Chapter 5
Mark Thompson, our longtime driver, dropped me off in front of the company building. The moment I stepped out of the car, a familiar voice rang out.
“Sister-in-law, no wonder you’d rather leave the marriage with nothing-you must have found someone else.”
Chloe Miller deliberately raised her voice so that everyone nearby turned to look. She put on a worried expression, furrowing her brows as though she were concerned for me. “Sister-in-law, when you married my brother, you said it was because you loved him-not our family’s money. Everyone at home thought you were a woman with strong self-respect, which is why we never gave you any allowance all these years.”
“But I didn’t expect that now, just because of a dress, you’d divorce him and then turn around and find some much older man. I’m so disappointed-you actually sold yourself for money.”
From the moment I got out of the car, I hadn’t said a single word. Yet she had already poured buckets of filth onto me. Every sentence was laced with insinuation, twisting the truth to paint me as an unfaithful wife.
At that moment, Daniel Brooks came rushing up, seizing my arm. “Come back with me. No matter what, you shouldn’t sink this low.”
I yanked my arm free, utterly baffled. “And who are you to control me?”
His ears flushed red. After a long pause, he forced out, “Even though we’ve signed the divorce papers, there’s still a mandatory separation period. Until it’s over, I’m still your legal
husband.”
“We’ve been married for years. I can’t just stand by and watch you throw yourself away. you come home with me now, I’ll forgive you.”
If
I looked at Daniel, then shifted my gaze to Chloe beside him. Her eyes were filled with guarded hostility.
A laugh burst out of me. “Since you insist on speaking to me as my husband, then let me ask you again: if only one of us can stay in the house-your sister or me-who do you choose?”
Daniel’s face darkened with rage. “Stop being unreasonable! Chloe is my sister. Why are you always suspicious? What could there possibly be between us?”
Right on cue, Chloe’s eyes filled with tears, her words dripping with wounded innocence. “Sister-in-law, I’ve lived with my brother for decades. If anything improper existed between us, how could he have ever married you?”
“We’re brother and sister! I know you like to compete with women, but I never thought you’d fall so far into obsession.”
Her words carried a heavy implication. The people watching began to whisper in disgust. “This woman is sick-competing with her husband’s sister? How twisted.”
“I once heard of someone who even competed with her own daughter for affection. These people must be crazy.”
Voices all around condemned me, branding me insane.
Meanwhile, others rushed to console Chloe.
“This has nothing to do with you, Chloe. Your sister-in-law is just unstable. Don’t take her
words to heart.”
“If you ask me, you should be tougher. You and Daniel are real family-you need to stand united. Honestly, you should’ve never let her marry into the family in the first place.”
“I’ve seen women like this before-shameless. After marriage, they not only drive their sister-in-law out of the house but also try to seize all the family property.”
“Didn’t you see? The man who dropped her off just now was old, driving a luxury car. She’s clearly just greedy for money.”
