Chapter 3
Before I could go find Ava, on the third day, perhaps because she had run out of money for the hospital stay, or maybe because she realized something was wrong, Ava returned home early in the morning. Behind her were her angry parents, Robert and Linda, as well as my parents, John and Mary. Unlike Robert and Linda’s imperious attitude, my parents followed behind them looking somewhat guilty. “In-laws, judge for yourselves! Is this how he should treat my daughter?” Linda ranted. “What’s even more unbelievable is that he secretly divorced my daughter without telling her! He just dumped her unilaterally!” As soon as we met, Linda was spitting mad, her saliva flying. I realized what was happening and laughed bitterly. Ava had really turned things upside down. But the civil affairs bureau’s records weren’t open to the public, so they had no way of knowing the truth and could only listen to what Ava said. My parents, feeling guilty, let themselves be scolded. Finally, they said in a low voice, “We shouldn’t interfere in the children’s affairs, but since it’s come to this, we can compensate.” “Compensate?” Linda became even more worked up when she heard about compensation: “No matter how much you compensate, can you give my daughter back her legs?” I interrupted her: “Your daughter’s leg injury has nothing to do with me.” Hearing this, my parents hurriedly pulled me aside, advising me not to argue with them. Linda had a fiery temper and had given my parents a hard time over the years. Especially after learning that Ava’s legs were injured because of me, they would come to my mom every few days demanding compensation and money for nutritional supplements. My parents were afraid of upsetting me, so they never told me about this. I only found out by accident later. Seeing that Linda was about to flare up again, I took out the dash cam recording and test results and handed them over. After watching the video, Linda’s previously haughty face finally weakened, but she still angrily said, “How do I know you didn’t fake these?” “You can verify them,” I looked at Ava, whose face was pale with shock. “Or we can go to court.” “Forget it, let’s not air our dirty laundry in public,” Robert, who had been silent for a long time, said. “Both kids are at fault in this matter, but divorcing without a word is still wrong. Let’s discuss compensation.” My parents were about to speak, but I stopped them: “We won’t pay a single cent in compensation.” “What do you mean? My daughter was married to you for so many years, and this is how you treat her?” Linda shouted. I sneered: “I was married to your daughter for so many years and supported her all that time. Isn’t this how she treated me?” Linda’s face turned red: “Just based on one video, you can’t prove my daughter had an affair.” Seeing that I didn’t respond, Linda became annoyed. She stood up and went to open the door: “I’m not talking to this young punk anymore. Let the neighbors judge!” Her high-pitched voice had already attracted many neighbors who were waiting outside the door. Seeing her open it, they all looked a bit embarrassed. But Linda didn’t care. She recounted what had just happened, embellishing it along the way, glossing over the evidence with just a couple of sentences. The neighbors listened and tried to mediate, saying to me: “It’s really not that serious, it’s just a small matter. Ava surely still cares for you in her heart.” “Yeah, you’re husband and wife after all. It seems a bit much to leave her with nothing.” “…” Seeing me being criticized, my mom felt uncomfortable. She quickly stepped forward and took Linda’s hand: “In-law, let’s discuss this privately.” “Now you want to talk privately? Where were you earlier?” Linda suddenly pushed my mom. My mom wasn’t prepared and stumbled, almost falling. I hurried to support her. Just as I was about to get angry, a chubby little boy pushed through the crowd of onlookers and ran over. He hugged Ava’s legs in the wheelchair and shouted loudly: “Mommy, you haven’t come to see me in so long. I’m going to punish you by making you buy me a Transformer toy!”