Chapter 2
In my previous life, when I painfully walked into the law firm, hoping to claim a share of the property as Marcus’s wife, they told me we had divorced just days before the car accident.
Later, when I wanted to have children, Marcus kept refusing. I guess he was afraid I would discover this fact.
Clearly struck by my words, Marcus’s face turned pale for a moment.
But he was certain I couldn’t produce any evidence right now, so he continued to deny it: “What nonsense are you talking about? Rachel, is it because you see that my legs are injured, so you want to abandon me?”
“How can you be so heartless? Have you forgotten all I’ve done for you? We’ve been married for six years. During this time, I’ve brought you lunch every day because I was worried about your stomach. Three years ago, when your health was poor, I went to the temple to pray for you for three months, reciting scriptures and eating vegetarian food every day…”
Marcus choked up, tears streaming down his face.
We had met through a matchmaker and got together because our views aligned. It wasn’t a passionate love, but after spending time together, feelings naturally developed.
Over the years, I had taken on the responsibilities of our family, and he had indeed taken good care of me.
But later I found out about Olivia’s existence. When he brought me lunch, he would first deliver a portion to Olivia. The gifts he bought for me, he would inflate the price, then use the extra money to buy something better for Olivia.
As for going to the temple to pray for three months…
I sneered inwardly, guessing that was probably when Olivia gave birth to their child.
Unfortunately, all these years, in order to provide the luxurious life he wanted - the mansion, the luxury cars - I had been so busy earning money that I had left this opening for them to exploit.
Olivia also tried to smooth things over for Marcus: “Rachel, don’t let this situation escalate because of me. I know you might be worried about the future expenses, so you’re a bit reluctant to part with the money. It’s okay, I didn’t save Marcus for money anyway. Actually, I don’t need the money…”
She pretended to be generous.
I knew she was trying to provoke me, but I didn’t fall for it. Instead, I said to Marcus, “See? She says she doesn’t need the money. Why are you insisting on giving it to her? Is the money burning a hole in your pocket?”
Marcus’s face turned purple with rage.
Olivia also glared at me resentfully.
Just then, the doctor came in, urging us to pay the continued hospitalization fees.
Actually, Marcus had already met the standards for discharge, but he had been reluctant to leave. In my previous life, he had me pay for two more months of hospitalization.
A week’s stay in a private room at this top-tier hospital cost $7,000, just for the room.
He said he wanted a better treatment environment, and I supported him, struggling to earn money to give him the best conditions. But later I found out that he stayed in the hospital just to make it easier to meet Olivia.
Hearing about the hospital fees, the two exchanged a glance, and Marcus coldly said to me, “Rachel, I don’t know why you’ve become so stingy, but we can’t delay the treatment. Aren’t you always busy? Just transfer the hospital fees to my card, and I’ll pay it myself.”
Asking for money so brazenly?
I laughed bitterly and asked the doctor, “I remember he’s already met the discharge standards. Let’s cancel this room and process the discharge today.”
Marcus’s eyes widened: “Rachel, are you trying to kill me? What if my legs get worse at home?”
Before I could speak, the doctor interjected, “That won’t happen. The critical period has passed. Staying at home now is the same as staying in the hospital.”
Marcus’s face turned ashen.
Olivia was about to say something, but I spoke to Marcus first: “I don’t have money for you to stay in the hospital anymore. If you insist on staying, either pay for it yourself or borrow from her.”
I pointed at Olivia: “Didn’t she just say she has money?”
Their faces looked as if they had eaten something bitter, but I didn’t bother with them anymore. I turned and walked out of the room.
I didn’t have time to argue with them. Right now, I urgently needed to get evidence that Marcus’s car accident had nothing to do with me, as well as proof that he and Olivia had been together for a long time. This would help me keep all my assets if we ever ended up in court.
After all these years of hard work, I could let the past go.
But now, even if Marcus took a single cent, I would feel disgusted.
After leaving the hospital, I immediately called a lawyer and asked him to investigate the accident vehicle from when Marcus had the accident.
In my previous life, I had noticed some suspicious details, but because I was taking care of Marcus, it was a long time before I had someone investigate. By then, the scene inside the car had been destroyed, and the dash cam was missing.
After a car accident, this kind of situation was quite normal.
Later, because I was busy earning money to pay for Marcus’s medical expenses, working three jobs a day, I simply didn’t have the energy to think about these things anymore.
This time, Olivia hadn’t been discharged yet, so she shouldn’t have had time to destroy the evidence.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the lawyer called back. The first accident scene hadn’t been tampered with. He had already collected fingerprints and obtained some hair and blood samples.
Finally, he sent me the video from the dash cam.
At the time of the accident, Marcus was sitting in the passenger seat, anxiously asking Olivia, “I’ve already divorced Rachel. When are you planning to marry me?”
Olivia was stunned for a moment, then carelessly said, “There’s no rush. Let’s talk about this after you’ve transferred all the assets to your name. Otherwise, what if your wife finds out?”
Marcus looked at her anxiously: “But you always say that. I’ve given you a car, and I’ve given you all the savings my wife entrusted to me for you to invest, which you lost completely. Every time you say you’ll marry me to thank me. You’re not… lying to me, not wanting to marry me, are you?”
“How could that be?” Olivia said, and as if to prove it, she leaned over to kiss Marcus.
With that one action, Marcus’s doubts were dispelled.
At this point, I also understood why Marcus had divorced me so early but had delayed marrying Olivia.
Olivia was clearly deceiving him, but he didn’t know.
Or perhaps he did know, but was willingly deceived.
The lawyer added, “The DNA test will take some time. It should be ready in about three days.”
I nodded and was about to hang up when I remembered another matter: “Also, help me find a child.”
By my calculations, their child should have been born by now, about three or four years old. Every weekend for the past couple of years, Marcus would find various excuses to go out alone in his wheelchair, probably to see the child.
I told the lawyer about the places Marcus frequently visited, then went to the hospital for a physical examination and froze all the assets in my name.
In this life, everything was just beginning. My body hadn’t suffered from heart failure caused by working three jobs non-stop, and not too many assets had been transferred away.
That night, for the first time, I “irresponsibly” went home alone. Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Marcus called me on his own initiative. Seeing the incoming call, I hung up directly.
As a result, not long after, I saw a post he made on Facebook.
It was a series of accusations against me, ending with how he had sacrificed so much for me, but now that he was injured for my sake, I was abandoning him.
To garner sympathy, he even posted the doctor’s diagnosis and a pitiful photo of himself sitting in a wheelchair, looking haggard.
But he didn’t notice that in the smooth metal armrest of the wheelchair, Olivia’s reflection was visible.
Perhaps to provoke me, in one of the photos, if you looked carefully, you could see that Olivia was kissing him in the reflection.
On one hand, he was asking me for money and cursing me, on the other hand, he was giving his love and money to another woman.
Marcus was playing everyone for fools.
The comment section was full of spectators, not one person noticing the cat in the picture.
Everyone was comforting him and using the vilest words to curse me as a scumbag.
I pretended not to see it and blocked Marcus.
The next two days went on as usual, but Marcus seemed to have gone crazy, cursing me every day and posting screenshots of me deleting him, accusing me of having a guilty conscience. Friends who didn’t know the whole story all spoke up for him, urging me to come back.
I didn’t explain, just waited until the third day when the test results came out.
To my delight, the lawyer had also helped me find their child.