When My Husband Chose His Sister

I married into the Miller family in my third year when my husband, Ethan Miller, got into a car accident.

His life was saved, but the doctor said he injured his lower body and could no longer have children.

When I heard the news, my mind went blank.

But Ethan held my hand, his eyes red-rimmed, and comforted me.

"Charlotte, it's okay. At least we already have a daughter. That's enough."

I nodded.

Back then, I thought as long as we were united as a couple, we could get through this hurdle.

I never expected that Miranda would start talking behind my back.

During the time Ethan came home from the hospital to recuperate, Miranda came over every other day.

On the surface, she was visiting her brother, but in reality, she constantly picked at everything I did.

While I was cooking in the kitchen, she would pull Ethan into the bedroom and whisper away.

"Ethan, now that your body's like this, you need to watch out for yourself.

Look at Charlotteshe walks around with that cold face all day.

She's not caring at all. Does she look like someone taking care of a patient?"

Ethan said nothing.

Miranda continued, "And who's managing the money in this house? Don't be stupid and hand it all over to her. She's got money but won't spend it on you, and you've still got the rest of your life ahead of you."

The walls were thin. I heard everything.

Ethan had been in the hospital after his car accident, and I'd been taking care of him day and night without rest. I paid for all the medical expenses and supplements. How dare she spin it like this?

After Miranda left, I couldn't hold back. I confronted Ethan.

"What did Miranda just say to you?"

Ethan's eyes darted away. He wouldn't look at me.

"Nothing... nothing really. Miranda's just concerned about me. She was asking casually."

"Asking casually? She's guarding against me like I'm some kind of thief!"

"Don't overthink it. She's my sister. Would she really harm me?"

He refused to explain further.

That weekend when I went back to my parents' house, I told them about it.

My mom tried to calm me down.

"Charlotte, sweetie, sisters-in-law have always been natural enemies. Ethan's been through something so terrible.

She's anxious, so it's normal for her to say some harsh things."

My dad chimed in too.

"That's right. As long as she doesn't actually do anything bad, just turn a blind eye and pretend you don't know.

You're living your life with Ethan, not her. Don't let outsiders damage your marriage."

After hearing my parents' advice, I sighed.

Fine. I'd endure it.

As long as she didn't do anything truly harmful, I'd pretend I hadn't heard anything.

But Miranda only grew bolder.

After Ethan came home from the hospital, Miranda visited even more frequently.

Before, she came once a week. Now it was three times a week.

She used to at least bring somethingfruit, milknothing expensive, but it was a gesture.

Now?

She showed up empty-handed. The moment she walked in, she'd open the fridge, grab a couple of drinks, a handful of snacks, and stuff them into the big canvas bag she brought.

When she left, the bag would be bulging.

Once, I'd bought a new dress for Emma and left it on the sofa before I could put it away. Miranda picked it up, looked it over twice, and stuffed it straight into her bag.

"Emma will outgrow this dress in two months anyway. I'll take it back for my neighbor's daughter. No point wasting it."

I opened my mouth to object, but Ethan said softly, "It's just one dress. Don't make a fuss."

I swallowed my words.

That night after Emma fell asleep, I mentioned it to Ethan.

"Miranda's coming over way too often now. Every time she comes, she takes things from our house. This isn't a supermarket."

Ethan sighed.

"My sister practically raised me from childhood.

She dropped out of middle school to work and put me through college.

She sacrificed a lot for this family. Now that I'm doing well, she takes a few thingsdon't be so petty about it."

I looked at him and said nothing more.

For the sake of family harmony, I endured it.

Until one afternoon, I was hanging laundry on the balcony when I heard Miranda whispering with Ethan again.

"Ethan, how much money do you actually have on hand right now?"

"Miranda, why are you asking?"

"Who else should I ask? Leo's old enough now. He needs to start preschool. You know that experimental kindergartenyou can't get in without connections. Just the bribes alone will cost tens of thousands."

Ethan said nothing.

Miranda continued, "And I ride my bicycle to pick up Leo every day.

The kindergarten is so far from home. When it's windy or rainy, the kid suffers.

I want to buy a car. Nothing fancyjust a ten-thousand-dollar commuter car."

"Miranda, I can't come up with that kind of money. Most of the accident compensation went to medical treatment."

Miranda lowered her voice.

"You don't have money, but your wife does. Her family's better off than ours. Her parents even paid the down payment when you got married. You two are husband and wifeone unit. What's wrong with using some of her money? She's not a stranger."

I deliberately coughedloud enough to carry into the bedroom but not too loud.

Miranda immediately went silent.

After a few seconds, she came out of the bedroom and walked toward the balcony. She saw me standing by the drying rack.

I stared at her.

She rolled her eyes, said nothing, turned around, grabbed her canvas bag, and left.

That night after Emma fell asleep, I sat on the edge of the bed and asked Ethan.

"What did Miranda say to you this afternoon? Something about connections and buying a carwhere exactly are you planning to get that money?"

Ethan rubbed his hands together. It took him a long time to speak.

"Her husband's been losing money in business lately. She's tight on cash, so she wanted to borrow some from me."

"Borrow? What she's asking for isn't a small amount. Tens of thousands for kindergarten bribes, ten thousand for a caryou call that borrowing?"

"She was just talking..."

"She said you should spend my money. Was that 'just talking' too?"

Ethan fell silent.

I looked at him.

"Ethan, our daughter will start preschool soon too. And then elementary school, middle schooleverything costs money. We need to save for our child."

He still said nothing. He turned over and faced away from me.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking for a long time.

Miranda's appetite was growing bigger and bigger. From taking snacks and dresses to asking for tens of thousands.

What exactly did she want?

From that day on, I started paying attention to Miranda's every move.

I never imagined Miranda could be so shameless.

On May Day, I was at home playing with Emma when my phone suddenly buzzed.

It was a text from the bank.

The supplementary card I'd set up for Ethanone transaction, one hundred thousand dollars.

Recipient: National Life Insurance Company.

I stared at the screen for several seconds.

One hundred thousand? Insurance?

Ethan had left that morning saying he was going to visit Miranda. He hadn't mentioned anything to me.

My first thought was that after his car accident, he might be feeling anxious and wanted more protection for himself and the family.

Buying insurance wasn't a bad thing, but one hundred thousand wasn't a small amount. How could he not even discuss it with me first?

I called the insurance company's customer service.

"Hello, I'd like to inquire about a policy purchased this morning. The policyholder is Ethan Miller."

After verifying my identity, the representative told me:

"This policy is an accident insurance policy. Policyholder: Ethan Miller. Insured: Ethan Miller. Coverage amount: five hundred thousand dollars."

"Who's the beneficiary?"

"The beneficiary listed is Leo Jackson."

Leo Jackson.

Leo.

Miranda's son.

My grip on the phone tightened instantly.

"Who came in person to process the policy?"

"The system shows the policyholder came in person. One accompanying person was registeredMs. Miranda Miller."

I hung up and sat motionless on the sofa.

Emma came over with her toys.

"Mommy, looka castle."

I absentmindedly patted her head. "That's great, sweetie."

Around four o'clock that afternoon, Ethan came home.

I handed him my phone with the bank text displayed.

"One hundred thousand dollars. Insurance company. Explain."

His face stiffened. He took the phone, glanced at it, and put it down.

"I was just helping my brother-in-law meet his quota. He's been selling insurance part-time lately.

His company has performance targets.

If he doesn't bring in enough business, they dock his pay. I was just helping him out."

"Helping him out costs one hundred thousand?"

"It's a dividend policy. It's not wasted money. When I reach retirement age, I can get all the principal back, plus annual dividends."

He spoke haltingly, his eyes constantly drifting to the side.

"Then why is Leo listed as the beneficiary?"

"Well, it's accident insurance. It only pays out if something happens. I'm not unlucky enough to keep having accidents, am I?

The beneficiary doesn't really matterI'll never need to use it.

My brother-in-law said putting Leo's name makes it easier to process through the system."

"Why not Emma? Why not me? Why does it have to be your nephew?"

He opened his mouth but couldn't answer.

I stared at him for a long moment.

He turned his head away.

I didn't press further.

Even if I kept asking, he'd just keep using the same excuses.

I remembered what Miranda had said in the bedroom last time, lowering her voice: "You don't have money, but your wife does."

One hundred thousand dollarsspent just like that.

Spent on a policy with his nephew listed as the beneficiary.

Before Ethan's car accident, Miranda wasn't warm to me, but she'd never done anything too outrageous either.

From the moment Ethan had his accident, she completely changed.

She became entitled. She became insatiable.

Now I understood why she'd changed.

Because of money.

Ethan could no longer have children. He only had Emma, a daughter.

In Miranda's eyes, this family would eventually have no male heir. Eventually, this money would have no one to spend it.

Rather than let it go to outsiders, why not take it herself?

She wasn't targeting me personallyshe was targeting our family's money.

Since she was after our family's money, I couldn't keep turning a blind eye.

I decided to go to Miranda's neighborhood and ask around.

Miranda lived in the Maplewood Estates complex on the east side of town.

An old complex where residents ran into each other constantly. Nothing stayed secret.

I went on a weekday morning and sat near the entrance for a while.

Several elderly ladies were sunbathing outside, chatting animatedly.

I struck up a conversation, saying I was Miranda's cousin.

"Miranda? She's not home. Probably out shopping again."

A woman with permed hair was very friendly. "Are you looking for her?"

"Nothing urgent. I just heard she's been doing well lately. Thought I'd come see her."

"Doing well? That's an understatement!"

A plump woman nearby jumped in. "She's been living large lately.

A while back, she bought a gold necklacethick one tooand parades around the complex with it.

Last month she bought several new outfits. Said they were some brand name. Not cheap, anyway."

Another woman joined in:

"And that's not all. Just the other day she told me she's planning to buy three properties all at once. Said Ethan's paying for them."

My heart dropped.

Three properties?

"Her brother's that rich?" a short-haired woman asked.

"She said her brother got into a car accident and received a huge settlement, plus what he'd saved over the years. It's quite a lot."

I gripped my bag tighter, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Doesn't her sister-in-law have a say in buying properties?"

"Sister-in-law?"

The short-haired woman curled her lip, lowering her voice with a gossipy expression.

"Miranda said her sister-in-law isn't clean. She's been cheating."

My blood ran cold.

"She said her brother only has one daughterjust a worthless little girl.

The kid looks less and less like her father as she grows.

Right now she's young enough to fool people, but when she gets older, anyone with eyes will see she's not his biological child."

The woman next to her added fuel to the fire:

"That's right, that's right. Miranda also said that once her brother figures it out, he'll kick that woman out sooner or later.

Then the family assets will go to her son, and her brother won't be deceived anymore."

My nails dug into my palms.

I circled the complex again, asking several groups of people.

The convenience store owner, the vegetable seller at the marketeveryone said roughly the same thing.

Miranda was spreading rumors all over that I was cheating.

That my daughter was illegitimate.

That I should leave with nothing.

That her son Leo would inherit all our family assets.

She painted me as promiscuous and my daughter as worthless.

And these rumors spread through the complex like wildfire, known by everyone.

When I walked out of the complex gates, I was so angry my legs felt weak.

I sat on a bench by the roadside for a long time, my heart pounding, my chest tight.

I'd endured for so long, given in again and again, and she just kept pushing, bullying me to death.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts to find a nameSarah Collins, a college classmate who worked as a family law attorney at a local firm.

When she answered, I didn't bother with pleasantries.

"Sarah, I want to consult about divorce."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

"Alright. Tell me the situation."

I took a deep breath and told her everything from start to finish.

After hearing it all, Sarah told me to first get clear on the property situationinsurance policies, savings, real estatego through everything.

Regarding whether Emma was Ethan's biological child, Sarah told me the most powerful evidence would be a paternity test.