Chapter 1

"W-What did you just say? We're not going out anymore?" my mother-in-law, Rita Malone, asked, her voice trembling. Her eyes kept flitting toward the balcony.

"Yeah. It's too cold outside. Why should we have to suffer?" I asked, turning to the rest of the relatives who were there for the annual Christmas dinner.

"Please, make yourselves at home. I already contacted the restaurant and asked them to deliver the food instead."

[Damn it! What's going to become of the two leads? They're still shivering out in the cold!]

[Alec Reynolds, you evil side character! Why do you keep ruining things for Carol and Elliot? Hurry up and leave the place!]

Hearing my announcement, the relatives who were getting ready to leave stopped. They went back into the living room, all agreeing that it was a huge relief.

However, my father-in-law, Harry Wilson, and Rita exchanged glances, their faces filled with terror. Suddenly, Rita pointed at me and yelled, "I must have been completely blind to have let my daughter marry a spendthrift like you!

"What kind of restaurant would allow you to switch our reservation to a delivery order during the busiest Christmas dinner rush? Even if they did, the charges for that would be so astronomical! We'd be able to afford two more meals with that money!

"Did you think money grew on trees? Hurry up and get moving, Alec! Carol is waiting for us at the restaurant!"

I suppressed the fury building in my chest and feigned innocence. "Don't worry, Mom and Dad. I'm paying for the extra charges myself. I won't touch a single penny of the Wilsons' money. But then again, since when has your family had any money to begin with?"

[Okay, that's going overboard. How could Alec talk to his in-laws like that? So what if he's rich? What an arrogant jerk!]

[You were the one who broke Carol and Elliot up! You should be compensating them for their emotional distress! What's the matter with spending a little of your money, huh?]

I chuckled coldly.

My wife, Carol Wilson, came from the countryside. I had ignored my parents' protests and married her nonetheless, even giving her a wedding gift of two million dollars and three villas out of my own pocket.

However, despite our monthly income being less than 10,000 dollars, she insisted on bringing her parents to live with us, basically forcing my parents to pay for all of their expenses. She even made us help her truckload of relatives with finding jobs and places to stay in the city.

And now, Harry and Rita had the nerve to yell at me for spending my own money.

I had put up with them for a long time because I truly loved Carol. However, I never thought that she would go behind my back and cheat on me with her own brother-in-law, Elliot Moreno. Worse, her parents knew about the affair and yet covered up for her anyway.

I clenched my fists angrily at the thought.

She was the one who started it, so she couldn't blame me for retaliating. Even if they really ended up turning into ice sculptures in the subzero temperatures outside, they brought it on themselves.

The relatives murmured among themselves, their voices getting louder.

"Don't they know that Alec still chose to marry Carol even though he comes from such a well-to-do family? How can Harry and Rita still be so ungrateful?"

"Exactly. It's not like Alec is telling them to foot the bill. Besides, it's snowing heavily right now. Who'd want to freeze outside?"

Harry and Rita had always valued their reputation above all else, and the relatives' gossip made them go purple in the face.

Harry cleared his throat and tried to appear calm. "We didn't mean it like that, Alec. It's just that Carol's already headed out to the restaurant. We can't possibly let her wait there for nothing."

I pretended to think about it for a few seconds and nodded. "You're right, Dad."

He'd only just heaved a sigh of relief when I took out my phone and said, "I'll just call her to come back home, then."

A split second later, he and Rita both lunged at me.