My-Husband-Secretly-Married-Another-Woman-Chapter-3

Everyone was stunned.

Auntie Liu pulled me aside, “Yinghua, how will you manage alone with a child?”

Others chimed in, “Men make mistakes. As long as he repents, it’s fine.”

They only saw Zhenghao’s momentary lapse, not the lifetime of hardship I’d endured.

I looked Uncle Sun in the eye. “Uncle, after my father died, the job should have been mine. But since I married Zhenghao, he took it instead.”

“Now that we’re divorcing, and I’m left alone with our daughter, can the factory give me back the job?”

Uncle Sun thought for a moment, then nodded. “Don’t worry, Yinghua. I’ll handle it.”

Zhenghao panicked. “You’re used to staying at home. You don’t know how tough it is out there. It’s not a job for a woman. Let’s keep things as they were, I’ll send money home every month.”

Qiaohua agreed, “You’re just a country woman. What can you do in the city? It’s better to stay home and take his money.”

She was beautiful, especially in her wedding makeup. But I remembered how, in my previous life, they lived in a big house, drove a car, while my daughter and I scraped by, saving for months just to buy her a dress.

I didn’t want that life again.

I stood firm. “This job was my father’s legacy. It should be mine.”

Not only did I want my job back, I wanted every penny that was rightfully mine.

I pulled out a small notebook, where I’d recorded every household expense.

“These are all the expenses I’ve covered over the years. Zhenghao earned 180 yuan a month, but only sent home 20 yuan.”

“The daily expenses, social obligations, and even the medical bills for my in-laws, all of it came out of my pocket.”

“For example, when my mother-in-law fell ill this time, I had to borrow money from neighbors and Uncle Sun, altogether, it was 200 yuan.”

“In the past three years, I’ve spent a total of 1,560 yuan, shouldn’t Zhenghao pay me back for that?”

Li Zhenghao’s face grew darker by the second. Lin Qiaohua couldn’t take it anymore.

She snapped, “You’re just trying to squeeze money out of us for this divorce. How do we know your numbers are even real?”

I glanced at her coolly, my voice dripping with disdain. “Half of Zhenghao’s salary was mine to begin with. This isn’t your place to speak. I haven’t even brought up the fact that you wrecked my marriage. You’re the shameless mistress here how dare you argue with me?”

Qiaohua’s face turned ashen, and she fell silent.

I seized the moment and raised my voice, “If you refuse to pay, I’ll make sure everyone at your workplace knows you’re marrying a man who already has a wife. Let’s see how you hold your head up after that.”

With that, I started toward the stage, but Qiaohua’s parents quickly blocked my path.

They urged Zhenghao, “The guests are waiting for the ceremony. Settle this quickly.”

Zhenghao looked back, resentment in his eyes, but finally nodded, “Fine, fine, I’ll agree to everything.”

But he insisted he couldn’t come up with that much money on the spot and offered to write me an IOU to pay me back later.

I refused. “You’re throwing a wedding like this, don’t tell me you can’t scrape together a little cash.”

It was almost laughable, if I let him pay me back later, I’d never see that money again.

With gritted teeth, Qiaohua pulled out a wad of cash from her purse, counted out the bills, and slapped them on the table.

I picked up the money, no more, no less, exactly 1,560 yuan.

Turning to Auntie Liu and the others, I called out, “Everyone, you’ve all seen how this went down. Later, when we’re in front of my in-laws, I’ll need your help explaining everything. If Zhenghao says we were never legally married, then I, Lin Yinghua, must have spent all these years raising a child and caring for his parents for nothing”

The neighbors were stunned by my decisiveness.

Auntie Liu shot Zhenghao a glare. “Your mother’s still waiting for surgery in the hospital, and here you are, throwing a wedding. Some son you are”

Outside the restaurant, Uncle Sun comforted me, promising to discuss everything with the factory leadership and get me a fair outcome.

We’d been fighting all day and none of us had eaten. My stomach rumbled, and I suggested we grab some noodles at a roadside stall. But Auntie Liu and the others refused.

“You’re a single mother now. Life won’t be easy. You keep that money for yourself.”

“We came all this way to support you and your in-laws. One meal’s nothing. Let me treat you to noodles instead.”

I hesitated, feeling awkward.

Auntie Liu looked at me, puzzled. “Is there something else on your mind? Just say it, if I can help, I will.”

I looked at her meaningfully. “Auntie, when I tried to hold a funeral for Zhenghao, my in-laws did everything they could to stop me. When I wanted to come to the city to find him, they tried to block me again.”

“All these years, I’ve done everything for this family, but I can’t shake the feeling that my in-laws never really trusted me…”

My eyes reddened as I spoke.

The neighbors exchanged glances and quickly caught my drift.

“No wonder, when Zhenghao disappeared, his parents didn’t seem worried at all. People said they were old and confused, but maybe they knew the truth all along and just kept you in the dark.”

“Remember how your father-in-law didn’t want you to put up that funeral portrait. He got that letter from Zhenghao and didn’t even flinch.”

“That’s right, they must have known everything.”

Everyone started speaking up, promising to stand by me.

“Those two old foxes you worked yourself to the bone for their family, and they all ganged up to bully you.”

“Even if they don’t care about you, they should at least care about their granddaughter”

“Don’t worry, we’re with you. If they don’t do right by you, we’ll make sure they answer for it.”

When we entered the hospital room, I hadn’t even spoken before Auntie Liu started in on my in-laws.

“Mr. Li, did you know your son was marrying someone else in the city?”

My father-in-law, Li Mingfu, turned away, his eyes shifty. “Don’t talk nonsense. Zhenghao’s just under a lot of stress. He needed a few days away.”

Auntie Liu wouldn’t let up. “It’s not just me, there were a dozen of us who saw it with our own eyes. Are you calling all of us liars?”

“You tried to stop us from coming to the city. Was it because you already knew your son was getting married again?”

My mother-in-law, Wang Xiulan, lay in bed, her face pale with fear. “Impossible… How could it be such a coincidence?”

She realized her slip and quickly shut her mouth, but everyone had heard.

I couldn’t be bothered to keep up the charade. In front of everyone, I announced, “I’ve divorced Zhenghao. He took the job meant for my father, but the factory has agreed to give it back to me.”

Xiulan clutched her chest, speechless. Mingfu glared at me. “He’s your husband. how could you be so heartless?”

I shot back, “When you encouraged your son to marry someone else, did you forget he was my husband?”

Mingfu’s face turned red with anger, but he had nothing to say.

“After we got married, your whole family moved into my parents’ house. Now that we’re divorced, you’ll have to move out.”

Back in the village, I didn’t have to say a word.

News of Zhenghao’s city wedding spread like wildfire, even reaching neighboring villages.

My parents had left me a small brick house, one of the first built in the village. When they passed, Zhenghao’s family moved right in.

With Auntie Liu’s help, we gathered the women and young men of the village and quickly cleared out all of Zhenghao’s family’s belongings.

That night, I cooked braised pork. Sitting in my now empty house, I felt a peace I hadn’t known in two lifetimes.

Just as my daughter and I were enjoying our meal, there was a frantic knock at the door.

I settled my daughter and opened the door to find Mingfu pushing a cart with Xiulan lying on it.

He yelled, “Your mother-in-law is sick. How can you be so heartless, throwing us out? Didn’t your parents teach you to respect your elders?”

I laughed coldly. “My parents are long gone. This house is theirs, left to me. Your house is across the road don’t get lost.”

I tried to close the door, but Mingfu blocked it.

At that moment, Auntie Liu appeared, lantern in hand. She took one look and started shouting, “You two are shameless. Coming here in the middle of the night to sponge off your former daughter-in-law”

She yelled for the neighbors, “Come see. The old freeloaders are here to take advantage.”

Auntie Liu’s voice carried far in the night. Mingfu quickly pushed Xiulan away, humiliated.

Auntie Liu wasn’t done. “If you try this again, don’t blame me for what happens.”

Before leaving, she warned me, “Word is, Zhenghao’s new wife won’t pay for your mother-in-law’s hospital bills, so they checked out and came back. If they bother you again, just shout for me.”

I thanked her, feeling a bitter satisfaction.

For years, Mingfu and Xiulan had always taken the best food and drink for themselves, leaving scraps for my daughter. They claimed it was tradition.

Now, barely a day after Zhenghao’s wedding, they’d been kicked out of the hospital.

Serves them right.