Chapter 2

The moment I let go, Linda gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh.

"She hasn't even married into this family yet, and she's already treating me like dirt!"

With the neighbors crowding around, pointing and whispering, I had no way to explain myself.

"So that pile of moldy dishes on the table was an obedience test?"

Hearing that, Linda, still on her knees, tried to get up.

When Ethan saw I wasn't helping her, his face went dark, and he couldn't stop himself from snapping at me.

"Jessica, you can't even give my mom a hand up?"

"I wouldn't dare. What if she says I'm trying to hit her?"

Ethan was so angry he raised his hand.

I leaned my face right up to him, not the least bit afraid.

Linda pulled Ethan aside.

"Son, now you see what she's really like!"

I rolled my eyes at the two of them.

Looking at Ethan, who had worked himself into a real fury, I just wanted to get out of there, but Linda wasn't about to give me the chance.

"Jessica, there's no need to be so unreasonable!"

"I'm being unreasonable?"

"Yes! You knew perfectly well I've been a widow for over twenty years, and you mailed me a whole box of condoms!"

With that, Linda pointed to a corner of the room.

There sat a big cardboard box printed with "Sixth Sense." A shudder ran through me, my head buzzed, and my thoughts turned into a tangled mess.

Before coming back to his hometown, I really had mailed Linda a gift, but there was no way it was this.

Before I could argue, Linda, her aging face flushed red with shame, broke down sobbing. "What kind of girl sends something like this to a widow?"

But I had clearly bought Linda a $30,000 set of luxury face cream.

I couldn't even bring myself to buy anything that expensive for myself, and yet once it reached Linda's hands, it had turned into this junk...

I couldn't help asking, "Did you open it and look?"

The neighbors erupted, stepping forward one after another to take her side.

"Is that how a decent person talks?"

"So young, and she's not even human!"

"We all know Linda's been a widow ever since Ethan's dad passed! Sending her that stuff, do you want to be struck by lightning?"

Curses came at me from every side, and Linda's tears kept pouring like they cost nothing.

Forcing myself to keep going, I explained, "Maybe the seller used the wrong shipping box. Let's open it and see if it's cosmetics..."

Before I could finish, Ethan dragged me over to the box.

He roughly grabbed the fruit knife off the table.

I was completely sure of myself and didn't say a word.

Ethan snorted coldly. "Jessica, if it's not cosmetics in there, what are you going to say?"

"I'll eat it."

I couldn't bring myself to buy face cream that expensive for myself, and when I saw the bank's charge alert, it had even stung a little. If the seller had shipped some random junk instead, then under consumer protection laws, wouldn't I have hit the jackpot?

Seeing that I refused to admit I was wrong, Ethan shoved me aside, muttering, "I was wondering why my mom, who's such a good person, would suddenly give you a hard time today. So it turns out you did something this rotten behind everyone's back!"

Speechless, I stepped forward to rip the box open.

The moment I reached out, Linda rushed over and clamped down hard on my hand.

"I can't even prove my own innocence?"

Linda shot me a cool glare and muttered in my ear, "There are so many people here today. Once that box is opened in front of everyone, there's no going back. If you don't open it, we can still settle this privately."

Oh. So this was what she'd been waiting for.

I said, "Open it. I don't believe it."

Satisfied, Linda let go of my hand.

Seeing that nothing worked on me, Ethan said sternly, "Jessica, apologize to my mom now, and we'll drop it!"

With a cold laugh, I pried Ethan's hand off the box. "There's no way there's Sixth Sense in there."