Chapter 2
I then remembered Amanda wanted me back to massage Declan.
As soon as they spoke, the bodyguards pulled me away, raising the hammer and smashing the tombstone into pieces.
I tried to stop them, but my hands were held tightly, unable to move.
“No! Stop! I’ll go back with you!” I shouted desperately, urging them to stop.
Hearing this, they immediately put down the hammers, turned, and gestured for me to follow.
Upon returning, I didn’t see Amanda. The bodyguard beside me put away a stopwatch and said: “Son-in-law, you’re late. The young master wants you to kneel and pay respects around the ancestral hall a hundred times.”
Kneeling in the ancestral hall was a usual punishment Amanda used on me.
She hated me deeply but was concerned about rumors of the Mason Family abusing their son-in-law. She came up with the idea of making me kneel and pay respects daily, which could be seen as strict family tradition and filial piety of the son-in-law.
I didn’t want to stir up trouble in these last ten days, so I endured it, kneeling and paying respects to the Mason Family ancestors with every step.
On my 99th round, Amanda returned, accompanied by Declan.
Feigning surprise, Declan pointed at me and said: “They say kneeling sincerely is the only way it works. But Brother Asher is so perfunctory. Besides, he’s the Mason Family’s son-in-law. If word gets out that he’s disrespectful to ancestors, it could implicate you, Sister Amanda.”
Hearing this, Amanda frowned: “Do it again, kneel properly. Don’t disgrace the Mason Family.”
Following her words, I saw the smug look on Declan’s face as his long fingers pointed.
“What are you looking at? Hurry and kneel again!” Amanda took the teacup from a servant and threw it in front of me.
Enduring the sharp pain, I knelt, allowing the broken fragments to pierce my knees.
I silently recited, only seven days left. Once the debt is repaid, I can leave the Mason Family forever.
If I hadn’t signed an agreement not to tarnish the Mason Family’s reputation or bring shame to their name, I wouldn’t have endured Amanda’s abuse for seven years.
Initially, I thought this would be temporary. After some time, she’d let go of the impersonation incident. I never imagined kneeling would last seven long years.
Amanda’s resentment not only remained but turned into hatred. She blamed me for ruining her future.
A month after our wedding, she told me: “If I’m unhappy, you shouldn’t be happy either.”
She thought I married into the Mason Family for their wealth and public admiration, which made her despise me even more.
Moreover, she ordered everyone in the Mason household not to show me any respect or sympathy, letting others treat me like a slave. Over the years, I’ve been worn down, living worse than stray dogs passing by the Mason home.
Amanda’s male companions came and went, each bearing some resemblance to her childhood friend.
I knew she was reminding me of the impersonation incident.
Declan brought a bowl of rice dumplings to Amanda, and she affectionately said: “It’s so cold, yet you still cook. What if you catch a cold?”
Declan brushed the snow off her coat, smiling: “It’s not that cold. Try it and see if it’s sweet.”
As they moved, I saw Amanda’s face light up with a smile, saying it was sweet.
But she always hated sweet food, especially rice dumplings.
Once, to mend our relationship, I made her a bowl of rice dumplings. Without a word, she knocked over the boiling ceramic bowl.
Coldly, she said: “Asher, don’t assume you know my preferences. Remember your identity as an imposter!”
“Don’t let such cheap things appear in the Mason Family again; I find them dirty.”
Since then, no rice dumplings have appeared in the Mason Family kitchen.
After finishing my kneeling, I stood up, feeling the snow falling again. This time, it was colder and more piercing than ever. My consciousness was slipping.
When I woke up, Amanda stood by the bed, her voice cold: “Asher, you’ve grown bold, using self-harm as a tactic. Do you think I’ll let you off because of this? Keep dreaming.”
“It’s just kneeling in the ancestral hall; at most, your knees are injured. The wounds on your back and arms are unnecessary. Next time, make it more convincing.”
“I don’t want to see this cheap stuff in the Mason Family ever again. It’s beneath us.”
After that, not a single Rice Dumpling showed up in the Mason Family kitchen.
Once I rose from kneeling, I felt the snow falling again, colder and more biting than ever before. My consciousness began to fade.
When I came to, Amanda stood by my bed, her voice icy, “Asher, you’ve really gotten bold, haven’t you? Playing the victim card now? You think that’ll make me go easy on you? Keep dreaming.”
“Kneeling in the Ancestral Hall might hurt your knees, but the wounds on your back and arms are excessive. Next time, make it more convincing.”
All my injuries were because of her. If it weren’t for her orders, I wouldn’t have been beaten and scolded by other members of the Mason Family. Old wounds never healed before new ones appeared. It’s been like this for seven years, and yet she has the nerve to question me.
She thought she’d seen through my facade and sneered, “Asher, if you help me with something, I won’t make you kneel in the Ancestral Hall today.”
I looked up at her.
With a smile, she said, “The roads are slippery from the snow. Caspian accidentally hit someone. You need to take the blame for him. Just like before. You’ll be back in two days.”
I immediately thought of the day my sister died. I missed her last moments because I was covering for Declan.
And now she wants me to be Declan’s scapegoat again. It’s laughable.
I looked at her and said, “I’m not going.”
Amanda’s expression changed, and she said coldly, “Asher, this isn’t a discussion. I’m informing you. You owe me. Do you think being the Mason Family’s live-in son-in-law is an easy position?”
“I’ve already spread the news. Do you want the Mason Family to bear the stigma of covering up a crime? Asher, aren’t you always concerned about the Mason Family’s reputation?”
She said this and then walked out with her phone to make a call.
She always uses this pretext to make me take the fall for others, constantly threatening me with the Mason Family’s reputation.
Before long, Declan came in, smirking, “Who would’ve thought, the Mason Family’s son-in-law, looking so polished on the outside, is actually a miserable wretch behind closed doors.”
“You’re wasting this status. Why not give it to me? Amanda never loved you anyway. Why hold on?”
“I heard you’ve lived worse than a dog in the Mason Family these years. Kneeling in the Ancestral Hall daily is one thing, but even at night, you have to fight for a place to sleep. You’ve covered for her for so many years. Has she ever smiled at you?”
Declan wasn’t wrong; my life in the Mason Family was indeed worse than a dog’s.
Though I carried the title of son-in-law, no one in the Mason Family recognized me as such. Behind my back, they spoke ill of me and even cursed me to die miserably.
They all said I was a parasite, one you couldn’t shake off once attached.
They believed that even being under the same roof with me would bring bad luck, so they didn’t even want to say a word to me. Often, they preferred to call Declan the son-in-law.
Declan saw my silence as agreement and laughed, “Asher, you should thank me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten rid of your sickly sister.”
I grabbed him and asked, “What do you mean?”
He laughed, “Asher, you think your sister died because her illness worsened? That’s not it.”
I lost control and grabbed his collar, scaring him into screaming, which alerted Amanda outside. She came in and slapped me hard.
She pushed me heavily to the ground, and I felt a sharp pain in my waist. But the residual anesthesia numbed my senses.
Declan deliberately fell and shouted, “Amanda, don’t blame him. It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for my face, he wouldn’t have done this…”
I struggled to get up, wanting to explain, but the pain in my back overwhelmed me, leaving me speechless.
Amanda carefully helped Declan up, looking at the red marks on his neck. She called the bodyguards outside with a stern face.
She knelt down in front of me and said coldly, “Didn’t the Butler tell you? The Mason Family tradition forbids jealousy.”
“Seems like you’ve forgotten the Mason Family rules. Let me help you remember.”
She signaled, and four bodyguards stood in line.
Amanda left the hospital room with Declan, throwing back a command at the door, “Break the hand that grabbed.”
I curled up in pain on the ground. The pain in my wrist was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.
I tried to get up, but a bodyguard stomped me down. In an instant, I heard the sound of bones breaking inside me.
Mrs. Mason burst in, yelling, “What are you doing! Stop it! Do you want to kill someone!”
But the bodyguards didn’t stop until my left hand was deformed, unrecognizable.
Mrs. Mason cradled me with a look of heartache and shouted at the Butler, “Where’s the doctor? Call a doctor!”
Seeing my body covered in bandages, with not a single unscathed spot, she couldn’t bear to look any longer. She turned away and said, “Amanda went too far this time. How could she do this to you? You’re her husband…”
Moments later, her expression changed. She looked at me and said, “Asher, you should go. There’s no need to wait for the remaining five days…”
As soon as those words left her mouth, the Butler placed my luggage in front of me.
I took the plane ticket Mrs. Mason handed me, and she advised, “I’ve packed a few things of your sister’s from when she was alive. Keep them as a memento.”
“I’ll explain to Amanda. Don’t worry about it. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”
I nodded as the professional medical staff took me away overnight.
Watching my departing figure, Mrs. Mason asked with regret, “Did I make a mistake? I shouldn’t have orchestrated this marriage.”
“Otherwise, Asher and Amanda wouldn’t have turned out this way…”
The Butler handed her a tissue, comforting her, “Madam, it’s not your fault. If you hadn’t been forced back then, I believe you wouldn’t have done this.”
Years ago, when Mrs. Mason lost her husband, just after the funeral, rumors of the Mason Group’s collapse spread.
With only the mother and daughter left in the Mason Family, everyone was watching them, waiting for their downfall. Just when Amanda was establishing herself as the leader, her fiancé ran off with money. How could Mrs. Mason just watch this happen? So, she devised a plan to switch grooms.
The Mason Family couldn’t become a laughingstock, so Mrs. Mason chose the newly arrived rehabilitation therapist, Asher.
In one night, Asher went from being a poor therapist to a wealthy family’s son-in-law.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Mason couldn’t help but regret, “I wronged Asher…”
A few days after Amanda disappeared, she looked at her phone’s empty notification bar. She refreshed it repeatedly, but there were no new messages from me.
In the past, after I got beaten, I’d always come to her to agree to her demands. But now, I hadn’t shown up.
She only asked me to cover for Declan. It wasn’t the first time. I couldn’t be avoiding her.
The thought made Amanda even more frustrated, and the bodyguards sent out to find me hadn’t reported back.
Declan, noticing her frustration, handed her a glass of her favorite wine, but she pushed it aside without a glance.
With no messages from me, her mind was restless, and this made her uneasy.
Unable to bear it any longer, she finally called me.
After a long wait, the cold voice from the receiver said the line was disconnected.
Frustrated, she smashed the wine glass on the table and headed back to the Mason Family.
Once there, she hurried upstairs. Seeing the familiar room decor, she sighed in relief.
She thought I was just playing my usual disappearing act.
In the past, my resistance to Amanda was to cut off contact, turn off my phone, and stay elsewhere for a few days before returning.
She assumed this time was no different.
Declan, worried, asked, “If he’s not here, what about the accident I caused?”
Amanda reassured him from the sofa, “Don’t worry. With Asher taking the fall, I’ll make sure you’re fine.”
“He can’t hide for long. Maybe he’ll come back on his own tomorrow, and then I’ll make him apologize to you.”
Just then, the Butler came in, casually dumping my belongings on the floor like trash.
At first, she didn’t care, thinking it was just some old clothes being discarded.
But when the Butler pulled out a toy bunny, the disdain in her eyes faded.
She frowned, “He’s giving up all this?”
The Butler nodded.
She sensed something was off. That toy was my most cherished item, caught by my sister herself. I never let anyone touch it, so how could I abandon it?
Doubt rose in Amanda’s mind, but she quickly suppressed it.
She frowned and asked, “Where did Asher go?”
Before the Butler could reply, Mrs. Mason came downstairs, holding a document.
Amanda’s unease intensified, though she didn’t realize she was holding her breath.
When Mrs. Mason handed her the divorce papers, she finally understood the source of her frustration.
Mrs. Mason said quietly, “These are the divorce papers Asher left you. He’s left the Mason Family for good.”
Could you provide the specific text you need translated? I’ll be happy to help once I have it.