Chapter 3
When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital, surrounded by the pungent smell of disinfectant.
My pant legs were rolled up, my knee had been treated and bandaged.
Lydia sat by the bed, scooped a spoonful of bird’s nest soup, blew on it to cool it, and brought it to my mouth, complaining:
“The doctor said you fainted from malnutrition. You’re so stubborn. I punished you by making you eat vegetarian; couldn’t you secretly eat something good? Your health is this poor.”
“As for the card issue, mom told me it was for your mom’s medical expenses. I checked your account; you haven’t spent anything.”
“Don’t you have a mouth? Why didn’t you explain it to me?”
“And about your knee injury, why is it getting worse…”
I raised an eyebrow at her, finding it ironic.
Wasn’t it her who told Asher to make me kneel for an hour every day?
Now she asks why the injury is worsening?
This woman is really fickle.
As for explaining…
Haven’t I explained enough over the years?
Back when Lydia wanted to torment me, she reduced my living expenses to 150 a month, only allowing me to spend five a day. Vera couldn’t stand it and often secretly gave me money for extra meals.
But when Lydia found out, she was furious.
She said I was deliberately angering her because I was eating so well despite her rules.
I tried to explain to Lydia, but she never gave me the chance, locking me in the storage room despite my claustrophobia, cutting off my food and water for a week, forcing me to write self-reflections and think over my actions.
There were several past conflicts with Asher, where Lydia blatantly sided with him.
Asher claimed I deliberately caused a car accident to drive away Wenyan, and Lydia believed it. To punish me, she aborted our child despite my protests, saying a malicious schemer like me didn’t deserve to have a child, didn’t deserve a family.
And when Asher tried to drive me away by faking a drowning incident in front of Lydia, he later framed me for pushing him.
I repeatedly explained to Lydia, swore it wasn’t me, but she accused me of trying to justify myself, ordering people to dunk me in the cold sea for three hours, saying all the pain Asher suffered had to be inflicted on me until I passed out…
All these years, Lydia never believed me, not once.
She trusted Asher enough to share the safe’s password but always assumed the worst about me, her husband.
Seeing me silent, Lydia thought I was still worried about my mom’s illness. She sighed:
“Jude, don’t worry too much about your mom’s illness. I’m still looking for a heart match. I’ll make sure Auntie recovers.”
I lowered my gaze, clenching my fist, feeling a pang of bitterness.
But…
My mom’s gone. She doesn’t need a heart anymore.
I was about to speak about my mom.
Lydia looked up at me and tentatively said:
“By the way, the traffic police issued a notice. Asher’s drunk driving might lead to his license being revoked.”
Seeing my silence, Lydia assumed I was still concerned about my mother’s illness. She sighed:
“Jude, you shouldn’t worry too much about your mother’s condition. I’m still searching for a heart; I promise to help Auntie get better.”
I lowered my gaze, clenching my fists as a wave of bitterness washed over me.
But…
My mom is gone, and she no longer needs a heart.
I was about to mention my mom when Lydia glanced at me again and cautiously spoke:
“By the way, the traffic police have issued a notice. It seems Asher might have his driver’s license revoked for drunk driving.”
“Jude, you know Asher worked hard for three years to get that driver’s license. He can’t afford to have it revoked.”
“Anyway, you have a driver’s license but no car. Why don’t you take the blame for him? If you agree, I can give you 300,000 as compensation.”
300,000?
I found it incredibly amusing, and a chill ran through me.
One of Asher’s ties costs 3 million.
After seven years of marriage, am I worth less than one of Asher’s ties?
I must have lived too poorly.
Besides, it was because of this car accident that my mom died.
And Lydia wants me to take the fall for Asher, the main culprit?
My gaze turned cold as I pushed away the porridge Lydia offered:
“I refuse. I won’t help with this, so give up.”
After I rejected her, a cold glint flashed in Lydia’s eyes.
“Jude, why won’t you help? Are you deliberately targeting Asher?”
“Besides, it’s just taking the blame, and I’m even offering you money. Is it really that big of a deal?”
“Or… do you think 300,000 isn’t enough?”
Listening to Lydia’s absurd reasoning left me speechless.
But my silence seemed to Lydia like an agreement.
Her gaze grew even colder, with a hint of disdain, as if she had seen through my intentions.
“Jude, I thought you had learned your lesson, but you still can’t change your greedy nature!”
“In the end, it’s all about money. I guess you’re just obsessed with it!”
After scolding me, Lydia raised her chin, acting like she was doing me a favor.
“Tell me, how much do you want to agree to take the blame?”
So, this is how Lydia thinks of me?
After seven years of marriage, no matter how sincerely I treated her, even if I was willing to eat dog food for her, even if I acted as a scapegoat to help her move on from a breakup, even if I tolerated her tantrums and unreasonable behavior.
No matter how much I did, I couldn’t warm her heart.
When facing me, her heart remained as cold and hard as ice. In her eyes, I was just a greedy, malicious, calculating person.
She thought I was only with her for the money.
But she didn’t consider that if I were truly after money, I would have left as soon as she moved on from her shadow.
Instead of staying with her year after year…
Suddenly, it felt like a heavy stone pressed on my chest, and I felt exhausted.
Perhaps two incompatible people shouldn’t be together. Maybe our marriage was a mistake from the start.
I exhaled deeply, looked at Lydia, and spoke calmly:
“Lydia, let’s break up.”