Chapter 2

"Shut up!" Scott roared, suddenly raising his voice as disdain flared in his eyes. "Whitney, how could you be this vicious? My mom has been nothing but nice to you, and you just implied you wanted her to die. Where is your freaking conscience?" I gave a rueful smile. He was the one who destroyed Agatha's funeral today. Scott continued, "Here's the thing, Whitney. I'm not as heartless as you are. I would never destroy a young lady's career over a small mistake like this, even if this is my mom's funeral! "It's clear you're not going to sign the letter of understanding. I will make you pay the price!" After Scott said his piece, he left in a huff. A wry smile spread across my face as I cleaned up the mess at the funeral home. As I glanced at the wedding ring on my finger, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. It felt like I was trapped in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. Back when Scott asked my parents for my hand in marriage, he was young and broke. Mom didn't want him to feel like a charity case. So, she had him give her gifts worth ten thousand dollars. Not long after, however, she gave me the same amount in secret, telling me to keep it for our household. Over the years, Mom and Dad had constantly offered to help us out financially, and Scott had never turned them down. When our daughter, Danica, was born, Mom moved to a city she knew nothing about to help us raise Danica. She did it simply because she wanted to make things easier for us. Mom didn't care for smartphones, and she didn't have many friends here. Aside from looking after Danica, she loved buying various food ingredients and making easy-to-digest meals for Scott. "Scott has a weak stomach, and he's insanely busy at work. I have to do what I can for his health so he won't have any health complications down the road." Even so, Scott failed to see Mom's effort and sacrifices. Instead, he thought of her as a vicious old lady. I could never figure out how he turned out this way. The cremation had to be delayed. So, I arranged for Agatha's body to be stored in the funeral home's cooler. I left after everything was settled, and then it started pouring. I frantically got into my car and accidentally hit the dashcam. Then, a new video clip began playing. In the video, a man was sitting in the driver's seat with a half-dressed lady on his lap, riding him sensually. Amid rapid, ragged breaths, she turned around and waved tauntingly at the dashcam, her cheeks flushed. Surprisingly, it was Yvonne! I fought the unease twisting in my gut and forced myself to keep watching. At the next second, I trembled all over. While the man never revealed his face in the video, the tiny mole at the corner of his eye was exactly the same as Scott's. I immediately covered my lips, but I couldn't help but whimper in despair. In the cold, dark night, I curled up in the car, shaking with tears. As it turned out, this was the real reason Scott hated my family and me. He believed we hurt Yvonne, his precious lover. Meanwhile, I was the biggest obstacle to their love. I returned home in a daze but snapped out of it the moment I stepped into the stairwell. Crude graffiti covered my home, and countless skinned dead rats were hung over the door, their stinging stench sickening. My heart clenched when I thought of Mom and Danica. I was about to charge upstairs when the door cracked open just a sliver. Mom was holding Danica close to her chest as she peered from behind the door with fear and panic in her eyes. It felt like my world fell apart. When Mom saw me standing at the door, she anxiously pulled me inside, concern and worry etched across her face. "Are you okay, Whitney? What about Scott? How could this have happened?" Clearly, Scott had taken action. He must have tampered with the blood compatibility log, turning me into the heartless doctor that everyone knew to hate. I parted my lips, but I had no idea how to tell Mom the truth. In the end, I decided to hide it from her. "It'll be fine, Mom. Something unexpected happened at the hospital, but the public doesn't know the truth. Scott is handling it as we speak. He'll clear our name soon." I forced myself to smile, and Mom finally felt better. "That's great, then." Suddenly, something popped into her mind, and she sprinted into the kitchen. When she came out, there was a food container in her hand. "Scott has been very busy for the past few days, and I think he's feeling very stressed. He can be careless with his health, so I made him an easy-to-digest meal. Make sure you bring it to him tonight. He'll suffer if his stomach acts up again." Lowering my head, I hid the tears from Mom. As I reached out to take the food container from her, my hands couldn't help but tremble. I didn't know how to tell that her effort and sacrifices were worthless in Scott's eyes, let alone how much he actually hated her. Instead, I forced myself to smile as I spoke. "Mom, things have been getting complicated recently. Take Danica back to your hometown and wait for things to cool down here. I'll go over and get you guys once this blows over." At first, Mom was worried about me and didn't want to leave. When she saw the fear in Danica's eyes, however, she reluctantly nodded. After they left, I sat in the dimly lit room, clutching the divorce agreement. This time, I had made up my mind to go straight for the divorce.