Hannah Evans had an affair, and then she had the audacity to take my entire family to court.

I couldn't decide if she was outrageously stupid or just completely shameless!

——

One day, an old classmate of mine, Michael Scott, came to visit with his wife, Emily Scott. My wife, Hannah, and I welcomed them into our home.

During our casual conversation, they happened to mention their plans to buy another house this year.

The moment Hannah heard this, it was as if she'd been injected with adrenaline. She immediately perked up and asked, "So, how big are you thinking? What kind of layout? I'm a professional real estate agent, after all!"

Before Michael even had the chance to reply, Hannah jumped up and nudged me, "Move, move, let me sit with Michael. I'll talk to him properly."

Michael was sitting on a two-seater sofa with his wife, Emily. They were already taking up all the space, so there was no room for Hannah to sit.

Michael quickly waved his hand, "No need, you can just talk from there, it's the same."

But Hannah didn't care. She pulled me aside with a smirk and squeezed herself next to Michael, practically forcing her way in.

She and Emily ended up on either side of Michael, squishing him tightly in the middle.

Emily's expression changed immediately, though she held her tongue out of politeness.

"So, Michael, tell me—what size are you thinking? What kind of layout? I can give you some great recommendations," Hannah said, tilting her head and staring intently at Michael.

Michael instinctively glanced at me and, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, muttered, "We're looking for a three-bedroom, maybe..."

Hannah suddenly slapped Michael's thigh and exclaimed, "A three-bedroom is perfect! Not like our crappy two-bedroom. It's so small we can't even stretch our legs!"

Our home is just a regular two-bedroom apartment, one that my parents had bought years ago. They live in one room, and Hannah and I live in the other.

But before Hannah and I got married, when my Dad had agreed to fulfill her father's dying wish to take care of his daughter, my parents lived in one room, and Hannah had the other.

As soon as she moved in, my Dad kicked me out of the bedroom and made me sleep in the living room, giving the room to Hannah.

I spent over four years sleeping in the living room, with no privacy whatsoever, before my Dad finally pushed us into marriage. Only then did I move back into the bedroom.

I never expected that the house, which had sheltered her when she had nowhere else to go, had now become a "crappy two-bedroom" in her eyes.

The reason my Dad pushed for us to get married was so that Hannah could officially stay with us and not feel like an outsider in our home.

Back then, I was more educated than Hannah, had a better job, and made several times her salary. Marrying me wasn't exactly a step down for her.

I couldn't believe she could say something so hurtful.

"So, what's your overall budget? How much can you put down for a down payment?" Hannah asked.

Michael turned to glance at Emily before replying, "We haven't really calculated the full budget yet, but we can probably put down around four to five hundred thousand dollars."

"What? Four to five hundred thousand dollars?" Hannah gasped, her eyes widening as if she'd just won the lottery. Without thinking, she grabbed Michael's thigh again.

"Well, look at you, Michael! You're doing really well if you can put down five hundred thousand dollars just like that!" Hannah batted her eyes flirtatiously at him.

Emily and I both frowned at this.

"Well, it's just that the opportunity came along, and I made a bit of extra money," Michael chuckled awkwardly, glancing at me from time to time.

Hannah clicked her tongue in admiration. "Five hundred thousand dollars is just ‘extra money' to you now? You really are doing well! When you get the chance, you've got to help me out too!"

Michael nodded, "Of course, with the relationship I have with your husband, who else would I help?"

Hannah was overjoyed at this and immediately pulled out her phone, holding it up to Michael. "Look, these are some great developments and projects. If any of them catch your eye, I'll personally take you to see them!"

Michael was stunned. He hadn't expected Hannah to be so serious. He awkwardly took the phone and started scrolling, all the while sneaking glances at Emily and me.

"Hannah... maybe you should sit back down. It's hard for me to focus when we're all squeezed together like this," Michael said.

Emily chimed in at the right moment, trying to smooth things over, "Yeah, Hannah, why don't you sit back down? It's too cramped here. Michael can't really see properly like this. Let us take a good look, and who knows? We might actually find something we like!"

I felt incredibly awkward. They were being so direct that it was practically a slap in the face.

But Hannah seemed completely oblivious. She leaned back and said to Emily, "Oh, it's fine. I'll just sit here and watch him look. If he has any questions, I can explain things right away."

"But we're all so squished here that Michael can't even move his hands."

"Oh, come on! How about you go sit over there? Once we're done talking, you can come back!"

Emily tried to insist, but Hannah cut her off without a shred of shame. She was completely shameless in her attempt to push Emily aside so she could sit with Michael.

I was so embarrassed that I wanted the ground to swallow me whole!

"Hannah, come here! That's not your seat!" I said, fuming.

But Hannah ignored me entirely. She shot me a glance and said, "Why are you butting in? Can't you see I'm talking to Michael about real estate? How am I supposed to explain things if I sit over there?"

Saying this in front of Michael and Emily felt like a direct slap to my face.

I stood up abruptly, pointing at her and shouting, "I told you to come over here! Don't you have any shame? Is that where you're supposed to sit? Take your hands off him!"

Her hand was still resting on Michael's thigh.

Hannah swatted my hand away, not only unashamed but also yelling back at me, "What nonsense are you spouting? Is your mouth full of crap?

"And how am I shameless? You want to talk about shame? If you had any, you'd be earning some real money! Look at Michael, he makes half a million dollars in a year! What about you? A useless loser who has the nerve to argue with me?!"

I was earning at least ten thousand dollars a month, sometimes even twenty thousand dollars. She, on the other hand, couldn't make even five thousand dollars a month and always asked me or my Dad for money to buy clothes and makeup.

And it had to be designer brands. Even her underwear didn't cost less than two hundred dollars. She claimed it was because everyone in her office dressed that way so clients wouldn't look down on them.

What a load of nonsense! It was her vanity at work!

I couldn't understand how someone who couldn't earn five thousand dollars a month had the audacity to spend over ten thousand dollars.

"Well, say something! Why are you so quiet now, you worthless loser? All you're good for is arguing with me. If you're so capable, go earn more money!" Hannah taunted.

I wanted to slap her right there, but with Michael and Emily watching, I held back my anger.

"Shut up! I don't make any money? Where do you think the money comes from for all the clothes and makeup you buy every month?"

I was deliberately trying to control myself, but instead of making her stop, my restraint only emboldened her.

Hannah laughed coldly, "Oh, Matthew, you're really something, aren't you? You're going to throw it in my face for buying me clothes and makeup? You think if you don't buy them for me, no one else will?

"Let me tell you, there are plenty of men who would love to buy me makeup!"

Her words sent a rush of fury through me. I grabbed her by the collar. "What the hell do you mean by that? Are you seeing another man behind my back?!"

Seeing the argument escalate, Michael and Emily quickly jumped up to intervene, pulling us apart.

"Matthew Evans! What are you even saying? There's no way Hannah is seeing someone else. Just sit down and cool off!" Michael said, pushing me back.

Emily also tried to calm Hannah down, pulling her to sit.

I realized I might have overreacted and was about to let it go. But then, Hannah said something that made me want to kill her.

"So what if I'm seeing someone else? Look at how pathetic you are. You complain every time you buy me something. I must have been blind to agree to marry you!" she shouted.

I never imagined she'd dare say such a thing. My blood rushed to my head in an instant. "What the hell did you just say, Hannah? You dare cheat on me? Do you want to die?!"

Michael held me back with all his strength, trying to stop me from lunging at her.

But Hannah continued to taunt me, "Come on then! Yeah, I'm seeing other men, so what? If you've got the guts, kill me!"

"Hannah, enough! Stop talking like that!" Emily was also struggling to keep Hannah down.

I was shaking with rage, and I yelled at Michael, "Let me go! I'm going to kill her!"

"Hey, calm down!" Michael shouted back. "She's just saying it in anger! Don't do anything rash!"

Calm down? How could I calm down? I wanted to tear that vile woman apart!

Just then, the door opened. My parents were home from work.

They both worked overtime, even on weekends and holidays, just to ensure Hannah's so-called "quality of life."

Especially my Dad, who'd been diagnosed with cancer a year ago but still pushed himself to work. No matter how much I begged him to stop, he insisted that he'd promised Hannah's father on his deathbed to take care of her.

The moment my parents saw the scene in the living room, they panicked.

"What's going on here?" My mom rushed over to help Michael hold me back.

My Dad, meanwhile, went straight to check on Hannah, who was concerned. "Hannah, what's happening?"

Hannah sneered at him and said, "What's happening? Why don't you ask your son what's going on? He's trying to kill me! If you had come home a little later, I'd be dead by now!"

She burst into tears, and I had to admire her acting skills.

My Dad's face darkened instantly. He didn't even ask for an explanation; he just walked over and slapped me across the face.

"Are you lost your mind?" he shouted angrily.

I was stunned. Michael and Emily were stunned. No one expected this.

I stared at my Dad in disbelief. "Dad, you're not even going to ask what happened? It's not like Hannah said. You can ask Michael..."

"I don't care what happened. You don't ever hit Hannah!" My Dad cut me off, his voice booming with anger.

There it was again.

Ever since Hannah moved in, no matter what caused our arguments, my parents always took her side without question.

My voice trembled as I tried to explain, "Dad, I didn't hit her. She..."

My Dad completely ignored me and turned back to check on Hannah.

Seeing how things had escalated, Michael exchanged a glance with Emily, and the two quickly made their excuses and left.

After my mom saw them out, she went straight to the kitchen. My Dad stayed with Hannah, fussing over her without even glancing my way.

At dinner, neither of them said a word to me.

As for Hannah, they knocked on her door several times to call her to eat, but she just locked herself inside and ignored them.

I felt like an outsider in my own home.

That night, when I tried to go back to my room to sleep, Hannah kicked me out. She even threw my blanket out after me and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.

I wanted to barge in and slap her, but with my parents in the house, I had no choice but to swallow my anger and head to the living room.

In the middle of the night, I got so hungry that I couldn't stand it anymore. I went to the kitchen and reheated three tacos Michael had brought over earlier.

The tacos needed about ten minutes to warm up, so I went to the bathroom while I waited.

When I came back, I was furious to see that Hannah had taken a bite out of each taco and then thrown them all on the floor.

"What kind of disgusting tacos are these? They're terrible!" she said with a huff, slamming the pot lid down as she left the kitchen.

I snapped. Grabbing her by the arm, I yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you? Those were the tacos I heated for myself! You take one bite out of each and just throw them on the floor?!"

Hannah shouted back even louder, "What the hell is wrong with you?! If you want to eat, go ahead and eat! Did I stop you?"

"They're on the floor! How the hell am I supposed to eat them now?" I demanded.

She sneered, "Not my problem!"

That was it. My rage boiled over. I pushed her back, "I'm telling you right now, you're going to eat every one of those tacos off the floor, or this isn't over!"

Hannah was not only a reckless spender, but she also had a terrible habit of wasting things. I had to deal with her problem once and for all today!