The Hijacked Marriage

I ignored her.

I only replied to my parents.

“Mom, Dad, Claire and I are over. I’ll listen to you and go back to Maple Creek for the blind dates.”

My parents had never thought Claire and I were a good match. But back then, I had been willing to leave my hometown behind just to be with her.

Now it seemed they had been right all along.

“Good. Your mother and I will arrange it for you right away!”

After hanging up, I bought a bus ticket for the next day. Then I called a cab and went home to pack.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard laughter inside.

I pushed the door open and saw three pairs of shoes in the entryway.

They were matching family shoes.

I recognized one pair as Claire’s. They had been Ryan’s birthday gift to her, some cheap street stall shoes that cost 8.80.

The workmanship was rough, and the material was cheap.

Yet Claire treasured them like they were priceless.

Meanwhile, the custom designer shoes I had bought her for tens of thousands of dollars sat untouched, gathering dust. She had even said my taste was embarrassing and that wearing them out would humiliate her.

For a while, I had genuinely thought there was something wrong with my taste. I had even humbled myself and asked Ryan how to improve it.

Looking back now, Claire had simply looked down on anything I gave her.

I kicked the three pairs of shoes aside and walked into the apartment.

The moment I looked up, I saw Ryan lounging on the couch in my pajamas, watching television like he owned the place.

His son, Noah Chase, was running barefoot over the spotless white rug.

My mother had stayed up with bloodshot eyes to knit that rug for me herself. Now Noah had trampled it with black footprints.

What made my blood pressure spike even higher was the sight of my carefully collected figurines scattered all over the floor. Several had their arms and legs snapped off.

Furious, I snatched one of the figurines out of Noah’s hand and demanded, “What are you doing in my home?”

Noah lifted his chin stubbornly.

“Mom said it was okay!”

The next second, Claire came out of the kitchen after hearing the noise.

She never cooked, but now she was holding a spatula and making dinner for Ryan and his son.

“Noah, why did you call Mom?”

Claire was about to pick Noah up and comfort him, but when she saw me, she froze.

“Claire, when did you become his mother? Funny how I never heard about that.”

Faced with my question, Claire only paused for a moment before brushing it off.

“Noah grew up without a mother’s love. Letting him call me that a couple of times won’t kill anyone. Besides, why are you suddenly back?”

I almost laughed.

“This is my home. Am I not allowed to come back?

“And you, who gave you permission to bring them here?”

Claire looked perfectly justified.

“Ryan’s place is too far from the school Noah will be attending. The commute is inconvenient, and over time, it will affect Noah’s studies.

“Our home happens to be close to Noah’s school, so I brought them here. The place is big enough anyway. Until Ryan finds a suitable apartment, there’s plenty of room for him and Noah.”

“And what if Ryan never finds a suitable apartment?”

Claire looked fondly at Ryan and Noah.

“Then they can stay. It’s just two extra sets of dishes.”

But before, when I wanted to have my parents stay with us for a while, Claire had refused.

She said she was not used to having other people in the house. She said she was a light sleeper and would be disturbed.

Now, she had taken the initiative to let Ryan and his son live here.

So in the end, only my parents counted as outsiders.

At that thought, my voice darkened.

“I don’t agree to them living here.”

Claire’s face instantly went cold.