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The next day,I habitually got up at five o'clock to wash up,went to the morning market to buy groceries at half past five,and came back to cook at half past six.
Downstairs,I met my neighbor,Mrs.Brown,who also came back from buying groceries.
Just as I expected,as soon as Mrs.Brown saw me,she started complaining non-stop.
"You should really discipline that naughty child of yours!He shouts and stomps his feet at night!How can people sleep!And once I saw him spitting when he passed by my door!You tell me,this is..."
"I'm sorry..."
I kept apologizing and finally managed to get a slightly better attitude from Mrs.Brown.
"Lily,I know it's not easy for you to be a daughter-in-law,but you can't let that naughty child go too far among neighbors,right?Auntie is really good at judging people.This naughty child is young,but he has a tendency to be violent!"
I twitched the corners of my mouth.I wanted to discipline him,but my sister-in-law and mother-in-law protected Tom like a precious treasure.I really couldn't intervene.
In this family,I was always an outsider.
"By the way,"before leaving,Mrs.Brown suddenly said,"A few days ago,I saw your mother-in-law going to the fortune-teller under the overpass.Is she praying for a grandson?You and Aaron have been married for two or three years,right?Why haven't you gotten pregnant yet..."
I knew that Mrs.Brown said this out of kindness,with a bit of a gossipy mentality,but her words really hurt me!
Thinking of Aaron's disgusted look last night...
I couldn't even manage a smile and carried the groceries upstairs.
I made breakfast a bit late today.When my mother-in-law passed by the kitchen,she said sarcastically:"Oh dear,we have such a lazy person at home.Now she doesn't even cook the meals!I really don't know what else she can do!"
"I might as well raise a hen.At least a hen can lay eggs!After getting married for so many years,I haven't even seen a trace of a grandson!Bah!"
I pretended not to hear.
"Hmph,always pretending to be deaf and dumb,acting like a little white rabbit.In the end,she's just a parasite my son is raising!Useless!"
After my mother-in-law made some sarcastic remarks,she left cursing.
With great difficulty,I served the breakfast on the table.I was the last one to sit down and eat again.And this time,my chair was really gone.
I instinctively looked at Tom.The naughty child looked so annoying,smiling at me maliciously.
My sister-in-law calmly ate the porridge I cooked and said softly:"Oh,your chair was broken by Tom this morning.I just threw it away.Sorry,sister-in-law."
In an instant,my anger welled up!
"Then where should I sit?"I asked word by word.
"You can just stand and eat.If that doesn't work..."My sister-in-law sneered:"You see,Pipi,Mrs.Brown's old dog downstairs,also eats while standing,doesn't he?"
Pipi was an old dog raised by Mrs.Brown.My sister-in-law meant that I was like a dog raised by the Johnsons!
I stood still,and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Aaron looked up at me with a look of disgust:"Just buy a new chair at noon,won't that be okay!"
"And what about now?"I asked him:"What about this meal?"
"Isn't it just standing and eating a meal?Tom didn't break the chair on purpose.Kids are naughty,aren't they?Do you really have to argue with a child?"Aaron pretended to shake his head:"You're supposed to be a grown-up..."
My mother-in-law put some meat in Tom's bowl and looked at me with a disdainful smile.
This home,the home I've tried to fit into for three years...
There was never a place for me!
I suddenly slammed the rice bowl on the table with a"bang!"Before I could say anything,my stomach hit the corner of the table!
"Ouch!"
The intense pain made me double over.Tom laughed mischievously.After pushing the table,he grabbed my hair when I wasn't paying attention!
"Damn it!Take this!"
How could a ten-year-old child say such words!
But no one present cared!
I was grabbed by the hair and fell heavily to the ground.Tom took the opportunity to kick my head hard!
My messy hair blurred my vision.The instinct for survival made me hold my head tightly,but it wasn't over yet.The child's violent behavior lasted for several seconds before it was stopped by the people next to him.
Aaron pulled me up,frowning in disgust.After taking a look at me,he said:"It seems you have a nosebleed.Go and wash it.It's so dirty..."
I walked into the bathroom trembling.After a while,the sound of water came out.
There were faint voices coming from the dining room.
"Can't you discipline Tom?"
Although he said this,there was not a trace of blame in Aaron's tone.
"Hmph,I think Tom did the right thing!You said this morning,big brother,that this woman actually spoke ill of me behind my back and snitched,telling me to find a job!Neither mom nor you said anything,so why does she have the right to say it!"
"Yes!I think she's a restless slut at heart!Tom did the right thing!He vented our anger for us!"My mother-in-law mumbled:"It wouldn't be a pity to beat such a person to death!It's just a pity that chair.It wasn't that broken and it was thrown away..."
After a while,Aaron sighed helplessly:"Okay,okay.I'm going to work..."
The cool water splashed on my fingertips,and my heart gradually became as cold as the water.
So my sister-in-law's malicious provocation,Tom's beating...all of this was because of Aaron!
Aaron told my sister-in-law all the suggestions I made to him!
But what could I do?
What should I do...
