What a thing for the people in the audience to say. They said Charlene was speaking up for me? They said she was a kind and loving wife?

Charlene seemed to have forgotten that she was the one who took me to court in the first place. She was also the one who wanted to ruin my reputation.

She spoke so casually about me going to prison. Did she intend to let me die under a false accusation again, just like in my previous life?

If I hadn't found out about Charlene having an affair with Joel, I might have actually been moved by her sincerity right now. I might have listened to her advice and pleaded guilty on the spot.

Instead, I sneered. "What is it? Are you afraid I'll tear off your carefully crafted mask and expose you for who you really are?"

Charlene choked, rendered speechless by my words. She glared venomously at me when nobody else was looking.

Wonderful. This was her true face. I honestly had to give her credit for pulling off her act around me for so long.

Charlene burst into tears, acting as if she had endured many grievances for the sake of the family.

"What are you talking about? I've been married to you for five years. I've cooked and cleaned for you, allowed you to physically and verbally abuse me, and even turned a blind eye to your adultery. Everything I do is for the sake of our family. Was it wrong of me to do all that?"

Charlene had been like this in my previous life as well, starting right off with a deeply moving speech. She mentioned how hard it'd been for her to take care of the family and how she'd even quit her job for my sake.

I only found out after I died that Charlene had gotten into trouble with her company and was subsequently blacklisted by the entire industry. She had been left with no choice but to hide at home.

Everyone in the audience continued to criticize me. I was now an unforgivable brute in their eyes.

I stopped paying attention to them and just said, "Let's begin."

Aiden was looking at me with a bit more contempt in his eyes as well. He issued an order, and the device was turned on. I felt as if there was a strong electric current passing into my brain. My entire body twitched in pain, and I started foaming at the mouth.

Nobody showed any sympathy for my predicament. The audience clapped instead.

I began to see viewer comments appear in front of my eyes in text form.

"This is how cheating scumbags should be treated. A small electric current like that is nothing! It wouldn't even be enough for an electrotherapy session!"

"Who exactly would date this kind of man? He committed domestic violence, adultery, and even talked back! I'd certainly like to see if he'll be able to leave the defendant's seat with his head still held high!"

"I say we just electrocute him to death."

I gritted my teeth and tried not to pass out from the pain.

How could I allow the bastard duo to get a happy ending?

Fragments of my memories began playing out on the big screen.

"You must be tired, dear. I've heated up some milk for you. You should drink it while it's warm."

In the memory, I was facing the computer in my study. When I saw that Charlene was here, I hurriedly motioned for her to leave. My expression probably looked a little scary.

The viewers started to flood my view with comments.

"What's with this attitude? You're being so impatient with your wife when she went out of her way to bring you some warm milk late at night! How ungrateful!"

"If I were his wife, I'd have thrown the milk in his face."

I could tell that the audience's resentment toward me had increased.

After watching the memory, Aiden frowned and pronounced his verdict. "No scumbag behavior has been displayed in this instance. Hanson Quill is not guilty."

Viewer comments instantly started flooding in.

"There must be some mistake. How is this not considered scumbag behavior? He's showing his wife such a terrible attitude. Is the judge blind?"

"There isn't any manipulation going on behind the scenes, is there? This damned scumbag must have bribed the judge! I'm reporting this!"

The memory continued to play out on screen.

Charlene ignored my attempt to stop her and continued to walk in my direction.

She even muttered, "I've already heated it up twice. Drinking milk is good for your health. I don't care what you're doing right now. You'd better stop and drink it first!"

The senior executives on the call with me were giving me displeased looks. I hurriedly apologized to them and muted my microphone.

Then, I said helplessly, "Just place the milk here, dear. I'll drink it in a bit. I'm currently in the middle of a very important video conference involving a multi-million dollar project. I can't screw this up."

Even though I explained things patiently to Charlene, she started kicking up a fuss. "Hanson Quill! Every day, all you care about is money, money, and more money! Is it wrong for me to care about your health?

"I do the chores and cook our meals every day! And yet, I hoped you'd appreciate that I brought you a glass of milk. Am I delusional for thinking that?"

As she spoke, she knocked over the glass of milk, which spilled all over my computer.

I hurriedly tried to save my computer, but it was too late. The computer short-circuited and started to smoke.

The project was pretty much a lost cause. I glared at Charlene.

Not only was Charlene completely unrepentant, but she even put her hands on her waist and shouted self-righteously, "It's just a broken computer! Do you have to glare at me like that? I was truly blind to have married someone like you!"

She promptly left, slamming the door behind her.

"Like, am I the only one who thinks this woman's so-called concern feels really stifling? He already told her he was in the middle of an important meeting, and he was very patient with her. How does that make him a scumbag?"

"Hey, the viewer above me. You'd understand if you'd experienced being a housewife for several years. There are all sorts of expenses to juggle and a lot of unseen labor to handle. It's really frustrating work. Is it so difficult to get a word of thanks from one's husband?"

I sneered at the sight of the heated arguments going on in the comments.

This group of onlookers, who knew nothing about the actual situation, was actually trying to accuse others from their moral high ground.

Charlene, who was among the audience, probably noticed that there were people speaking up for her. She started wiping at her tears as if in great anguish.

"I was just concerned for my husband. I was afraid that the milk would be bad for his stomach if he had it cold. Those of you who've never experienced being a housewife won't understand my suffering. I work myself to the bone every day.

"I also don't have a job, so I can only reach out to my husband for money. Considering that I live dependent on someone else, I'm always very cautious with my behavior. I just don't want to be abandoned by my husband."

Charlene burst into tears as she spoke, which immediately elicited sympathy from the ignorant onlookers.

The large display was split into two. One side showed my memories while the other showed a live broadcast of the courtroom. As such, I could see Charlene's pretentious act, which made me feel sick to the stomach.

The viewers were still chatting actively in the comments.

"A woman still needs her own career in the end. Our husbands always feel like they're giving us a lot of money, but only we women know how much it costs to sustain a household."

"Exactly. If his wife is that tired, why not just hire a housekeeper?"

I smiled and watched Charlene guiltily avoid my gaze.

I then looked coldly toward the camera. "First off, I hand over almost all of my hundred-thousand-dollar salary to Charlene every month, including my year-end bonuses. All I keep on hand is money for cigarettes and transportation.

"Secondly, I did hire a housekeeper for the family. If you don't believe me, I can show you the receipts."

For a moment, the viewer comments stopped appearing, and nobody voiced any more accusatory remarks against me.

It was Charlene's turn to panic this time.

"A hundred thousand dollars is hardly a large sum! All I can buy with that is a single bag," she stammered evasively. "The housekeeper also doesn't do a thorough job, so I'm still forced to clean up after her."

"Even if what you said is true, what about the domestic violence you subjected me to? That certainly happened, didn't it?"

More viewer comments appeared.

"I'd sell myself away for a hundred thousand dollars! What kind of family is this?"

"So what if they're rich? Abusive husbands deserve death!"

As the comments picked up in frequency, the next memory began playing out on screen.

In the memory, we were in our home when I slapped Charlene hard. She collapsed to the floor and stared at me in disbelief.

"You actually hit me! You slapped me over such a trivial matter! I want a divorce!"

The comments immediately exploded with activity.

"Oh my God! Do you think you're allowed to hit your wife as you please just because you give her a hundred thousand dollars a month in living expenses?"

"Domestic abuse either never happens or always happens. There's no in-between. Damn scumbag! He has to be punished. I can feel the pain of that slap through the screen."

Aiden continued to pronounce his verdict. "No scumbag behavior has been displayed in this instance. Hanson Quill is not guilty."

It wasn't just the viewers this time. Even the audience in the stands couldn't resist standing up to throw their water bottles and shoes at me.

A glass bottle came flying toward me. I didn't know who had thrown it.

Although I dodged it, the bottle hit the wall and shattered. The glass shards scattered through the air and scratched my cheek. Bright red blood flowed down my face and dripped onto the back of my hand.

Having my memories extracted over an extended period of time had already made my body very weak. I barely managed to remain standing. I glared at every single person who had thrown something at me.

The court had devolved into absolute chaos.

"Bastard! What kind of man hits a woman? We object to the unfair judgment! We demand that the judge be replaced!"

"Objection! Objection!"

Aiden banged his gavel on the table. "Silence! All troublemakers, this is your first and only warning! If you refuse to quiet down, you'll be asked to leave!"

Although the audience protested loudly, they still fell silent in the face of a prestigious judge like Aiden.

When Aiden looked at me this time, something in his gaze had changed.

Charlene looked triumphantly at me and mouthed, "Challenge me, and death will be the only thing waiting for you at the end."

Unfortunately for Charlene, she'd forgotten that these were my memories. Even if she wanted to use public opinion to convict me of guilt, the audience would still have the opportunity to learn the truth.

Just as my memories were about to be extracted once more, the Judgement Helmet suddenly burst into flames. I felt as if my entire body had been scorched. I lost consciousness and slumped to the floor.

Just before I passed out, I saw Charlene staring fixedly at me with a smile on her face.

The live broadcast was interrupted. I was sent to the infirmary for emergency treatment, and Aiden announced that the trial would be postponed.

"Could that man be planning to escape because no substantial evidence could be found?"

"I told you something shady must be going on! This won't do! We demand that the criminal's memories be reextracted!"

"What if you guys secretly acquitted him of all charges? Won't we have been played for fools then?"

The viewers were still flooding the comment section of the live broadcast. Aiden paused the trial and went to look for me in the infirmary.

I had already woken up by then, but my muscles were still twitching uncontrollably.

"My apologies. After the appraisal, we determined that the Judgement Helmet had been tampered with and short-circuited just now. We're very sorry for the harm it has caused you."

I had already suspected as much the moment Aiden brought it up. I couldn't think of anyone other than Joel who could have so easily tampered with the Judgement Helmet.

From the looks of it, their aim was to convince me to back off or take my life altogether!

Since that was the case, I no longer needed to show them any compassion.

Aiden had an awkward expression on his face. "Can you still continue to stand trial?"

I stumbled to my feet with steely determination in my eyes. "Yes!"

I'd never let someone who wanted me to die have their way.