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“Mother,why did you have to meddle?Now she wants a divorce!”
“Don’t worry,dear.That woman will never leave you.She can’t live without you.”
Their conversation just annoyed me.
It was filth in my ears.
When I reached my parents’home and saw their worried faces, tears I hadn’t realized were falling dripped onto my hands.
“Sweetheart,what happened?Did Edward hurt you?”
“If he dared,I’ll make him pay!”
My father’s stern,earnest expression told me he meant it.
Embraced in this long-lost familial warmth, I couldn't hold on anymore, sobbing uncontrollably.
I remembered my past life—Edward strangling me with a rope.
Even after death,my soul found no peace.
He spread lies,ruining my reputation.
The world reviled me—except my parents. They’d wept for three days, then died of grief.
Meanwhile,Edward and his new wife lived in harmony,praised as a perfect couple.
Few knew I’d funded his overseas education with my savings.
His first act after success? Killing the woman who made it possible.
My family became stepping stones for the Langleys.
It wouldn't be enough no matter how much I hated them?
I wanted to drink their blood,tear their flesh.
Snapping back before parents, I confessed everything.
Despite the era’s shift toward free marriage,women still faced heavy societal constraints.
A man seeking divorce was pitied while divorce stained a woman’s reputation that was tied to her family honor.
I needed my parents’support.
To my surprise, they didn’t object it.
My mother with tears in her eyes, hugged me tightly.
“My child,you’ve suffered.”
My father clenched his fists,growling,“I’ll make the Langleys pay!”
Just then, Edward arrived at our home—unusually, bearing gifts.
Seeing me,he dropped his usual arrogance.
“Grace,I swear I’ll never meet Sophia privately again.Are you satisfied now?”
“You’ve got to give me a way out.”
He sounded exasperated yet indulgent,as if I were the unreasonable one.
To outsiders,I’d seem like a petty shrew.
It was his usual trick,but I wouldn’t fall for it again.
“Am I a staircase vendor? Must I provide your ‘way out’?"
His mask slipped, as he retorted,
“Without my consent, you can’t divorce me.”
“Be good,and I’ll pretend you never said that.”
I knew why he was so desperate.
Soon, the ship for my overseas study would depart.
He’d used my dowry to fund his education abroad in my past life.
Now, with me demanding a divorce and my dowry back ,his penniless family couldn’t afford it anymore.
