"Mom, I’m not trying to badmouth Liliana, but her attitude? Honestly, it’s because you’ve spoiled her too much. She’s not a kid anymore, and she still tries to pull stunts like jumping into the river. Doesn’t that just make our whole Renard family look ridiculous in front of the Hongxing brigade?"

"She’s already eighteen, but still acts like she’s twelve. Doesn't help out in the fields, won’t lift a finger at home. If she keeps this up, what guy would even want to marry her?"

"I get it, she’s your daughter, but you have to be realistic. She’s a girl—sooner or later she’s getting married. You and Dad aren’t thinking she’s gonna take care of you in your old age, are you?"

"Once she’s gone, who’s left? Isn’t it us, your sons and daughters-in-law? If you get sick, it’s gonna be us taking turns to take care of you. When the time comes, it’s still gonna be us around to send you off. You think Liliana’s gonna be there for that? Really?"

"She throws mood swings like confetti, and you, Dad, even Howard—everyone turns a blind eye just because she’s the baby. I’ve been biting my tongue, but do you really think what she’s doing is okay?"

"Usually, daughters are supposed to take care of their parents, and younger sisters should respect their brothers and sisters-in-law. An aunt spoils the nieces and nephews. But her? Anything good in this house, she hogs it all for herself!"

Liliana was woken up by the constant stream of complaints—someone had clearly taken the chance while she was unconscious to paint her in the worst light possible in front of her mom.

From the front room, that sharp, bitter voice just kept barking out accusation after accusation, with the kind of drama that would put a theater star to shame.

Still groggy, Liliana slowly sat up, raising her eyebrows as she listened through the flimsy door to the performance being angrily delivered outside.

Diana’s voice rang out like a loudspeaker on stage, practically throwing herself into the role of the long-suffering sister-in-law. The way she was going at it, you'd think she was rehearsing for a one-woman show. She was really giving it her all.

Liliana took her time putting on her shoes. Then she settled on the edge of the bed, curious to find out how far this “good second sister-in-law” would go with her made-up nonsense.

Meanwhile, in the front room, Florence was already fuming.

In the Renard family, her daughter had always come first—even ahead of her sons. Liliana was the apple of her eye.

And now this second daughter-in-law had the nerve to tear Liliana down in front of her, even trying to lecture her, the mother, on how to act?

A daughter-in-law telling her mother-in-law how to handle her own child? If Florence let that slide, she wouldn’t be Florence Juarez.

Diana saw her mother-in-law’s face was stiff but she hadn’t snapped yet. That gave her even more confidence to keep pushing, upping her tone and jumping deeper into the role.

In her mind, no matter how much the old woman spoiled that useless little girl, blood didn’t lie. When it mattered most, Florence would definitely side with her—the one actually staying around to take care of them in the future.

After all, she’d be the one taking care of them when they’re old, not Liliana. She’d be the one holding it all together. So what was Liliana even good for?“She’s nothing but a freeloader who only knows how to eat and laze around. Not a shred of help to this family. How can a dumb girl like her ever be compared to me, a smart, eloquent daughter-in-law? No contest at all.”

Diana Wyman shot a sideways glance at Florence Juarez, lifted her chin high, and went on nagging, “Mom, you really need to keep an eye on Liliana. She’s already eighteen, the age to settle down, but all she does is circle those city folk like they're treasure. What does that look like?”

“She got a perfectly good engagement and still made a fuss about backing out. Worse, she’s eyeing the guy meant for Ruby—our family's pride! Isn't she making a complete fool out of our branch?”

“And yesterday? She completely crossed the line. Went straight to Ruby and threatened to jump into the river if Ruby didn’t give up the guy. And the second she realized Ruby wasn’t giving in, she just—”

“Slap! Slap!” The sharp sound of slaps cut her rant right off.

The main room went dead silent in an instant.

Florence Juarez, boiling with rage, slammed two hard slaps right across Diana’s face.

The hits weren’t light; they snapped her head to the side. Her cheeks swelled up instantly, turning red and burning hot, each one clearly marked with a handprint.

Nobody dared breathe. You could’ve heard a pin drop in that silence.

Diana clutched her stinging face, stunned, staring at her mother-in-law. Her voice rose as she blurted out, “You hit me? Mom, how could you? What did I even do? Why’d you hit me so hard? Liliana slacks off all day and you never touch her?”

“Because you’re the gossiping snake stirring up trouble!”

Before Diana could react, another flurry of slaps came down on her, just as sharp and unrelenting.

The quick barrage left her dazed, ears ringing like crazy. It took a while before she could even get her bearings. But once she did, her instinct was to swing back at Florence.

The door burst open as Liliana Renard stormed in.

She reacted fast—yanked Florence behind her to shield her, then caught Diana’s raised wrist mid-air and clamped down tight.

Her voice was icy as she spat, “And just where do you think you're swinging that hand, huh? Is this how daughters from the Wyman family behave? Or were you taught to hit elders after getting married off?”

“If you don’t come clean about everything right now, I’ll drag Mom, Dad and Kai over to your family’s doorstep myself. We’ll ask in person how they raised you—pushing your sister-in-law into a river isn't enough, now you’re laying hands on your mother-in-law too?”

Liliana shot her a cold glance. “Don’t even try to wiggle out of this. I know exactly what you and Ruby pulled yesterday. And once Benjamin and I get our engagement set in stone, we’ll sit down and sort out every bit of it.”

"I—I..."

Diana was completely thrown off by the sudden shift. Her heart pounded out of control as she glared at Liliana, seething.

But this Liliana wasn’t the same one she used to boss around. She wasn’t that soft little pushover anymore, not since her soul had switched with the one from the twenty-second century.

Liliana stood tall, meeting Diana’s glare head-on. Her eyes held a sharper edge than Diana’s ever could.

“What’s wrong?” she said coolly. “About to lie? Or gonna pretend I made it all up?”

"I... I..."