Chapter 0001

Before we got married, my husband and I made a pact to be DINKs (Double Income, No Kids).

However, the arrival of my mother-in-law changed everything between us.

As the New Year approached, my mother-in-law came from her hometown to celebrate with us. Everything started off fine. She was a hardworking, simple woman who liked to nag a bit, but we got along well most of the time.

Lately, though, things had been different. She knew my husband and I had no plans to have children, and that’s when she began dropping hints about me getting pregnant.

One evening, after work, I stopped by the supermarket to pick up a huge bag of corns. When I got home, I handed the bag to my mother-in-law, asking her to cook the corn for everyone. It was good-quality corn—juicy and sweet. They even imparted a delightful flavor to the water used to boil them.

My mother-in-law ate two or three cobs in one sitting, and I could tell she was still craving more.

“That tasted good,” she said.

I was busy replying to work messages and responded casually, “You should buy them often if you like them.”

It was a simple reply, but her expression immediately changed.

“What do you mean?” she snapped.

“Are you trying to say that I’m so stingy that I won’t buy corn for myself?”

“These corns are injected with chemicals. They can’t compare with fresh corn. Young people know nothing,” she added, her criticism hitting me like a wave.

I was speechless.

“Mom, that’s not what I—”

She didn’t give me a chance to defend myself. Instead, she immediately covered her face with her hands and began sobbing.

“You’ll only understand how I feel once you have children! But you refuse to have them! How would you understand a parent’s feelings?”

At first, I felt guilty, but immediately afterward, I felt frustrated.

“Mom, these are two different things. Stop mixing them up. Jaden and I agreed to be DINKs before we got married.”

She paused, as if recalling that she had once readily agreed not to pressure me into having children.

With a sigh, she turned to my husband, Jaden Cloves, instead. “Do you know what your name means? It means ‘to be thankful.’”

Jaden looked caught between us, unsure of how to react. The meal ended on a sour note.

That night, I called my best friend, Hannah, to talk about it. She was doing her nails on video call, and her expression turned serious when I shared what happened.

“Be careful with her, Nadine,” she warned.

I was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Hannah leaned closer to the screen, lowering her voice. “Parents are the stronger party when the children are young, but once they grow up, the parents become the weaker party. The older they get, the weaker they seem. People tend to side with the weaker party. How sure are you that Jaden will continue insisting on being a DINK?”

I had been confident about Jaden’s stance before, but now, Hannah’s questions made me uncertain. I couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Jaden’s face during dinner.

“I… I think it’s time for bed,” I said, cutting the conversation short.

I decided I needed to have a serious talk with Jaden about this. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to find the right moment. That’s because my mother-in-law stirred up more trouble.

She had found a strange figurine of a deity. It wasn’t the typical figurine we were used to. This one was deep purple, with foxy eyes and a sharp chin. A red mark in the shape of a coiling snake was on its forehead. She placed it on the balcony that led into the living room and set up a shrine around it.

The strange figurine sat right in the middle of the shrine, surrounded by fresh fruits—apples and oranges—placed around it. There was an incense holder in front, with smoke wafting up in the air.

I was shocked when I came home and saw it.

“Mom, what’s that?” I asked.

She was holding incense and praying solemnly to the figurine, kowtowing three times, with incense smoke wafting about her.

When she stood up, she greeted me with a bright smile. “You’re home, Nadine. Come over here and say some prayers.”

What was going on?

I pretended to feel unwell and excused myself. After dinner, I dragged Jaden into the room.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” he exclaimed, quickly covering my mouth.

“You can’t be disrespectful to a deity. The deity might not hold it against you, but its guardians will.”

Guardians? I was baffled and laughed out loud. Was he seriously talking about guardians when it came to that eerie figurine?

“Fine. Go ahead and pray to it all you want. I’m not doing it.”

I yawned and buried myself under the covers, hoping to get some rest. Despite my drowsiness, I could still feel Jaden standing beside my bed for what felt like a long time. I didn’t sleep well that night.

Finally, after tossing and turning, I fell asleep, only to wake up suddenly from a nightmare.

“Ah!” I gasped, sitting up straight. The space beside me was cold and empty. Where had Jaden gone?

A bloody red light was shining through the cracks in the bedroom door. I put on my slippers and called out to Jaden as I opened the door.

To my horror, I found Jaden kneeling on the ground in the dim, yellow light. He was holding four incense sticks in his hands, eyes closed in prayer.

A chill crept up my spine.

“Jaden Cloves!” I screamed.

Jaden jumped in shock, dropping the incense sticks to the floor.