Chapter 1

On Christmas Eve, my husband Julian called our daughter selfish just for buying a five-dollar box of strawberry cookies.

"You're really something, aren't you?"

"No one else in this family even likes strawberry. But sure, let her have whatever she wants."

I took the cookies and put it in the cart.

"It's just a box of cookies. If she wants them, we'll get them."

Julian threw it back on the shelf.

"No way. I'm not encouraging this kind of selfish behavior!"

I stared at him in disbelief.

The next second, Chloe’s son wanted a light-up drone.

Julian didn't hesitate to pay for it on the spot.

Chloe, my husband’s sister-in-law, had tears in her eyes.

"Hunter is so lucky to have someone who cares about him. His father can rest in peace knowing this."

A flash of triumph crossed her face.

Watching the three of them walk ahead side by side, I felt a sharp pang of loneliness.

I pulled Mia into my arms and quietly sent a text.

"Dad, cancel Julian's CEO promotion!"

......

Mia sat in the car looking completely crushed, while I kept my head down the whole ride.

Julian's voice was ice cold.

"Lauren, your family's manipulative scheming really does run in the blood."

"Mia's only five and she's already playing people for her own benefit. You've taught her well."

The car stopped at a red light.

Julian turned to look at me in the backseat.

"Your dad kept me at the bottom of the company for ten years just to control me."

"Ten years of reading his every mood"

"But it's finally my turn now. I'm about to take over and run everything."

Outside, the streets were strung with lights. Inside the car, it was dim and suffocating.

I could barely make out Julian's expression.

My dad made him start at entry-level so he'd understand the business from the ground up—so he could manage employees properly later.

Back then, Julian had sworn up and down, hand on his heart, that he'd never let my father down.

Now, ten years later, my dad was stepping down and preparing to hand the company over to Julian.

My father's good intentions had become "manipulation" in his eyes.

I stared at him.

"A five-dollar box of cookies is manipulation?"

Then I looked at the drone flashing rainbow colors in Hunter's hands.

"You won't spend five bucks on your own daughter, but you'll drop a hundred fifty on someone else's kid without blinking."

Julian looked like I'd struck a nerve. He glared at me.

"Hunter lost his father. I'm his uncle. Taking care of him is what I'm supposed to do!"

Chloe, sitting in the passenger seat, patted Julian's arm.

"Why are you getting so worked up? You're scaring the kids."

She turned to Mia with a sugary smile.

"Sweetie, don't be upset. We can turn around right now and buy them."

Julian gripped the steering wheel, refusing to budge.

"I'm doing this for her own good. If she's this selfish at five, what's she going to be like when she grows up?"

Hunter turned on the drone's music. Loud, obnoxious noise filled the entire car.

The sound was giving me a headache. I reached over to turn it off.

Hunter slapped my hand away and yelled.

"Stop it! What are you doing?!"

"Why are you trying to break my drone?!"

Julian slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

"Lauren, are you doing this on purpose? Are you seriously this petty? Fighting with a kid!"

Chloe's disgust was practically dripping from her eyes, though her face still wore that sticky-sweet smile.

"It's fine, she didn't mean it. Don't blame her."

Mia, who had witnessed everything, stepped up to defend me.

"Mommy didn't even touch the drone."

Julian's temper flared instantly. He pointed at me and started yelling.

"Lauren, look at what you've turned our daughter into!"

"Hunter saw the whole thing, and she's still lying!"

Mia didn't back down. She leaned forward.

"I'm not lying. Why are you accusing Mommy of something she didn't do?"

Julian raised his hand to slap her. Mia's voice broke.

"Why are you hitting me? I didn't do anything wrong......"

I pulled Mia into my arms and shouted at Julian.

"That's enough! Mia is your own daughter—how can you even raise your hand to her?!"

Julian wouldn't let it go.

"It doesn't matter who it is. If you do something wrong, there are consequences."

The year Mia was born, Julian couldn't stop showing her off to the world.

He did everything himself—feeding, changing diapers—and his phone was full of nothing but pictures of her.

He used to watch her sleep and whisper, voice full of adoration:

"I'll give my daughter anything she wants. She deserves the best things in this world."

Now, over five dollars and a misunderstanding, he'd hit her right in front of me.

Chloe raised an eyebrow at me.

At some point, her hand had landed on Julian's thigh.

I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Julian, you should just go live with them from now on!"