A stinging slap landed on her face.
"Didn't I ask you to get my coffee?" Rania Jenkins stated, placing her hands on her hip, while she stared at Lizzy as if she were dirt beneath her feet.
In a trembling voice, Lizzy answered, "Yes, you did, but your mother instructed me to get the dishes done in the next fifteen minutes''
Rania's eyes narrowed as she glared at Lizzy.
"Are you going to make me wait?"
"N…no, please; I will get it done now."
Lizzy stammered as she fought to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling down her cheeks, no matter how cruelly she was treated. Lizzy had vowed never to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Rania's face twisted into an evil smirk as she said, "Good. Now after that, I want this house thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom. Oh, and make sure to change the bed linens and fluff the pillows, for your sake, I better not catch you slacking off again, if I find any task unfinished or done poorly, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes" Lizzy replied in a quivering voice.
As soon as Rania left, Lizzy retreated to the kitchen to make her coffee.
It's been three years since she had married into the Jenkins family. Her husband, Lucas Jenkins, had swept her off her feet with sweet promises, but once the honeymoon phase ended, the reality of her situation became clear. Lucas had become cold and distant and was more interested in his business than his wife; his family was even worse.
Rania, Lucas eldest sister, had taken an immediate dislike of Lizzy, as she regarded her as a low-life who didn't belong to their elite social circle.
From the beginning, Rania had made it her mission to make Lizzy's life miserable, and there was Evelyn Jenkins, the matriarch of the family. Evelyn's disdain for Lizzy was evident in numerous ways.
She assigned her the most grueling task, treating her more like a servant than a daughter-in-law, and when Lizzy failed to meet her impossible standards, Evelyn's wrath was swift and merciless; she would often berate Lizzy publicly, taking pleasure in her humiliation.
Every attempt Lizzy had made to win her over was met with scorn; Apparently, nothing she ever did was good enough.
Balancing the mug on a silver tray, Lizzy made her way to the living room, where Rania lounged on the sofa, flipping through a fashion magazine. Rania took the mug without acknowledging her. The moment she took a sip, her expression immediately turned sour.
"This is cold," she snapped, glaring at Lizzy. "I told you I wanted it hot." Lizzy's heart sank. She knew what was coming next, but she tried to maintain her composure.
"I made it just now. It should be hot." Rania's eyes flashed with anger.
"Are you calling me a liar?" Without warning, she knocked the mug off the tray, sending it crashing to the floor. Hot coffee splashed onto Lizzy's legs, burning her skin through her thin cotton pants. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain.
"Hurry up and clean that mess," Rania ordered, her voice dripping with contempt. Lizzy nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as she knelt to pick up the shattered pieces of porcelain. The sharp edges cut into her fingers, but she ignored the pain. As she worked, Rania continued to berate her.
"You do think someone as big as you could be more capable, but no, you are just a useless lump."
Each word was like a dagger to Lizzy's heart. It wasn't the first time she had been ridiculed for her overweight size.
Lizzy knew she didn't have the lean figure and desirable beauty everyone preferred, and sometimes she couldn't help wondering if it was why her husband had begun to slowly lose interest in her.
A shrill voice calling her name interrupted her thoughts. Lizzy's stomach churned at the sight of Vanessa. Vanessa was as bad as her eldest sister, Rania, if not more spiteful. Vanessa's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene.
"Why is there coffee on the floor? And why are you just kneeling there like an idiot? Do you have to be so clumsy? Maybe if
you weren't so fat, you could actually move faster."
Lizzy swallowed hard, her throat tight with humiliation. "I'm cleaning it up now," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
Vanessa laughed with a harsh, mocking sound. "Cleaning it up? You're just making it worse. Look at you, bleeding all over the place. Do you enjoy being a mess, or is it just natural for you?"
Rania smirked from her perch on the sofa, clearly enjoying the show. "She's good for nothing, Vanessa. Honestly, what's the point of keeping her around? if she can't even make a decent cup of coffee."
Lizzy's cheeks burned with shame, but she kept her head down, focusing on cleaning up the mess. Vanessa crossed her arms as she sneered at Lizzy, pointing to an invisible stain on the floor. She said, "You missed a spot." Her lips curled up into a satisfied smirk as she watched Lizzy scramble to clean up the imaginary mess.
"Do you need glasses now, too?" Vanessa taunted. "It's right there, under the table. Honestly, how incompetent can you be?"
Lizzy's face reddened at the sting of the insult. For Lucas's sake, she had to endure this, and besides, she shouldn't let Vanessa and Rania ruin her special day. It was their three-year anniversary, and Lucas was finally coming home.
Lizzy was beyond excited, and she had planned out a little surprise for him. She couldn't help her slight anxiety though; it's been three months since she last saw him.
Lizzy had planned to wear the blue dress, which was Lucas' favorite color, in an attempt to impress him. Even though Lucas was cold to her, Lizzy had hoped that one day he would be the loving husband he once was, and tonight she had planned to win him over.
Lucas Jenkins landed on the private jet with a sense of accomplishment. The partnership with the Irephang Company had been a major coup for his business, solidifying his reputation as a shrewd entrepreneur. Finally, the months of late nights, negotiations, and endless meetings had paid off, and now he was finally coming home.
The anticipation of seeing Lucas had her giddy with happiness. She had missed him so much. At the sound of the front door opening, Lizzy's heart leaped. She hurried down the stairs, a beaming smile on her face. "Lucas!" she called, her voice filled with joy. But as she reached the bottom step, Lizzy froze. There, standing beside Lucas with her arms linked in his, was a woman she had known too well, Scarlett Green Lucas' first love.