Bravely Fighting Against a Poisonous Mother-in-law and a Cruel Husband

Over the past month, I had been shuttling between my workplace and the hospital to take care of Ryder. However, what puzzled me was that Elena had never once visited the hospital.

She always prevented me from being alone with Ryder and told Ryder that she loved him most, saying he take care of her when he grew up.

Actually, as a mother, I minded it a lot, but Carlos dismissed it as normal for an elderly person and urged me not to make a fuss.

Logically, Elena should have come to the hospital every day since she had nothing else to do at home. But during Ryder's month-long stay there, it was either me or the nurses who took care of him.

Carlos explained that Elena had been in a bad mood recently and needed rest. He also said that it was common for the elderly to fear hospitals.

Exhausted from juggling work and taking care of Ryder, I couldn't afford to dwell on these questions too much.

Sometimes, Carlos would come to the hospital to look after Ryder, but he often scolded me for neglecting the family and failing to do housework or cooking for Elena.

Today, Ryder was finally discharged, and Carlos drove to pick him up. However, Elena didn't accompany him.

When I arrived home and saw a table filled with meals, I felt touched. After putting Ryder in bed and feeding him, I went out to eat.

To my surprise, Elena was still sitting at the dinner table, inviting me to join her. "Maeve! Come and eat. Don't just focus on the child. Come on!"

Gratefully, I devoured the food but soon felt sick when Elena uttered her next words.

She said, "Maeve! I dreamt about Carlos's father last night. He told me that you need to have your own children, and the Gomez family needs its own flesh and blood. As for Ryder, we have been kind enough to raise him until now."

She continued with a chilling suggestion, "I have a fellow villager who works at an orphanage. I asked her, and she said Ryder can be sent there. Kind people will surely adopt him."

Shocked and doubting my own ears, I looked at Elena, but her expression was serious.

Turning to Carlos, I found he remained silent with his head down as usual.

"No! Ryder is my biological son; I could never abandon him," I protested. "Didn't you love him before? You insisted on adopting him!"

I remembered how Carlos and I had only been married for five months when Elena insisted that we adopt a child.

At the time, I firmly disagreed since we had just taken out a loan to buy a house, and having children, let alone adopting one, wasn't even on my radar.

However, Carlos told me that during his recent company physical examination, the doctor suggested he might have azoospermia, making it difficult for us to conceive.

He pleaded with me, explaining that Elena was lonely and desiring a grandchild was normal. Rather than causing her future sadness if we couldn't have our own child, he proposed giving in to her wishes.

Although I argued that medical treatments were advanced and his condition might be treatable, I couldn't sway Carlos's decision.

Back then, both Elena and Carlos were adamant about adopting a child. But now they wanted to give up on Ryder? How could they be so heartless?

"Maeve, you're not even 30 years old; you should have your own child. I'm doing this for your own good," Elena said.

As I stared at Elena, memories of when she insisted on adopting Ryder flooded my mind.

I didn't know what Ryder meant to her. Was he just a plaything in her eyes?

Firmly, I declared, "Elena, give up on this idea. I will never abandon Ryder. I have told you countless times that he is my biological child."

Elena scowled and exclaimed, "Carlos, I warned you not to marry a woman like her, yet you insisted. Now she's going to piss me off!"

As Elena spoke, she feigned tears. Carlos hurried to comfort her, but she didn't appreciate it.

Pressing him aggressively, Elena asked, "Carlos, are you going to send Ryder to the orphanage or not?"

Carlos only kept his head down in silence. This infuriated Elena further, "Fine! So now you won't listen to me at all, huh?" Carlos remained silent.

I grew increasingly frustrated and retreated to the bedroom.

After a while, Carlos entered and asked hesitantly, "How about we... send Ryder to the orphanage for a few days?"

I looked at him in disbelief. He appeared guilty yet determined. "He'll only stay there temporarily. Once I can persuade mom, I'll bring him back."

I questioned, "Why would she insist on sending Ryder away? She treated him like her own grandson before."

Carlos avoided eye contact, turning his back to me as impatience tinged his voice. "Maybe my father really told her in her dream, and she wants a grandson!"

I blurted out, "Then just tell her that you're infertile."

My words struck a nerve, causing Carlos to erupt in anger. "Didn't I tell you never to mention that? Do you want everyone to know?"

Realizing I had wounded his self-esteem, I fell silent and began packing my belongings.

Carlos asked in a gentler voice, "What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, I continued packing my belongings and replied firmly, "I'm taking Ryder somewhere else to live. We'll return when you can persuade Elena. I won't leave Ryder alone in an orphanage."

Seeing me with a suitcase and holding Ryder, Elena made no attempt to stop me. Instead, she loudly declared, "Once you leave, don't come back!"

Carlos tried to dissuade me from leaving at night, but Elena interjected, "Why are you trying to stop her? She's just pretending. Do you think she can survive without you? Let her go."

Hearing that, Carlos fell silent and completely disregarded Ryder and me.