Chapter 3

Adam responded impatiently, "I know, alright? This time, it’s my fault. I’ll be more careful."

Clenching my fists tightly, I wiped away my tears and quietly returned to my room.

Just as I had lain down, my parents walked in. Seeing how flustered they were, my eyes immediately turned red with emotion. "Mom, why are you here?"

"We couldn’t reach you on the phone, and when we heard there was a typhoon, along with reports of power and water outages, we got worried and rushed back overnight. We’d just arrived when we got a call from your mother-in-law, saying you’d been in an accident.

"Thank goodness my precious daughter is safe and sound!"

Hearing my mom’s comforting words and seeing their anxious expressions, I could no longer hold back. I threw myself into their arms and burst into tears.

"Mom!"

My mom patted my back gently, trying to soothe me. "It’s alright, sweetie. Take care of yourself. You're still young; you'll have other opportunities to have a child.”

However, my dad frowned deeply. "How could their family leave you alone like this? And where is Adam?"

Sniffling, I remembered the conversation I’d overheard earlier. I told them everything that had happened.

My dad was livid. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to storm off. "That little brat! I’m not letting him get away with this!"

My mom quickly stopped him. "Calm down! Don’t act so rashly!"

"Rashly? My daughter has suffered so much, and that brat still dares to treat her like this? I’ll make him pay for it!"

"Dealing with him is one thing," my mom said firmly. "Right now, we need to think about how to handle this situation properly. Mona, what do you want to do?"

My dad turned to look at me, his anger simmering just beneath the surface.

I took a deep breath, steadying my emotions.

After a moment of thought, I shook my head. "I don’t want to stay with him anymore."

Initially, I thought my in-laws were decent people, but after overhearing their conversation, I realized they never truly respected me.

If that was the case, there was nothing worth holding onto.

Hearing my decision, my dad nodded firmly. "Alright. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll file for divorce. There are plenty of men in this world. My daughter doesn’t need to put up with this kind of treatment!"

Just as he finished speaking, Adam and his family walked in.

When Adam saw my parents, he froze for a moment. "Dad, Mom, you're here."

"Don’t call us that," my dad replied curtly.

Adam was immediately at a loss for words. Realizing he was in the wrong, he lowered his head and apologized. "It’s my fault. I was wrong."

"Who are we to accept your apology?"

My mom took the food from Adam and placed it on the bedside table.

Then she turned to him and said, "You can leave now. You’ve spent plenty of time with your precious childhood sweetheart. You two clearly have feelings for each other. Go back and make it up to her. Once my daughter is discharged, she’s filing for divorce."

This statement instantly set my mother-in-law off. "What kind of talk is that? These kids are doing just fine! It’s nothing serious! It’s because Mona’s health is too poor. Otherwise…”

"You’re blaming my daughter’s health? Why not blame your son’s shortcomings?" my mom snapped, raising her voice.

"What kind of husband leaves his pregnant wife in the middle of the night, knowing she’s at risk of a miscarriage, to take care of another woman? Go on, explain what kind of family values taught him that!"

The hospital room door was wide open, and suddenly curious onlookers from nearby rooms all poked their heads out to watch.

Adam’s face turned pale with embarrassment.

My mom had once been a local council leader, and her commanding voice was as sharp and authoritative as ever. She laid everything out with crystal-clear logic, leaving no room for Adam to refute, while airing all his dirty laundry for everyone to hear.

Panicked, my mother-in-law immediately tried to appease her. "Please, have mercy. Give us some grace. I really didn’t expect this boy to pull such a ridiculous stunt. I already slapped him, see?"

Sure enough, there was a handprint on Adam’s face.

My dad scoffed coldly. "And he deserved every bit of it. My daughter doesn’t need to see any of you for the next few days. Every time she looks at you, her anger flares up. Don’t affect her recovery with your presence."

Adam’s face turned dark, and he couldn’t muster a word in front of my parents. It seemed he finally realized how badly he had messed up.

Later, he texted me, apologizing and admitting his mistakes.

I didn’t bother to reply.

Instead, I reached out to a trusted lawyer friend, asking them to handle everything regarding the divorce.

I wanted a clean break.

Since he clearly couldn’t let go of her, I would step aside.

There was no need to stay where I wasn’t respected.

But Judy didn’t sit still. The very next day, she came to provoke me.

"Mona, I know it’s hard losing a baby," she said with feigned concern. "Take care of yourself, okay? After all, now that the baby’s gone, Adam won’t want you anymore. Why not step aside and stop holding onto something that’s not yours?"

Her words made my blood boil. Furious, I slapped her hard across the face.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she whimpered, "Mona!"

Adam burst into the room at that moment. "Mona! That’s too much! She came here out of kindness, and you hit her? If you’re angry, take it out on me!"

"Fine. I’ll take it out on you right now!"