My Alleged Husband

Who could have imagined that the person who was once the most heartless would end up like this today?

As time ticked by, Xia Jing waited and waited, yet there was still no reply from Old Master Zhang. A bad feeling crept into her heart. Could it be that the persuasion had failed? Or perhaps her husband’s attitude was too resolute, leaving her father-in-law with no options?

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. During these two days, Zhang Zhentian sat alone on the sofa, lost in thought. He pondered how he should decide, torn between his marriage and his guilt towards his father and his son. He didn’t know which choice to make, knowing that choosing one would be a blow or hurt the other. He didn’t want to see his loved ones suffer any more.

He could choose never to step foot into the Zhang Family’s house again, could choose never to disturb his and his son’s life again, could choose to leave forever. However, he couldn’t accept his wife hurting their son, hurting his father, and hurting himself in such a way.

In the end, he made a decision—he must divorce Xia Jing. He felt that as long as he stayed with Xia Jing for even one more day, the family could not find peace. If they continued to live together, the ones who would be hurt were his father, his son, and his future daughter-in-law. He didn’t want his family to suffer even a tiny bit more. A decade of blows and a decade of emotional voids couldn’t be easily remedied; he couldn’t let such senseless harm continue.

Today marked the third day that Xia Jing had been waiting at home. She finally received a call from her husband, but the result was beyond disappointing.

"Hello, Zhentian, have you finally figured it out and decided not to bring up the divorce anymore? Rest assured, as long as you stay with me and never mention divorce again, I will no longer make it difficult for our son. I won’t trouble that girl anymore, and I won’t prevent them from being together forever. Just as long as you don’t divorce me..."

"Are you bargaining with me?"

Xia Jing couldn’t understand why her husband’s first words were so cold. Could her father’s persuasion have really failed?

"Zhentian, what’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Why do you sound so strange today? You’ve never spoken to me this coldly before."

"Really? Then tell me, how did I used to talk to you? I remember my attitude towards you has always been the same. Was there anything different?" Zhang Zhentian asked Xia Jing in return.

Xia Jing was stumped by her husband’s question, unsure of how to respond.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? You’re usually so articulate, why can’t you speak today? Could it be you’ve done something to let me down?"

Xia Jing didn’t expect Zhang Zhentian to be so aggressive now. Could it really be because of this issue that he ended up like this? She didn’t think she had done anything too outrageous, so why did he see this matter as so grave? Not only did he want a divorce over it, but his words were cold and relentless.

"Zhentian, what’s wrong with you? Why are you speaking so strangely today? You never talked to me so aggressively before. What could have happened to make you treat me this way? Can’t we really go back to how we were?"

"Go back to the past, you say it so easily. Think about it; words, once spoken, are like water thrown out, can they be taken back? Your lies, one after another, are truly something I cannot accept. If you had chosen to confess to me rather than letting me discover your lies, I might have continued to forgive you. But you never chose to confess even once, yet I discovered your lies, and I didn’t want to expose them, because ripping off the mask would be unbearable!"

"Everyone makes mistakes, you know that. To err is human. So just because of my small mistakes, you want to treat me this way? Does it mean I hold no place in your heart anymore? Or have you already found a lover outside and are eager to divorce me to bring them home?" Xia Jing, provoked by Zhang Zhentian, spoke without thinking. She didn’t know what to do to salvage her hard-earned marriage; she truly realized her mistakes now, but Zhang Zhentian had no intention of giving her any chance to turn over a new leaf.

"Even now, you’re still falsely accusing me. Do you really want me to recount every lie you’ve ever told? There are so many things you should know in your heart. Let’s not mention the seriousness of your previous lies; just take our son’s matter, can you bear the result? Do you know the hurt you caused when you pushed that young girl off the cliff? Our son was so heartbroken he jumped off the cliff himself. Didn’t you know how much he loved her? When you threatened the girl’s parents, did you see the pain on our son’s face? Yet you showed no mercy and still broke them apart. Is this what a parent should do? Everyone says a mother’s love is greater than a father’s, but your "love" is too much for our son to bear, and even for me, your love has been a series of deceptions and hurts. You never consider us, your family members, you don’t know? Our son needs his parents’ companionship, I need genuine treatment from my wife, and my father needs filial piety from his daughter-in-law. None of these things have you provided!"

"So, you think I’m not sincere enough? With over a decade of marriage, can you really not feel my sincerity?" Xia Jing was unwilling to be accused by her husband of disloyalty and insincerity.

Zhang Zhentian found it quite laughable; even now, his wife showed no remorse and continued to argue unreasonably.

"Search your heart. Have you ever been truly honest with me all these years? Can you honestly say you haven’t hidden anything from me? Can you say you’ve told me everything? Actually, I know all the things you’ve done, but I chose to keep quiet. I didn’t want to hurt our marriage because we went through so much together to get here. I gave up so much for you, but what have you done for me? Let me tell you clearly, no matter who tries to persuade me, it won’t work. Pleading is useless. Accept my divorce agreement; it’s the only way you can get any alimony from me and chase after the freedom you desire. Otherwise, don’t blame me for taking it to court. You won’t just have legal responsibilities; you could go to jail for intentional harm..."

Zhang Zhentian abruptly ended the call. Xia Jing never imagined that her husband would be so ruthless, even threatening to take her to court and charge her with intentional harm.

Perhaps some things can only follow their own path, leaving others to speculate!