Adam responded impatiently, "I know, alright? This time, it’s my fault. I’ll be more careful."

Clenching my fists tightly, I wiped away my tears and quietly returned to my room.

Just as I had lain down, my parents walked in. Seeing how flustered they were, my eyes immediately turned red with emotion. "Mom, why are you here?"

"We couldn’t reach you on the phone, and when we heard there was a typhoon, along with reports of power and water outages, we got worried and rushed back overnight. We’d just arrived when we got a call from your mother-in-law, saying you’d been in an accident.

"Thank goodness my precious daughter is safe and sound!"

Hearing my mom’s comforting words and seeing their anxious expressions, I could no longer hold back. I threw myself into their arms and burst into tears.

"Mom!"

My mom patted my back gently, trying to soothe me. "It’s alright, sweetie. Take care of yourself. You're still young; you'll have other opportunities to have a child.”

However, my dad frowned deeply. "How could their family leave you alone like this? And where is Adam?"

Sniffling, I remembered the conversation I’d overheard earlier. I told them everything that had happened.

My dad was livid. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to storm off. "That little brat! I’m not letting him get away with this!"

My mom quickly stopped him. "Calm down! Don’t act so rashly!"

"Rashly? My daughter has suffered so much, and that brat still dares to treat her like this? I’ll make him pay for it!"

"Dealing with him is one thing," my mom said firmly. "Right now, we need to think about how to handle this situation properly. Mona, what do you want to do?"

My dad turned to look at me, his anger simmering just beneath the surface.

I took a deep breath, steadying my emotions.

After a moment of thought, I shook my head. "I don’t want to stay with him anymore."

Initially, I thought my in-laws were decent people, but after overhearing their conversation, I realized they never truly respected me.

If that was the case, there was nothing worth holding onto.

Hearing my decision, my dad nodded firmly. "Alright. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll file for divorce. There are plenty of men in this world. My daughter doesn’t need to put up with this kind of treatment!"

Just as he finished speaking, Adam and his family walked in.

When Adam saw my parents, he froze for a moment. "Dad, Mom, you're here."

"Don’t call us that," my dad replied curtly.

Adam was immediately at a loss for words. Realizing he was in the wrong, he lowered his head and apologized. "It’s my fault. I was wrong."

"Who are we to accept your apology?"

My mom took the food from Adam and placed it on the bedside table.

Then she turned to him and said, "You can leave now. You’ve spent plenty of time with your precious childhood sweetheart. You two clearly have feelings for each other. Go back and make it up to her. Once my daughter is discharged, she’s filing for divorce."

This statement instantly set my mother-in-law off. "What kind of talk is that? These kids are doing just fine! It’s nothing serious! It’s because Mona’s health is too poor. Otherwise…”

"You’re blaming my daughter’s health? Why not blame your son’s shortcomings?" my mom snapped, raising her voice.

"What kind of husband leaves his pregnant wife in the middle of the night, knowing she’s at risk of a miscarriage, to take care of another woman? Go on, explain what kind of family values taught him that!"

The hospital room door was wide open, and suddenly curious onlookers from nearby rooms all poked their heads out to watch.

Adam’s face turned pale with embarrassment.

My mom had once been a local council leader, and her commanding voice was as sharp and authoritative as ever. She laid everything out with crystal-clear logic, leaving no room for Adam to refute, while airing all his dirty laundry for everyone to hear.

Panicked, my mother-in-law immediately tried to appease her. "Please, have mercy. Give us some grace. I really didn’t expect this boy to pull such a ridiculous stunt. I already slapped him, see?"

Sure enough, there was a handprint on Adam’s face.

My dad scoffed coldly. "And he deserved every bit of it. My daughter doesn’t need to see any of you for the next few days. Every time she looks at you, her anger flares up. Don’t affect her recovery with your presence."

Adam’s face turned dark, and he couldn’t muster a word in front of my parents. It seemed he finally realized how badly he had messed up.

Later, he texted me, apologizing and admitting his mistakes.

I didn’t bother to reply.

Instead, I reached out to a trusted lawyer friend, asking them to handle everything regarding the divorce.

I wanted a clean break.

Since he clearly couldn’t let go of her, I would step aside.

There was no need to stay where I wasn’t respected.

But Judy didn’t sit still. The very next day, she came to provoke me.

"Mona, I know it’s hard losing a baby," she said with feigned concern. "Take care of yourself, okay? After all, now that the baby’s gone, Adam won’t want you anymore. Why not step aside and stop holding onto something that’s not yours?"

Her words made my blood boil. Furious, I slapped her hard across the face.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she whimpered, "Mona!"

Adam burst into the room at that moment. "Mona! That’s too much! She came here out of kindness, and you hit her? If you’re angry, take it out on me!"

"Fine. I’ll take it out on you right now!"

After two days of recovery, I felt strong enough to swing my arm and slap Adam across the face. His cheek instantly swelled.

Just then, my mom walked in, and without missing a beat, she hurled the cup of honey water in her hand straight at him.

Judy screamed as the cup shattered near her.

"You shameless pair! Get out!"

My dad joined in, and the two of them sent Adam and Judy fleeing in disarray.

Judy never showed up again, though Adam sent me a few text messages, barking like a dog.

I ignored him.

A week later, when I was discharged and returned home, I was stunned the moment I stepped inside. My mom was equally dumbfounded. "Was your house robbed? Where’s the window?"

The typhoon had long passed, but my living room was still soaked. The massive window was completely gone, leaving only the curtains swaying in the breeze.

And the dust on the floor told the story: Adam hadn’t been home all week.

I pulled out my phone to check his location. He was in the same neighborhood but not at our house.

Seeing this, my fists clenched.

I called him, and after several rings, he finally picked up.

"Where are you?"

"I—I’m home.”

"Home? Adam Quinn, you’ve got some nerve."

I hung up immediately, stormed into the bedroom, and started packing my things.

Then I sent him the divorce papers.

Adam panicked and called me back right away. "Mona, what’s the meaning of this? You’re divorcing me over something so trivial?"

"Trivial? Losing my baby is trivial? Then what counts as serious?"

"Oh, I get it," I continued, bitter laughter escaping me. "Judy catching a cold—that’s serious, isn’t it? During the typhoon, when the window was ripped out, when I was alone and vulnerable, you disappeared for a week. Your phone’s GPS shows you’ve been at building 28 this whole time.

"Adam, if you’d just told me you didn’t love me anymore, at least I could respect you for being honest. That would’ve been manly."

Adam stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

From the other end of the line, Judy’s voice chimed in, “Mona, don’t be mad…”

"Shut your mouth! You knew he was married and still threw yourself at him! Shameless! Maybe I should make a banner with your name on it and send it to your parents. Let them see what kind of daughter they raised!"

She froze in stunned silence before letting out a shrill scream. I didn’t care and hung up immediately. Grabbing my things, I went straight back to my parents’ house.

Although we both lived in the same city, my family was on the west side, while Adam’s was on the east.

Once we got home, my parents were beside themselves with worry and fury, cursing Adam relentlessly.

"If I’d known what he was like, I would never have let you marry him!"

"Dad, let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s my fault for misjudging him. We’ll just find someone better next time."

I comforted my dad as he sighed heavily, the anger giving way to heartache.

I knew he felt sorry for me.

But Adam was like a thorn embedded in my flesh, leeching my energy and life. If I didn’t rip it out, it would only continue to fester, draining me until I withered completely.

This time, I was determined to divorce him. But Adam refused to agree.

He tried coming to see me, but I wouldn’t meet him.

Instead, I only dealt with him over the phone.

"Have you reviewed the divorce agreement? Do you have any issues with the property division?"

"I’m not signing it. Mona, don’t be so heartless. We dated for a year, and we’ve been married for two. Now you want to divorce? You’re treating marriage like it’s a game! Is this what it means to you?"

He actually had the nerve to accuse me?

I let out a laugh. "That’s rich coming from you. Maybe you should be asking yourself that question. What does marriage mean to you? You want it all, don’t you? You can’t let go of your childhood sweetheart, but you still came after me. Why bother? If you won’t agree to the divorce, I’ll take it to court."

I hung up without waiting for a reply.

Furious, Adam sent me a flurry of text messages.

“Mona Thomas, do you really think you’re blameless? You’re divorcing me over something so trivial. When you were pregnant, the doctor warned you to cut back on work and rest because of the risk of miscarriage, but you wouldn’t listen!

“And now that you’ve lost the baby, you’re blaming me? As a mother, don’t you think you bear some responsibility too?”

Reading those words felt like a knife to my chest. The pain was suffocating. I couldn’t believe he actually thought of me this way.

I took a deep breath and saved every single message. If that was how he wanted to play it, there was no need for me to hold back anymore.

But now wasn’t the time. Because of my physical condition, my parents insisted I stay home and recover for a full month before leaving the house. So, I wasn’t in any rush to confront him yet.

Meanwhile, Adam and his precious Judy continued their little flirtations.

Judy even made a habit of "sharing" their sweet memories with me, sending me intimate photos of the two of them together without a shred of shame.

I saved every single one of those photos.

I hadn’t returned to the house we once shared, but I’d left the security cameras installed before I moved out. Those were still running.