I married a rich man with a daughter for $500,000. I didn't expect to start seeing floating text like a Twitch chat stream: [Yes! Finally the evil stepdaughter gets tortured!] [Evil stepmom meets evil stepdaughter. Villains grinding villains! I love it!] [With the stepdaughter's scheming, this stepmom won't last a few years.] I glanced at my stepdaughter. Scheming is good. It means my daughter is smart and independent. 1 This was my first family gathering after marrying into the Sterling family. The extended family was huge. Everyone wore polite, plastic smiles, creating an illusion of harmony. I tried my best to blend into the background. But my thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Sophia, pulled out her phone and played a video for the table. "Did you marry my dad for his money?" "Partly, I guess. You're just a kid, don't overthink it." "Rest assured, your dad and I won't be giving you a little brother." My voice echoed from the phone speaker. My in-laws' faces turned black as coal. "Oops, wrong button," Sophia gasped, feigning innocence, but the corners of her eyes betrayed a smug delight. Instantly, a dozen pairs of Sterling eyes turned to me. Some looked ready for drama, others smirked. Everyone was waiting for a show. "Richard, what is the meaning of this?" My father-in-law said my husband's name, but his cold gaze dissected me. Richard snatched the phone from his daughter and glared at her. "Dad, she's just a kid, don't mind her. Let's eat, let's eat." My mother-in-law tapped the table lightly. The sound was soft but cut through Richard's words instantly. She sighed. "Richard, Sarah. You're newlyweds. I understand not wanting kids right away. But the Sterling family needs a male heir to carry on the line." "Richard only has two daughters. Sarah, you'll have to work hard." I blinked. From the moment the video started, the floating text in front of my eyes exploded. [Holy crap, the villainess strikes! Embarrassing the stepmom in public!] [Stepmom is screwed. In-laws will hate her, husband will resent her. No man likes hearing his wife is only there for the money.] [She's this evil at thirteen? Can't imagine what she'll do to my precious heroine later!] [This mother-in-law is disgusting too!] [Of course she has to put the daughter-in-law in her place. This is the Sterling family.] So what if it's the Sterling family? I opened my mouth. "It's not me working hard. It's my fate that's hard." My mother-in-law's fake smile froze. "Didn't Richard tell you? Years of smoking and drinking have tanked his sperm count. He can't have kids." Dead silence. Richard shot up from his chair, glaring daggers at me. "Honey, I know it hurts your pride, but we can't hide this forever. Better to be honest." My mother-in-law's voice went up an octave. "Richard! Is this true?!" His face went from green to white. Finally, he choked out, "Mom, I'll talk to you later." I wanted to laugh, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw my stepdaughter frowning deeply. 2 The first time I saw Sophia, the floating text warned me she was trouble. Deep schemer. Unscrupulous. She was fiercely protective of her biological mother and hostile toward her father, let alone a stepmother like me. On my first day in the Sterling house, her attitude was cold but restrained. But when I picked up a peony from a vase, she charged at me and snatched it away. "Don't touch my mom's things!" The flower was wilting anyway; the snatch destroyed it completely. She enunciated every word: "Every chair, painting, and flower arrangement in this house was chosen by my mom. You are not allowed to touch a single thing." I looked at her trembling hands and felt a complicated emotion. She was just a teenager, but her eyes held a sharpness and alertness beyond her years. Like a little wolf with its hackles raised, ready to bite. At first, I thought she just couldn't accept a stranger invading her territory. So I decided not to fight her head-on. I smiled faintly and withdrew my hand. "Okay. As long as you like it." But I didn't expect she had this video trap waiting for me. 3 I remembered the scene in the video. It happened on my third day in the house. She had locked herself in her room all evening. Seeing she hadn't come down for dinner, I knocked on her door. She let me in but didn't speak. "If you're trying to protest, a hunger strike is a terrible method." "I'm not that stupid," she said coldly. "Sarah, you were an archery champion. Why did you marry my dad?" I yawned. "Because your dad is rich." "Did you marry my dad for his money?" I looked at her serious face and smiled. "Partly, I guess. You're just a kid, don't overthink it." She interrupted me. "My dad has a lot of illegitimate kids outside. Even if you have a son, getting the inheritance won't be easy." Weird. Do teenagers know this much these days? She sounded like a cynical adult. "Don't worry about that. Rest assured, your dad and I won't be giving you a little brother." I thought I was being friendly enough, hoping to diffuse her hostility. I never expected she was secretly recording. [This stepmom is weak. Can't see the villainess's true colors.] [But the villainess didn't win either. Her cheap dad is gonna be furious.] Indeed, when we got home, Richard was livid. He raised his hand to slap her. Sophia stiffened her neck, closed her eyes, with a "hit me if you dare" expression. "Hey, stop," I easily blocked Richard. "You drank too much. Go throw up." I'm retired, but I was a professional athlete. Shoving a half-drunk man is child's play. After dealing with him, I turned to Sophia. Sophia flinched. "You said those words yourself. Hitting me won't change that!" The floating text was laughing. [Finally seeing this brat scared! LMAO!] [She deserves it. No discipline growing up. She's gonna ruin the male lead later!] I raised an eyebrow. "It's better your grandparents know sooner rather than later. I'm not mad about that." "But I am curious about one thing." "Sophia, why is there a camera in your room?" 4 I watched the video. The angle was from her desk. If she had held a phone up, I would have seen it. She froze, pursing her lips silently. But the text stream knew. [Sophia is a psycho. She installed a camera in her own room.] [For her mom to watch, right? This mother-daughter pair is insane.] [I just hope they don't hurt my precious Bella.] I was shocked. For her mom to watch? Why? "Did you install it yourself? Why?" Since I didn't get it, I asked directly. Sophia hesitated before speaking. "It's your fault." I was speechless. What? How is this on me? "My mom worries about me being alone here. The camera lets her see that I'm doing my homework every day. If you hadn't come, she wouldn't be this worried." My jaw dropped. Then I squatted down, put my hands on her shoulders, eyes tearing up. "Sophia... I was a rebel growing up. I hated it when my mom read my diary." "I never imagined there was a child as obedient and sensible as you in this world!" Sophia froze. The text froze. Her face turned red. She stammered, "W-what are you talking about?" "But," I changed my tone, "everyone has privacy. Your room is your privacy. You have the right not to share it with anyone." "No matter who it is, even if your closest mom asks for a camera, you can refuse. You know that?" The kid stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly shook off my hands. "My mom didn't ask for it! What do you know?" Stomp stomp stomp. Her footsteps faded up the stairs. I sighed. If her mom didn't ask, then she really did it voluntarily. Sacrificing her privacy just to give her mom peace of mind? Sophia breaks my heart.
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