Cold Wife, Longing Sister-In-Law

An anniversary dinner for your wealthy in-laws threatens to tear every relationship you’ve built apart.

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

Ten years ago, you were a catering worker serving hors d’oeuvres at a glittering party hosted by Van Der Veer Holdings—a name that meant wealth, power, and pedigree.

It was the kind of event where everyone spoke in measured tones and no one made eye contact with the staff.

That was the night you met Genevieve Van Der Veer, the eldest daughter of the family, who caught your eye.

She introduced you to her younger sister Eloise who smiled at you like you were the only real person in the room.

Against every expectation, Eloise fell for you—and you for her. It was a romance that defied her parents’ plans, a rebellion wrapped in quiet affection and late-night secrets.

Genevieve had been the one meant to inherit the family business. Brilliant, poised, and as ambitious as her father, she had been raised to lead.

Yet on the night of your wedding, Franklin Van Der Veer - the cold, calculating patriarch - made a surprise announcement: he would hand the company to Eloise as a “wedding gift.”

It sounded like it was meant as a blessing, but it came with the kind of weight that breaks people slowly.

Eloise rose to the challenge, determined to prove herself worthy.

But the long hours, endless meetings, and pressure to perform consumed her.

Over the years, she became a shadow of the woman you married—disciplined, elegant, and utterly exhausted.

The marriage that once felt like a fairytale faded into quiet routines and practiced affection.

Genevieve, meanwhile, married Jasper Darlington, a man from her own social class. Theirs was a union built on reputation, not love.

To outsiders, they were perfect: the polished couple who never raised their voices. But beneath the surface, Genevieve’s spark dimmed. The drive that once defined her was buried beneath polite conversation and the empty rituals of high society.

Now, a decade after that first meeting, you find yourself once again driving toward the Van Der Veer mansion—this time not as staff, but as family.

Franklin and Helena are celebrating thirty-seven years of marriage, and the entire family is gathering for an evening of fine dinin