My sister-in-law was tricked by my wife’s assistant into going to a mountain village and was forced to marry a local man. When she finally found a moment to call me for help, she had already lost eight pregnancies.

On the phone, she told me that this time she was carrying a boy, but the birth wasn’t going well and she was bleeding heavily. The villagers refused to send her to the hospital and instead trusted in some old home remedy and they pressed her stomach with a rolling pin.

I anxiously asked her to tell me the address. But just right then, my wife grabbed the phone from me and smashed it on the floor.

“Are you done now, Yohan? Are you done trying to make your sister get a divorce? You keep interfering with her life and marriage. Do you have no morals at all?”

“If it weren’t for Kevin helping your sister get married, that nerd would’ve stayed single forever.”

That was when I realized that my wife always believed the woman who got tricked into the mountains was my real sister, not hers.

She took out thirty-five dollars from her pocket and threw it at me. “That’s the bride price they gave you. Take it and stop making trouble.”

I looked at the money on the ground and gave a bitter smile.

Then she held out her hand as she asked, “Don’t you know any manners? Where’s your family’s dowry?”

I looked at her with no expression and said, “You should be the one to prepare it.”

——

My words made my wife, Willa Thompson, furious. She looked at me with disgust as she replied, “Yohan, is your family trying to take advantage of me? Your sister is married and you expect me to pay for the dowry? Are you and your family beggars or what?”

“If you have that much time to argue with me, just call your father and tell him to get the money ready.”

“Let me tell you the truth, your sister wasn’t even the one they wanted. They just wanted someone healthy who could have children. If Kevin hadn’t worked to set this up, she would never have married.”

“You’d better send the dowry soon. If she gets mistreated at her husband’s house, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I stared at her cold gaze and that made me feel bitter. So, this was how she really saw my family.

Then, I asked her, “You haven’t talked to your sister in a long time, have you?”

Willa’s face suddenly went tense. She watched me carefully and snapped, “What are you trying to say? You want to go after Quincy now? I’m warning you, if you dare lay a finger on her, I will never forgive you.”

She even grabbed my collar and said through gritted teeth, “Don’t you ever talk about my sister again.”

I heard the rage in her voice and I laughed quietly.

Quincy was her younger sister, the only family she had in this world. She loved her like a precious treasure.

Once, when a man whistled at Quincy, Willa lost her temper. She took her bodyguards to that street and started a fight with anyone who looked wrong in her eyes.

Now, I couldn’t even imagine how she would feel if she found out her own sister had been tricked by her assistant, Kevin Lorenzo, into marrying a stranger in the mountain village.

I bent down to pick up my phone, but Willa stepped on it hard and crushed it with her heel.

I said coldly, “Willa, my sister just called me. She’s having a hard time giving birth right now and her life is in danger. We have to find a way to save her.”

She just replied without emotion, “It takes at least four hours to drive from the city to that village. If she can get through it, there’s no need to rush just to save her. If she can’t, well, calling for help now won’t change anything.”

Then she kicked my phone again and the pieces flew everywhere.

I held back my anger and said, “My sister grew up in the city and has never lived in a place like that. She can’t survive in a remote mountain village.”

“Marriage should be about love and equal standing. Letting her marry a random man from a random village is too irresponsible. Since Kevin knows where she is, we should go and bring her back.”

Willa gave me a cold look and said with disdain, “Do you think marriage is a game? Those villagers have their own principles. Once they’re married, it’s for life. The word divorce doesn’t even exist there. Even if you take her away, her husband’s family will find her and drag her back.”

“You’d better forget about it. Once she’s married into that mountain village, she’s never coming back.”

I said through clenched teeth, “Willa, if it were your sister, would you let her suffer like that for the rest of her life?”

She laughed. There was even a hint of satisfaction in her tone. “Too bad my sister didn’t marry there. Maybe that’s just fate. My sister deserves happiness forever.”

“Yohan, you’d better focus on preparing the dowry before her husband’s family starts complaining and mistreating your sister.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to give Kevin a small gift too. He worked really hard arranging this marriage for your sister.”

I looked straight into her eyes and said coldly, “You should ask Kevin where my sister really is and bring her back as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

Willa glanced at me and replied sharply, “I won’t allow you to bring her back and don’t bother Kevin again.”

I looked at her with a frown. “Why are you doing this? Did my family ever wrong you? Why hurt others for nothing?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she just gave a cold laugh and walked out the door.

I sat alone in the quiet house for a long time, thinking quietly. Then I sighed, went out and bought a new phone.

The first thing I did after getting it was calling my lawyer. “Help me prepare a divorce agreement.”

By the time everything was ready, it was already dark. I took the thin document and returned home.

Just as I reached the door, I heard voices inside.

It was my wife’s voice. “Did you close that deal, Kevin?”

Kevin sounded pleased and proud. “Yes. That family wanted a college graduate to improve their family line. I married off Yohan’s sister to them and they happily signed the contract.”

“Willa, I couldn’t have done it without your help. Without your support, I wouldn’t have gotten that piece of land.”

My wife laughed sweetly. “Good job. This is a big achievement. I’ll make sure you get a promotion and a raise. No one in the company will dare question it.”

I stood frozen at the door, feeling sick to my stomach.

Willa Thompson… You helped Kevin with his career by sacrificing my sister’s life? You were willing to ruin her future just for his promotion and raise?

Too bad, you didn’t know that the one you actually harmed was your own precious sister.

I pushed the door open hard and walked in.

There they were. Willa and Kevin were sitting together at the dining table, sharing a spoon as they ate cake.

The sight made me laugh coldly.

Willa never once kissed me since we got married. She always said she had a cleanliness obsession and couldn’t stand someone else’s saliva. But now, she was actually sharing a spoon with his assistant.

So, she could break her own rules, just for someone she truly loved.

When Kevin saw me, he instantly jumped up in panic.

His face turned pale as he said, “I won’t do it again, Mr. Frost. Please don’t hit me.”

Willa was surprised and quickly stood in front of Kevin to protect him. She glared at me and asked, “You hit Kevin?”

I answered her question calmly, “Yes, I did.”

A few months ago, when Kevin Lorenzo had just become my wife’s assistant, he came to our house as a guest. I never expected that he would secretly open my drawer, take out my late mother’s bracelet and tap it on the table just to hear what kind of sound it made.

I told him to put it down, but he carelessly tossed it back onto the table and cracked it. I was furious and ended up slapping him across the face.

If I explained what happened, Willa would understand. That was what I thought, but instead, she gave me a cold laugh and said, “You’re being so petty, Yohan. Your mother is dead. Why can’t the living use her things?”

Before I could say anything, she pulled open the drawer and threw all my mother’s belongings onto the floor.

I was so furious I nearly fainted as I rushed over to pick them up.

My wife, the woman who used to be so gentle and obedient before marriage, no longer had a trace of love for me.

She slapped me hard and shoved me so that I fell to the ground. My mother’s photo frame lay broken on the floor and my eyes turned red in an instant.

Then Kevin came over, pretending to help me up, but he “accidentally” stepped on my mother’s photo.

I pushed him away in anger, but then he fell on purpose and said pitifully, “I was just trying to help you.”

Willa looked at me with disgust. “Yohan Frost, how did you end up like such a person?”

Then she wrapped her arm around Kevin and said coldly, “Let’s go.”

***

I stood up, took a deep breath and said, “Willa, let’s get a divorce.”

She froze for a moment, frowned and said, “You want to divorce me? Yohan, don’t even think about it. Using divorce to threaten me is useless. Acting like this will only make me hate you more.”

I took out the divorce papers. “I’m seriously wanting a divorce. Just sign it.”

She gave a short laugh. “You already prepared the papers? So, this wasn’t sudden, huh. You’ve planned it for a while. Is this because of your sister’s marriage?”

“Yohan, if your sister were as smart and capable as Quincy, I wouldn’t have let her marry into that village. But a boring nerd like her is useless, just like you. That marriage is actually a good deal for her.”

“That family said as long as she gives them a son, they’ll treat her like a queen. She’ll eat well, drink well and never have to work again. Isn’t that better than slaving away at some job?”

“I really don’t understand what’s wrong with your head. Instead of thanking Kevin, you’re making a fuss over it. Now I finally see what kind of man you are.”

She scolded me harshly, not even holding back. I didn’t respond. I just picked up a pen and signed my name.

Willa’s face turned cold. “Yohan, I’m warning you, if you divorce me today, even if you kneel and beg later, I’ll never take you back.”

I pointed at the divorce papers and said, “Sign it. I can’t live with someone like you for even one more second. Don’t worry, even if someone held a knife to my throat, I would never ask you to come back.”

Furious, Willa replied, “Fine! Do you think I would want you back anyway? Don’t flatter yourself.”

She signed her name on the papers and threw them at my face.

I quietly picked them up and put them away. Then I looked at her and said, “One last thing, call your sister. Ask how she’s doing.”