Chapter 3

3

The next morning, my mother-in-law showed up with a small army of aunts.

They sat in my living room like a panel of judges, surrounding me.

"Avery, what did our family ever do to you?"

My mother-in-law started wailing immediately.

"Silas is such a good boy, and you're driving him to the edge! Are you trying to kill him?"

An aunt chimed in. "Exactly. Avery, listen to me. A woman who is too strong-willed will never be happy."

Another aunt added, "Silas is a catch. You're throwing away your luck by being so difficult."

They took turns attacking me, one sentence after another.

Silas sat next to his mother, looking haggard and playing the victim.

In front of all the relatives, he walked over to me and spoke in a raspy voice.

"Avery, I thought about it all night."

"If you stay, I promise I'll never touch that game again. I'll tear down the gaming room myself."

"Please, just give me one more chance."

He sounded so sincere that the relatives were moved to tears, starting a new round of lecturing.

"See? He's willing to give up his hobby for you. Stop being so stubborn."

"He's giving you an out. Take it and stop acting like a child."

I looked at his lying face and felt like laughing.

I pulled out my phone and showed a photo.

It was from the day I had a 103-degree fever and collapsed. I had snapped it right before I passed out.

In the photo, my face was bright red, and I was slumped on the cold floor.

Through the crack of the closed gaming room door, neon lights were clearly visible.

"Is this him taking care of me? I was unconscious, and he didn't even check on me."

My mother-in-law glanced at the photo and shrugged.

"Everyone gets a little sick now and then."

"Silas was tired from work. He probably just didn't hear you. You're a grown woman; couldn't you have called an ambulance yourself?"

With one sentence, she dismissed his cold indifference.

In their eyes, my evidence was just proof that I was "dramatic."

Suddenly, my phone started buzzing incessantly.

It was the family group chat.

I opened it to find that Elara had just posted an audio clip.

It was my voice from the night before, saying, "It's none of your business," followed by her crying.

She had edited it perfectly to make me sound like a cruel, heartless woman bullying a poor widow.

The chat exploded with insults directed at me.

Silas saw that I was silent and thought I was wavering.

He grabbed my hand, pretending to be patient.

"Avery, you just don't understand the game. Come on, I'll show you. You'll see I'm not lying."

He tried to drag me toward the gaming room, his voice tinged with annoyance.

"Look, it's just code and graphics. It's not real. It's the only place where I feel like I've achieved something. Can't you at least try to understand that?"

I ripped my hand away and looked at him with icy eyes.

"I think it's disgusting."

My refusal was the final proof they needed of my "unreasonableness."

The last bit of patience vanished from Silas's face.

He looked at me with cold, hard disappointment.

"Avery, I gave you a chance."

"Since you're hell-bent on a divorce, fine. I agree."

His tone turned predatory, his eyes narrowing.

"But you're leaving with nothing. I'm keeping the son. You won't get a dime or the kid."

I looked at him and finally smiled.

The mask was finally off.

I didn't say a word. I went into my room and locked the door.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

"Hi, Mr. Vance? This is Avery. I'd like to move forward with the divorce filing."