“Caroline works day and night at the bureau. As her husband, can’t you at least bring something to show respect to us?” her father snapped. “What are you trying to prove by walking in here like that?”
The relatives sitting around cast me looks of thinly veiled contempt.
“You’ve been married five years and still think you’re the young master of the Crow Family?” someone scoffed. “The Crow Family’s been bankrupt for ages. If it weren’t for Caroline using all her savings to pay off your debts, you’d still be out there selling your pride to survive.”
“They’re your in-laws,” someone else chimed in. “Your own parents are long gone. Can’t you show some manners? From the way you act, it’s like Caroline forced you to marry her!”
Just then, Karl arrived at the door, carrying a full load of expensive health products.
The mood instantly changed.
“Karl, you’re here!” Caroline’s mother beamed, rushing over to greet him. “You must be tired from the flight. I’ll have your brother-in-law cook something special for you. Go rest upstairs, okay?”
“And why do you always bring so many things?” her father added with a chuckle. “We’re getting old—we can’t use all this. You two should just save your money for yourselves.”
I stood there in silence, invisible in my own marriage.
“Karl really knows how to behave—unlike someone who walks in like a debt collector,” Carol’s mother sneered. My parents have been dead for five years, and they still bring it up every time. It’s bad luck just hearing it!
Despite claiming she didn’t need the gifts, she didn’t hesitate to accept them, her hands busily tucking each item away.
Karl smiled proudly and slipped his arm around her in a familiar gesture.
“Mom, don’t say that. It’s been five years and they still haven’t caught the culprit behind the Crow Family case. It’s only natural that my brother-in-law is still grieving. He’s already carrying enough pain—let’s not rub salt in the wound. We’re all family, after all. You can’t write two Baker characters with one stroke.”
He chuckled lightly, then added, “By the way, Mom, Doreen is pregnant, and I heard my sister is starting to prepare too. Double blessings for the Baker Family!”
“And please, don’t make my brother-in-law cook—if my sister comes home to that, she’ll scold you for sure.”
At the mention of Caroline, her mother’s smile faltered for a split second before she recovered.