Chapter 24 — My Husband Brought His Ex Home

Whenever anyone from your family comes anywhere near her now, it is nothing but sheer misfortune.

Hao Han’s eye sockets were red and swollen.

Father, I know you hate me.

My father cut him off.

I do not hate you.

Hating someone requires far too much energy.

I simply hope you will never show your face in front of my daughter ever again.

Hao Han turned his gaze toward me.

Xia, could we please speak in private?

I shook my head.

No, we cannot.

From now on, all communication from my end will go exclusively through my lawyer.

Panic finally flickered across his face.

I will sign the divorce agreement.

I will move out.

You can keep the car.

You can take an even smaller share of our shared savings.

For the sake of the time we spent as husband and wife, can you please drop the charges against my mother?

I looked at him, suddenly engulfed by a profound sorrow. Even at this late stage, what concerned him most was still not the deep wounds I had suffered, but rather whether his mother might receive a lighter punishment. I said, Hao Han, what is happening to your mother is not a matter of whether I choose to pursue the matter or not.

She forged signatures, misappropriated assets without authorization, and colluded with your father to shift debt risks onto others.

She must answer for her actions before the law.

His voice trembled.

She is elderly.

I retorted sharply, Is my father not elderly?

When you had a live streamer block his doorway, splash red paint everywhere, and curse him for failing to raise his daughter properly, did you ever stop to think that he was elderly too?

Hao Han closed his eyes, his shoulders shuddering slightly.

I am sorry.

Those three words were as light and weightless as ash. I gave no reply. The following day, Attorney Lin officially filed for divorce with the court, while simultaneously submitting an emergency request for property preservation and an injunction to halt further infringement. The ownership documents for the house, registered entirely under my name, were submitted in full. The purchase contract. The payment statements. The paperwork proving the funds came from the sale of my father’s storefront. The prenuptial registration date. Every single link in the chain was crystal clear and undeniable. The so-called mortgage agreement concocted by the Han family, lacking the genuine consent of the actual property owner and entirely unregistered and unnotarized, was decisively dismissed by Attorney Lin on the spot. The creditors changed their tune as well. They no longer demanded my home. Instead, they turned their full fury upon De Hai Han and Hao Han. At the police station, the bald man looked at De Hai Han and smiled with sinister amusement.

Old Han, we cannot touch your daughter-in-law’s property.

That means we have no choice but to take what belongs to you instead.

De Hai Han’s face turned ashen. Lan Chi Chu wept bitterly and cursed me for ruining lives. I merely sat across from her, maintaining absolute calm as I watched her.

I did not borrow those debts.

I did not spend that money.

I did not push anyone into anyone else’s home.

And the retribution you are facing is not something I brought upon you.

Xiao Hui Fang fared even worse than they did. She had intended to rely on her status as an expectant mother to extort sympathy. But the moment the hospital records and bank transfer statements were presented, her entire performance shattered completely. The child was not Hao Han’s. She had already been pregnant before returning to the country. Her claims of having nowhere to turn were a lie; she had contacted Lan Chi Chu long in advance to arrange a place to stay. Her so-called temporary refuge was a calculated move to drag her luggage, her dog, her heavy burdens, and her endless web of lies straight into my life. The police managed to recover a portion of her deleted chat history from her phone. One message stood out, sent directly by her to Lan Chi Chu. Once I manage to move in first, no matter how unhappy Xia is, she surely will not have the heart to chase a pregnant woman out onto the street, right? Another message was even more glaring. Ah Hao is soft-hearted; if I shed a few tears, he will definitely take my side. The moment Hao Han saw those two sentences, his entire body went rigid. He finally understood that he was not simply a deeply sentimental person; rather, the moment his weaknesses were exposed to malicious individuals, he had been thoroughly and ruthlessly exploited. But none of this had anything to do with me anymore. I had no obligation to offer comfort to someone who had handed another person the blade used to stab me. A week later, the accounts that had spread malicious rumors online published their respective apologies one after another. The blonde live streamer had his platform account permanently banned and faced legal punishment for disturbing public order and violating personal privacy. Xiao Hui Fang’s secondary account also posted an apology, though the words reeked of bitter resentment. She claimed that she had merely expressed herself inappropriately while under severe emotional distress. Attorney Lin immediately dispatched a second legal notice, demanding that she delete the phrase expressed inappropriately and replace it with fabricated facts and malicious intent. She refused. Very well, then we proceed with a lawsuit. I no longer intended to offer anyone a graceful way out, because I finally understood a harsh truth. There are certain people who view your compromises merely as stepping stones to climb higher. Yield an inch, and they will clamber up to trample upon your head. Half a month later, the pre-trial mediation session took place. Hao Han showed up. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight. Lan Chi Chu did not attend; rumor had it that due to her involvement in numerous overlapping investigations, she had fallen seriously ill. De Hai Han was absent as well, as his compounding debts and suspected document forgery were being handled in separate legal proceedings. As for Xiao Hui Fang, she was nowhere to be seen.