But Lauren showed up with bags in hand, insisting on helping with the baby.
Too afraid to bother me directly, she stayed at Parker's house, which was in the same community as ours.
Parker's family also consisted of three people, but their house was half the size of ours.
Lauren could only sleep on the couch, coming over to help with chores each day.
Finally, I softened my heart when I saw her sincere attitude and let her stay.
I didn't expect her to be just tough on the weak and scared of the strong. After meeting some so-called master, she thought her family must be superior to me and began to show off in front of me.
In my own home, how dare she forbid me from eating meat?
I flipped the table and shot Rowan a glare. "I'm heading out for a meeting. When I come back, I expect this place to be cleaned up."
That was how I escaped that disaster, avoiding the strange meat altogether.
But what I didn't know at the time was that after I left, Lauren picked up all the meat from the floor.
She didn't just eat it herself; she made her two sons eat it, fed it to her other good daughter-in-law, and even mashed it up to feed the two newborns.
Now that I had been reborn, I wasn't going to let her keep harming my child.
When she proudly presented the meat to his son again, I cut her off.
"Here is something precious. Enjoy yourselves."
I knew that even overturning the table wouldn't stop her, so I called her out, "Lauren, I saw that the meat cooked is from the animals you caught yourself. Do you want me to expose it? What if it carries some virus? You could end up putting our whole family at risk."
Everyone turned to Lauren, waiting for an explanation.
She slammed down her fork and knife. "Do I need your permission to do something? The master said this meat had been stored for a long time, and it was a treasure. Eating it will strengthen us and bring us good fortune. It wasn't meant for you anyway, so keep quiet."
Rowan nearly vomited when he heard her admit it.
"It's not like we can't afford to buy fresh meat! You really think stuff from around the neighborhood is safe to eat?"
Lauren pointed her finger at him. "Are you defying me now? Will you eat it or not?"
Parker and his wife Kamora Berg quickly chimed in.
He said, "Mom won't harm us. It's all for our good."
And Kamora added, "An elder in the house is a blessing. She must have her reasons. Just stop being noisy here."