Chapter 1
# PART 2 — MY HUSBAND’S PREGNANT MISTRESS WANTED MY PLACE IN THE FAMILY. BUT ONE SENTENCE MADE ALL SIX OF THEM BEG FOR FORGIVENESS.
“If you’re all done speaking… then allow me to say one thing.”
I looked at my husband, his pregnant mistress, and the four relatives who had gathered in my living room to throw me out of my own marriage.
Then I smiled.
“Before you decide when I should leave, perhaps you should remember that this entire house belongs to me.”
The silence that followed was almost beautiful.
My mother-in-law, Lilibeth, froze with her mouth slightly open.
My father-in-law, Ernesto, stopped tapping his fingers against the armrest.
My sister-in-law, Camille, slowly straightened in her chair.
My brother-in-law, Marco, looked at Adrian.
And the pregnant woman sitting beside my husband suddenly stopped rubbing her stomach.
Adrian was the first to speak.
“What are you talking about, Maria?”
I tilted my head.
“I'm talking about the house. The one you're all sitting in. The one your mistress apparently expects to move into once I disappear.”
Lilibeth frowned.
“Don't be ridiculous. This is Adrian's marital home.”
“No,” I replied calmly. “It's my property.”
Adrian gave a nervous laugh.
“Maria, we've been married for six years. This house belongs to both of us.”
“Does it?”
I walked toward the wooden cabinet beside the staircase.
Inside was a folder I hadn't opened in years.
A blue folder.
My mother had handed it to me three days before our wedding, along with the keys to the house.
I remembered what she'd said.
“A marriage should be built on love, anak. But never forget to protect the things your parents sacrificed to give you.”
At twenty-six, I'd thought she was being overly cautious.
At thirty-two, standing in front of six people who wanted to replace me, I finally understood.
I placed the folder on the coffee table.
Then I opened it.
The deed.
The transfer documents.
The property tax records.
Everything registered under my name.
The house had been legally transferred to me before Adrian and I married.
My mother had paid for it in full.
Not one peso of Adrian's money had purchased it.
I slid the documents toward him.
“Go ahead. Read.”
Adrian stared at the papers.
His face lost its color.
“This doesn't mean—”
“It means,” I interrupted, “that none of you has the right to order me out of this house.”