I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 03

I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 03

Dinner time came. Derek had warned me ahead of time—eat only the veggies, stay away from everything else.

I sat down and at first glance, the holiday spread looked decent:

meat, veggies, seafood. But a closer look told a different story.

In the center of the table sat a king crab that had gone gray, its meat loose and watery—clearly rotten.

Several other dishes were unrecognizable stews of who-knows-what, probably leftovers from days ago.

The fish—a holiday staple—was just a skeleton. All the meat had been picked off. Why even put it on the table?

Sensing I wasn’t someone to mess with, Margaret rotated the lazy Susan and pushed the meat dishes toward me. “I’ve been saving this king crab for ages. Since you’re here, you have it. I’ll just eat the leftovers.”

“Mom! That pork has been sitting since last week! It’s spoiled—throw it out!” Derek tried to grab the bowl, but she snatched it back.

“I kept it in the fridge. Nothing’s wrong with it. You two eat the fresh stuff—I’ll have this.”

The only “fresh” thing on the table was the stir-fried greens. Everything else was old.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed Derek’s phone, and ordered a five-thousand-dollar holiday feast for delivery.

Then I stood up, picked up the king crab platter, and dumped it straight into the trash.

“Mrs. Carter, if you don’t like me, just say so. Don’t try to poison me with a crab that’s been dead for who knows how long. Your son’s a successful businessman, and his girlfriend’s first dinner here is rotten seafood? You want the whole town gossiping about him?”

I opened fire, and Derek piled on.

“Exactly, Mom! Do you even want me to find someone? I’m thirty years old—finally met a great girl, and you’re trying to chase her off. You want me to die alone, is that it?”

Margaret looked like her heart was breaking.

She stared at the crab in the trash and reached for it. “That’s good crab! You can’t throw it out—I’ve kept it in the freezer all this time, it’s perfectly fine!”

If I was faking before, now I was genuinely furious.

Serving aged stale seafood like this could make everyone seriously ill.

“Unbelievable,” I snapped. “You’re serving me crab that’s been sitting for years—you trying to poison me? What’s wrong with you? Derek, I swear I’ll break up with you!”

“Mom! Dump all this leftover garbage now! Look at Pearl—she’s livid. What do you want my future father-in-law to think of me?”

Derek started scraping everything into the trash, and I helped.

To ensure none of this spoiled food could be recovered, I mixed all the leftovers together thoroughly.

Good luck eating that now.

Soon the five-thousand-dollar feast arrived.

Fresh, steaming dishes lined the table. Margaret sighed.

“Ah, you two eat. I’ll just have a roll. I’m old—what do I need fancy food for?”

I didn’t bother convincing her.

“Suit yourself. Whatever we don’t finish tonight, I’m throwing out anyway.”

“What?! You’re throwing out perfectly good food?!” Her eyes went wide.

“That’s how I’ve always done it. I don’t eat leftovers—it’s unhealthy. Once I move in, this household follows my rules.”

Derek looked at me with adoring eyes, completely smitten.

“Whatever you say, honey. I’ll do anything you tell me.”

Hearing that, Margaret decided the roll could wait.

She grabbed her fork and started piling food onto her plate, shoveling it in like she was racing the trash can.

“Mrs. Carter, have more lobster—otherwise it’s going in the bin.” I spun the platter toward her. “And this chicken soup—there’s way too much for Derek and me.”

After a lifetime of leftovers, one fresh gourmet meal had the old lady beaming.

A hint of a smile finally crossed her face.