Chapter 84 In-laws vs. Family
"Of course, Penny, I have no problem with you willing to be a slave to your husband. But my sister is not a slave. Nowadays, men and women are equal, and wives and husbands are equal. No one is superior to anyone else."
"It is your choice to be submissive. But don't try to make Leila submissive too."
"As for the fight, it was Patrick who started it. He beat Leila so badly that Leila had to fight back for her life. She was defending herself! It's impossible to get Leila to apologize! Why don't you go back to Patrick and tell him to apologize to Leila, which is what he should do."
Teresa looked cold and tough, without any fear of offending her in-laws. She said, "If you think Leila doesn't make money and only spends money, you can send Leila back to me. Don't be rough with her. You care about Patrick, and I care about my sister Leila."
"Also, you guys accused Leila of spending two hundred dollars that day. That's right, she bought clothes. Because I was taking my husband to meet my only family, which is Leila. She was thinking of making everyone in her own family look decent. So, she bought new clothes for both Patrick and Andy. She didn't spend it all on herself at all. You do not have the right to accuse Leila of spending too much."
"Leila has not bought new clothes for a long time after she married into the Cerone family. Just this once. And then you guys just grab this opportunity to make it difficult for her. You are so generous. You're so nice to your daughter-in-law that I want to send you a thank you note."
Priscila and Penny blushed and felt embarrassed and angry at Teresa's words. Well, mostly, they felt angry.
They always thought they were right and Leila was wrong.
"Leila just didn't cook for one day, and you guys are saying that it would make no difference whether Patrick has a wife or not. Conversely, isn't having a husband the same as not having a husband for Leila? Since he can't afford to support his wife and kid, why should he get married? He could have just lived with you guys for the rest of your lives."
"Besides, it's not like my sister doesn't do anything. Penny, you're doing all the work in your daughter's house. Do you think it's easy to take care of a home?"
Penny opened her mouth and wanted to say something. But she couldn't find a word to refute Teresa.
She and Paul were doing all the chores in Priscila's house, as well as taking care of the children, tutoring them, etc. To be honest, it wasn't easy, and sometimes it was annoying as h*ll. Especially, since the children were young, they had no rules. They were so naughty that they messed up the house all the time.
Very often, when she had just cleaned up one side of the room, the children would scatter their toys all over the floor on the other side.
When they were younger, they cried a lot. They cried and rolled on the floor when things didn't go their way. Bringing up children was the most tiring job.
To be honest, if it weren't for her daughter, Penny would rather get a job as a cleaning lady than do housework and take care of the kids.
"Penny, don't pretend to be confused. Why do you ask my sister to give unconditionally for something that you don't even feel easy to do? What makes you think that my sister is having an easy time at home? Marriage is run by the couple together. It doesn't make sense to let my sister make efforts solely while Patrick could enjoy the credit."
"I still have the same words. If you guys don't like Leila anymore, you can send Leila back. I can afford to raise her. But you must not hurt Leila. This time, since Leila fought back, I won't settle the score with you. But if there's a next time, don't blame me for being rude. By the way, you should know that I have learned freestyle grappling. And I am much more powerful than Leila when it comes to fighting. If you think Patrick is strong enough to fight with me, just forget what I have said."
If she was going to beat Patrick up, she wouldn't stop until Patrick would have to stay in bed for the next six months!
How dared he domestic abuse her sister? Did he want to die?
"Leila is like a sh*t! If she left Patrick, who would want her? Huh, divorce? If Patrick divorces her, even the old man in his 70s and 80s won't want her."
"Priscila!"
Penny let out a low yell and patted Priscila.
Seeing Teresa look like she wanted to kill someone, Penny shrank back from yelling. But she kept muttering in her mind.
"Teresa, you know Pricilla didn't think twice about what she said. As the saying goes, you can't persuade a couple to divorce. Andy is still young. We can't let him grow up in a single-parent home."
"Yes, Patrick was also wrong this time. The old saying goes that quarrels between couples would always end in peace. You should ask Leila to go to my house and bring Patrick back. After that, they should have a good life together and don't quarrel."
"I'm sure you want them to live a good life as much as we do. Couples always have conflicts. Once the conflict is over, the quarrel is over. There's no need to take too much into account."
Teresa said coldly, "Did Patrick break both legs, or did he not know the way home and need my sister to pick him up?"
To let Leila go to the Cerone family to pick up Patrick, Leila would definitely be bullied and lectured by the Cerones again. Teresa would not let her sister lower her head or apologize.
If Patrick wanted to go back, he could go back. But if not, he should stay at his parents' house.
Teresa felt that her sister could be more free and easy this way.
"You're so unreasonable."
Penny angrily accused Teresa.
"Anyway, if Patrick doesn't go back to their home, he won't pay for Leila's maintenance. And if Leila can support herself, let her stay away from the Cerone family for the rest of her life."
After Penny finished, she dragged her daughter away.
"I'd like to see how long you and your sister can last!"
Penny turned her head to yell as she walked to the door.
Teresa had no expression. She held back so hard that she finally didn't smash anything.
Her sister had really married the wrong man and joined the wrong family.
If a woman was to get married, she should not only look at the character of the man, but also the character of his family of origin.
"Teresa, you are too kind. If it were me, I would have taken a big broomstick and hit them hard. This is so irritating. I've never seen such shameless people. They're just like your relatives in your hometown."
Just listening, Gwendolyn was so angry that she was about to smoke.
"They didn't fight physically first, so I couldn't hit them first. But I wouldn't lose a verbal fight with them either. Gwen, you are still unmarried. When you are going to get married, you have to check out the man and his family. Unhappy marriages can really be a lifelong regret."
Her sister had chosen to work for the wrong person after all.
Now, Teresa was hoping that her sister would make up her mind and divorce Patrick.
Thinking about Leila's situation today, Teresa was heartbroken. She knew that Leila was still holding back from divorce and not completely breaking up with Patrick because she didn't have the ability to do that. If Leila filed for divorce now, it would be hard for her to get custody of Andy.
"I will never marry into that kind of family. They are too shameless. Their values, their words, all of them are full of the slavery of women. Does the Cerone family want a daughter-in-law or a slave? They clearly treat Leila as a free babysitter, and she has to be obedient when she is beaten and scolded."
"That's sick!"
Gwendolyn said angrily, "Tell Leila to find a job right now. She should get a job with a relatively free schedule. If she has a job, she'll have income and confidence. When she gets more stable, she can file for divorce. What does she need a man like Patrick for?"
Patrick was petty, stingy, and committed domestic violence. He was a man full of thoughts of enslaving his wife.
Leila should get rid of such an awful man as soon as possible. Otherwise, did she want to keep him and spend the next Christmas with him?