Chapter 4

Scarlett's desperate juggling of debts, robbing Peter to pay Paul, finally defaulted.

Scarlett was frantic, pacing back and forth. The moment I heard the news, I rushed to her place with Mom and Dad.

Entering the apartment, I saw Scarlett's mother-in-law, Eleanor, sitting in the living room, seething with indignation.

"You've finally arrived! Look at this huge mess Scarlett has brought upon our family! How are we going to fix this?"

I walked into the bedroom to see Scarlett.

Her eyes were red and swollen as she sat on the edge of the bed. Scattered glass shards lay on the floor nearby.

Clearly, there had just been a fierce argument.

"Scarlett, what happened? Why is there so much broken glass on the floor?"

Scarlett looked at me, then glanced towards the door. "David threw it..."

"Why? Because of the debt? Weren't you doing all this for him?"

"Ugh, it's all because Mom and Dad called David's mom over. David and I had a huge fight!"

In my previous life, by this point, she would have already convinced Mom to steal my identity.

Then, she would have used the borrowed money to pay off the debt.

But I would be the one to suffer the bitter consequences of the unpaid debt.

I turned and walked out of the room, pointing angrily at David. "David, if it weren't for you, would Scarlett be drowning in all this toxic debt? How could you argue with her and even smash a glass?"

Mom jumped up in alarm. "What toxic debt? You said the company was just having cash flow problems, David! What's going on?"

David watched Mom freak out and just threw caution to the wind. "Running a company is never smooth sailing! Scarlett voluntarily took out loans to keep my company running!"

His mother, Eleanor, added fuel to the fire.

"Those were all Scarlett's unilateral, voluntary actions! They have nothing to do with my son!"

"Don't even think about it!" I shouted. "Debts incurred during marriage are considered joint marital debts, David. I don't need to explain this, do I?"

To my surprise, David didn't flinch at all. "That's true, but most of the debt Scarlett accumulated was before we got married. As for the post-marriage portion, half of the $300,000, my mom and I will figure it out."

I truly hadn't realized my sister was so utterly blinded by love, borrowing money even before marriage. "Son-in-law, I need to discuss what you've said with Scarlett's father! We'll come back tomorrow!"

With that, Mom gave me a look and pulled Dad out the door.

She didn't even step back into the room to see Scarlett.

Mom's reaction was both expected and unexpected.

It turned out they didn't really love me. In the face of their own interests, they loved no one.