring at the sorry-faced young man in front of her before immediately landing him a resounding slap.

"Do you have any idea how much this cost?!" She continued, her face etched with disgust.

"I…I'm sorry ma'am, it was a mistake" the young man stuttered in response.

His name was Evan Stone. A live-in son-in-law of the Reynolds family.

They were currently in the huge living room of the prestigious Reynolds villa, which had been specially adorned in honor of Lady Eva Reynolds's birthday, the esteemed head and grandmother of the Reynolds family. They were the fifth richest family in Metropolis Central.

The once lovely and cheerful atmosphere quickly turned sour and tense upon the woman's outburst, garnering the attention of the guests and family members present.

The woman was a friend of Mrs Brenda Reynolds, Evan Stone's mother-in-law.

"Isn't that Freda Reynolds's husband?" Someone whispered among the guests.

"Yes, he clearly is" another voice confirmed.

"Ew. He looks really shabby. I heard he recently lost his job"

"I mean, not that it was a good job to begin with. Imagine being a garbage collector, quite a downgrade if you ask me"

The slight murmurs from the guests echoed across the room, but it was immediately cut short by the commanding voice of Mrs Brenda Reynolds.

"What's going on here!" She demanded, her face filled with indignation.

"Brenda, it's your good-for-nothing son-in-law. Just look at what he's done to my expensive dress…he spilled red wine all over me" Brenda Reynolds's friend replied, making it seem like she was badly injured.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry Gwen" Brenda softened her features as she apologized on Evan's behalf. She quickly called one of the maids to help clean up her friend.

Then, she turned to Evan, her face instantly hardening.

"Mother, it was a mistake. She was the one who bumped into me… I just..."

Smack!

A gasp escaped some of the guest's lips as Evan received a hot slap across his face from his mother-in-law, cutting him off from completing his sentence. This was the second slap he received in a matter of minutes.

"Don't you dare call me mother! I could never birth a son as useless as you" Brenda fumed "I gave you one job! Just one job! And you couldn't do it without making a mess. Isn't there anything you can at least sensibly do?!" She continued, pointing her fingers accusingly at Evan's face.

Evan clenched his fists beside him, swallowing his pain and anger.

Brenda Reynolds deeply hated Evan and was never in support of his marriage to her daughter, Freda.

One year ago, the Grandfather and former head of the Reynolds family, Donald Reynolds, got into an accident and was saved by Evan who happened to be one of the few people present at the scene.

He compensated Evan by giving him one of his most beautiful granddaughter's hand in marriage–Freda Reynolds but sadly, Donald Reynolds passed away a year after their marriage due to a severe illness.

Evan was raised in the orphanage and he was very poor so the rest of his in-laws hated him because of his low status, including his wife. The family's evil treatment towards him tripled after Grandpa Donald Reynolds's death.

Evan spent most of his time washing dishes, cleaning the house, and cooking for the Reynolds family. He was practically treated like a slave, even by his wife.

Before Lady Eva Reynolds's birthday today, Brenda had instructed Evan that he would be attending to the guests and serving them drinks, even though they had maids who could do that. She simply wanted to humiliate him.

"Don't waste your strength on the idiot, Mom. There's nothing he ever does right" Lincoln Reynolds, Brenda's eldest son interfered.

"Hmph. Looks who's talking" Evan replied angrily under his breath and this instantly triggered Lincoln Reynolds.

"What did you say, scum?!" Lincoln Reynolds demanded as he swiftly approached Evan, staring intensely into his dark brown eyes and Evan returned the stare boldly.

Evan respected Brenda Reynolds, but not his douchebag brother-in-law. He didn't give a single damn about Lincoln and Lincoln hated his guts.

"Wow, it seems trash boy is beginning to grow some balls" Franklin Reynolds, Lincoln's cousin and first grandson of the Reynolds family uttered audibly from a distance, referring to Evan. That's the nickname he gave Evan because of Evan's recently lost job.

"I don't think so. Those balls will instantly get crushed by me even before they think about growing" Lincoln Reynolds boasted, still glaring at Evan.

Evan couldn't help but let out a small smile at the corner of his lips at how stupid Lincoln looked to him and this provoked Lincoln.

Lincoln immediately grabbed the collar of Evan's shirt as he yelled "What's funny?! You scum!" but Evan instantly clutched Lincoln's hand and pushed him away.

"You…" Lincoln snapped, and both of them were about to get into a fistfight but stopped abruptly when they heard Lady Eva's thunderous voice.

"Enough!"

"Have you both lost your minds?! Why here at my birthday celebration?! And you, Evan?! How dare you try to hit my grandson with your filthy hands!" She roared.

The tension of the atmosphere grew hot and while this was going on, Freda had been discreetly covering her face because of how ashamed she was of Evan. She was irritated even.

"He started it first grandma…" Evan tried to reason with Lady Eva Reynolds but she cut him off.

"Shut your filthy mouth right now! I don't know why Freda hasn't divorced you by now" she yelled, her anger evident and Evan quickly bent down his head.

Lincoln let out a satisfied grin. He was pleased to see Lady Eva defending him as he was her favorite grandson after all.

The family had been wanting to get rid of Evan, including Freda. She had filed for a divorce and the Reynolds family constantly pressured him to sign the divorce papers but he refused severally. He deeply loved Freda, even though Freda didn't feel the same way towards him.

Freda's blood boiled and her bright face turned red, she couldn't take it anymore so she walked over to Evan, her gaze fixed on him with every step she took in her stiletto heels.

Evan looked at her with hope as he saw her approaching him. Maybe she was coming to at least stand up for him since he wasn't the one at fault but her next action caught him completely off guard.