Chapter 7

Chapter 7

My parents hadn't told me about Ethan's "blackmail," but my mother-in-law had let it slip—she'd been too eager to come and gloat in front of me.

My mother-in-law was a gossipy woman with no brain. She'd rushed to my place to show off, spilling the entire story about Ethan taking money from my parents. After finishing, she'd even bragged about how "capable" her son was.

Not only had he made a wealthy young lady like me work as their nanny for seven years—he'd even managed to get nearly a million yuan from my family when they finally split up.

She'd also said that her son wouldn't stop there, telling me to "wait and see"—that he'd make me regret asking for a divorce.

What she didn't know was that disaster was about to strike her.

Before long, the day of the court hearing arrived.

Ethan presented the judge with a pile of so-called "evidence" of my infidelity—some were photoshopped, while others were taken out of context, showing me having meals with friends.

Ethan claimed that since I was the one at fault for the breakdown of our marriage, I had to leave with nothing. He even demanded that I give him all the dowry money my parents had given me (which I hadn't spent yet) as "compensation for emotional damages."

Faced with Ethan's aggressive accusations, I said nothing. Only after he'd finished did I 冷笑 and catch him completely off guard.

First, I submitted all the evidence I'd collected of Ethan's infidelity to the judge.

This included the purchase contract for the apartment Ethan had secretly bought for his mistress, Luna Moore, as well as a recording of my conversation with Luna.

In the recording, Luna not only admitted that the baby in her belly was Ethan's—she'd also bragged to me about how well Ethan treated her, saying that he'd give her anything she wanted.

This evidence was more than enough to prove that Ethan had cheated on me—and even involved bigamy.

Second, I handed over the evidence of Ethan blackmailing my parents, as well as the photos he'd used to frame me (which he'd doctored to ruin my reputation).

In the end, with "irrefutable evidence" against him, Ethan lost everything. He was convicted of bigamy and sent to prison.

Furthermore, all the money Ethan had spent on Luna Moore was deemed part of our marital property—and was therefore recovered by law.

Ethan was completely stunned. He'd begged me to spare him, and when I said nothing, he'd started yelling insults at me.

I didn't say a word the entire time. After he'd finished yelling, I asked him, "Ethan Carter, did you ever love me? Why were you willing to have a child with someone else, but not with me?"

"Nora Bennett, I'll tell you the truth—I never loved you, not even for a second. The only reason I stayed with you was because your family was rich. That's it," Ethan snarled, his eyes red with anger.

"I thought your parents would let me work at their company and give me a good position since I'd married you. At the very least, I thought they wouldn't stand in my way.

But I never expected that marrying you would make them take away my right to choose. They spread the word in the industry, telling everyone not to hire me.

They held me back at every turn—all because they thought I had ulterior motives, afraid that I'd leave you once I became successful in my career. So they just cut off all my opportunities!

I was stuck working at a mediocre company, barely getting by! Nora Bennett, tell me—how could I ever love you? How could I ever let you have my child?"

I stood there silently, saying nothing more. After a long moment, we both went our separate ways—each to our own "fate."

Ethan knew exactly how much I'd sacrificed for this relationship, how humbly I'd loved him. My parents had never treated him badly—it was he who'd been too proud to accept the job they'd offered him, claiming it hurt his "male pride." His excuses were just lies he told himself to feel better.

When I walked out of the courthouse, I saw my mother-in-law sobbing uncontrollably upon hearing the verdict. The moment she saw me, she tried to rush over and hit me.

After the court staff stopped her, she started screaming insults at me. "Nora Bennett! What did our Qin family ever do to you? Why are you ruining my son like this?

You're the one who should be in jail—it's you!" Before she could finish speaking, she collapsed to the ground. My sister-in-law, seeing this, started screaming hysterically. The scene was a complete mess.

I glanced at them coldly and walked away without looking back.

Now that I no longer loved Ethan Carter, I didn't care whether these people lived or died.

A while later, a mutual friend of Ethan and mine told me what had happened next: Luna Moore had given birth to the baby, but my former mother-in-law had accidentally found out that the child wasn't Ethan's—it was from another man!

My former mother-in-law had gotten into a huge fight with Luna over this, but Luna had pushed her to the ground and walked away without looking back.

The shock and anger had given my former mother-in-law a stroke, and she'd been left paralyzed in bed.

Her paralysis had thrown the responsibility of taking care of her onto my former sister-in-law.

Overnight, their mother-daughter relationship had fallen apart.

My former sister-in-law had a low level of education, so she could only find a job as a hotel receptionist. She worked herself to exhaustion every day for a meager salary, and when she got home, she still had to take care of her paralyzed mother.

As the saying goes, "Even filial children grow tired of looking after a long-term invalid." Every day, my former sister-in-law would curse, "You old witch—why don't you just die already?"

When I heard this, I couldn't help but clap my hands in satisfaction! People say that heaven is watching—every action has its consequences.

What goes around comes around. No one can escape retribution. Their current suffering was nothing but karma.

As for me? After cutting ties with all of them, I'd started a new life. I wasn't the "useless trophy wife" Ethan had made me out to be.

With my own skills and hard work, I'd thrived in my career, achieving impressive results.

Looking back on this painful past, all I can say is: I want to use my own experience to tell everyone the truth: Women should never "marry down." The old idea of "matching social status for marriages" exists for a reason.

Girls, before you choose a partner, make sure you keep your eyes open. It's better to be single than to settle for someone wrong. Don't be like me—letting someone PUA you for seven years, being manipulated and exploited without even realizing it.

(The End)