Chapter 3
Before I could go find Marcus, on the third day, perhaps because he had no money to stay in the hospital, or perhaps because he sensed something was wrong, Marcus returned home early in the morning.
Behind him were his angry parents, Robert and Linda, as well as my parents, John and Mary.
Unlike Robert and Linda’s imperious manner, my parents followed behind them looking somewhat guilty.
“In-laws, judge for yourselves! Is this how she should treat my son?” Linda began as soon as she saw me.
“What’s even more unbelievable is that she secretly divorced my son without telling him, unilaterally dumping him!”
Linda’s spit flew as she yelled.
I realized what was happening and laughed bitterly.
Marcus had really turned things upside down.
But the civil affairs bureau records weren’t open to the public, so they had no way of knowing the truth and could only listen to what Marcus said.
My parents, feeling guilty, allowed themselves to be scolded. Finally, they said in a low voice, “We shouldn’t interfere in the children’s affairs, but since things have come to this, we can compensate.”
“Compensate?” Linda became even more agitated when she heard about compensation: “No matter how much you compensate, can you compensate for my son’s legs?”
I interrupted her: “Your son’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 lot of grief over the years. Especially after learning that Marcus’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 worried I would get angry, so they didn’t dare tell me about this. I only found out about it by accident later.
Seeing that Linda was about to lose her temper 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 said angrily, “How do I know you didn’t fake these?”
“You can check,” I looked at Marcus, 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 until now, said. “Both children are at fault in this matter, but divorcing without a word is still wrong. Let’s talk about 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 son married you for so many years, is this how you treat him?” Linda yelled.
I sneered: “I was also married to your son for so many years and supported him for so long. Isn’t this how he treated me?”
Linda’s face turned red with anger: “Just based on one video, you can’t prove my son had an affair.”
Seeing that I didn’t respond, Linda became more agitated. She stood up and went to open the door: “I’m not talking to this girl anymore. Let the neighbors judge.”
Her high-pitched voice had already attracted many neighbors to gather outside the door. Seeing her open the door, they all looked a bit embarrassed.
But Linda didn’t care. She recounted what had just happened, embellishing it with exaggerations, glossing over the evidence with a couple of dismissive sentences.
The neighbors listened and tried to mediate, saying to me, “It’s really not that serious, just a small matter. Marcus surely still cares for you in his heart.”
“Yeah, you’ve been husband and wife, there’s still affection there. Leaving him with nothing seems a bit harsh.”
“…”
Seeing me being pointed at and criticized, my mom felt uncomfortable and said, “In-laws, let’s discuss this in private.”
“Now you want to talk in private? Where were you earlier?” Linda suddenly pushed my mom.
My mom wasn’t prepared and stumbled, almost falling. I hurriedly supported her.
Just as I was about to get angry, a chubby little girl suddenly pushed through the crowd of onlookers and ran over.
She hugged Marcus’s legs in the wheelchair and shouted loudly, “Daddy, you haven’t come to see me for so long. I’m going to punish you by making you buy me a Barbie doll.”