Chapter 3

Seraphina's expression froze, and her body went rigid.

Arthur finally lost his temper.

"Liam! You're a beast!"

"Divorcing your wife over something like this? You're not a man!"

I shot Arthur a cold, contemptuous glance, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.

"You're a man, are you? If your wife cheated on you, could you stay with her?"

Brenda's finger trembled as she pointed at my nose, her voice cracking with rage.

"How is that the same thing?! Did Seraphina *want* this to happen?!"

I didn't answer Brenda, instead looking down at Seraphina, who stood before me.

Two months ago, in the early hours of the morning, Seraphina had stumbled home.

She looked utterly distraught, her stockings torn to shreds.

Her skirt hung crookedly around her waist, as if it might fall off at any moment.

I frantically asked her what had happened.

But she seemed not to see me, walking straight into the bathroom and locking the door, scrubbing her body repeatedly.

It wasn't until the next day, when her emotions had somewhat stabilized, that I learned she had been forced by her boss during overtime. She had fought desperately but to no avail.

I was furious, pulling Seraphina along to report it to the police.

But after countless washes, there was no bodily fluid evidence left on her.

The incident itself had occurred in the boss's office late that night.

And conveniently, the company's surveillance cameras were 'under maintenance' that night. Not a single piece of video evidence.

Ultimately, the police closed the case, saying there wasn't enough evidence.

Watching Seraphina, utterly distraught and drowning in tears every single day, broke my heart.

I stormed into her office and beat that bastard boss within an inch of his life.

That landed me seven days in a holding cell.

Now, two months have passed.

Only Seraphina and that boss truly know the whole truth of what happened.

A bitter, self-deprecating smile twisted my lips at the thought.

"Seraphina, why am I divorcing you?"

"Don't you know?"

Seraphina froze, a flicker of guilt in her eyes.

I took a step back, putting more distance between us.

"After it happened, I told you to stop working and rest at home. I told you I could support you and our family. But you refused, insisting on going to work every day, to face the very boss you called 'disgusting'."

I could practically *see* Seraphina exhale in relief. Then, as if on cue, she started crying pitifully again.

"We've only been married two years. The mortgage, the car payments, we need money for everything. How could I let you bear all that burden alone?"

"Liam, do you think I'm a disgrace? Do you think I'm bringing shame to our name by still going out and working?"

"But I'm doing it for you, for our family!"

I scoffed.

"What it's *really* for, you know deep down yourself."

Hearing the conversation between Seraphina and me, the relatives' outrage hit a boiling point.

"Liam! You can't even tell right from wrong! Seraphina has gone through such a terrible ordeal, and not only do you not care about her, you actually think she's shameful for working outside the home!"

"Isn't she doing it for you? She's going through all this agony, still dragging herself to work, facing that monster every day! Don't you think *she's* suffering more than you?!"

"I think *you're* the monster! You have no humanity!"

Arthur couldn't listen anymore. He grabbed Seraphina's hand, intending to lead her out.

"Come on! Let's go home with Dad and Mom! We have nothing to say to this animal!"

But Seraphina pulled her hand free from Arthur's grasp, her eyes brimming with tears, a picture of determined strength.

"It's okay, Dad. Liam and I are husband and wife. No matter what happens, I'll face it with him."

"Liam just hasn't thought things through yet. You two go home first; I'll talk to him. Don't worry about me."

Arthur's face was etched with anger and heartache for his daughter.

He seemed to want to say more, but faced with Seraphina's tear-streaked face, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to scold her.

Instead, he turned to me.

"Liam, let me tell you! You'd better think this through!"

"You're all alone in this world! If you divorce my daughter, what are you going to do? Who's going to stand by you then?"

With that, Arthur and Brenda, along with the other relatives, turned and left, not sparing me another glance.

Silence descended upon the living room.

I took a long look at Seraphina, then turned and went upstairs into the master bedroom.

The moment I entered the room, I locked the door and dialed my lawyer cousin Rachel.

"Rachel, any progress on what I asked you to investigate?"

Hearing Rachel's answer, a huge weight lifted off my chest.

"Good. The trial might be in a few days. I'm going to need your help."