My Boyfriend's Plan Disappointed Me

"You're misunderstanding me, Mrs. Pappworth," I said coldly. "I have no intention of marrying your son."

Not only Barbara was stunned by my words, but my parents were too.

Seeing the worry in my mom's eyes, I patted her hand, "Since you think I'm not good enough for your son, let's just call it off, Mrs. Pappworth. I was on my way to get an abortion yesterday, and it was actually your son who stopped me."

Barbara let out a disdainful snort, "You? Do you think our family is that desperate? My son is a PhD, he could have anyone he wants. We only extended you some courtesy because you're pregnant. Believe me, he has plenty of options!"

"Then please, make sure your son keeps his distance from now on."

I then showed them the door.

Earlier, my parents had been worried I actually wanted to marry Brian, holding back from speaking their minds.

They had no clue that his family wasn't worth the compromise.

Thanks to Barbara's outburst, I could now break up with Brian without any guilt.

I thought that would be the last of it, but Barbara escalated things by lodging a complaint against me on our college's website.

As I walked down the street, I could hear people whispering, "Isn't that the girl who the complaint was talking about?"

"Absolutely shameless, and a grad student too. Seems like she's just a 'professional student,' you know?"

"Haha, I heard she went after a PhD student, acting like some seductress out of a drama."

"Wonder who'll end up dealing with her mess."

I called Brian, "After three years together, I thought we could handle this like adults. What's with the trash you posted online?"

He hesitated, "It wasn't me, Jenny. It might have been my mom... we had an argument about your situation."

I couldn't help but laugh coldly, "Your mom's quite the social media guru, huh? Pretty skilled online."

Brian initially felt guilty but then got defensive, "What's that supposed to mean? Is that really how you see me?"

"Would any of this have happened if you hadn't picked a fight with my mom?"

I could hear Barbara's piercing voice in the background, "Is that the witch calling? I told you, she'd refuse the nice way and now she's forced to deal with the mess."

"She doesn't want to marry you? How's she going to survive in school now with her ruined reputation?"

I burst out laughing from pure frustration, "It sounds like you're more eager to have me in your family than I ever was."

"Are you spreading rumors online to try and force my hand?"

"What, can't your son find someone better without me in the picture?"

Barbara spat out her response, her tone still filled with arrogance, "With the way people see you now, no one would want you without my son."

Before I could hang up, my academic advisor called.

He launched into a lecture, insisting that I clear up the mess because it could damage the school's reputation, and that was a burden I wouldn't want to bear.

I revisited Barbara's accusations—aside from the fact I was pregnant, not a single other statement she made was true.

She had called me a manipulative woman, clinging to her son to boost my academic career, and even fabricated a story that I was a gold-digger who physically attacked her when she came to propose marriage, then kicked her out and demanded an absurd dowry because of the baby.

The rumor spread incredibly fast, permeating even my neighborhood.

I had a study prep social media account with some followers.

Both the comments section and my DMs were swamped, though only a few loyal fans were defending me.

I uploaded footage from my home security camera.

Before entering, Barbara was on her phone, "Don't worry, I'm visiting your brother's girlfriend today, seems they're pretty well-off... Dowry? What dowry?... He's a PhD; not only does he not need a dowry, she should be paying us a hefty sum, only then would I approve..."

"Nice house, too. I hear she's an only child, it'll all be your brother's eventually..."

After leaving, she stomped her foot, "That little tramp dared to refuse, so shameless to still make demands while pregnant... I can't wait to see how she manages if her reputation is ruined."

Brian's voice also showed frustration, "Didn't I tell you? Just keep her steady, you started off so harsh, how could she agree..."

Barbara fumed, "I'm doing this for you! If we don't knock her down a peg now, she'll walk all over you... Besides, your sister is still waiting..."

Toward the end, she lowered her voice and moved out of camera range.