UM CH 04

 Chapter 4

“Heh… ha-ha.”
I laughed, then suddenly slammed my head forward, hitting Yu Jin right in the face.
He gasped in pain and let go of my hair, stepping back.

“Yu Jin, you’re such a fake. Before the wedding you swore you’d love me for life, said you didn’t care about any of my flaws. And now you talk like this? What makes you any better than me?”

Clutching his face, Yu Jin glared furiously.

“Get out of here, you worthless woman!”

His face looked completely unfamiliar now—like the kind man who had chased me for two years had never existed.

I remembered how he used to drive early to pick me up after work, how he always spent every holiday with me.
But after marriage, everything changed.

Yu Jin, you really are a good actor.

I gave a bitter laugh. There was no point continuing this farce.
I quickly got dressed and straightened myself up.

“Fine,” I said calmly. “Let’s go file for divorce.”

My composure seemed to catch him off guard.
He just frowned in disgust and hurried out, as if afraid to stay near me for even another second.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror—there was a thin scar across my forehead.
Strangely, I just wanted to laugh.

Soon, my stepmother arrived, summoned by the Yu family.
She came dressed in fake luxury—a second-hand designer outfit from an online shop and a knock-off Chanel bag hanging on her arm, a cigarette between her fingers.

The moment she saw Yu Jin’s parents, she started chatting eagerly, acting close and familiar.
But they gave her no courtesy at all.

Yu Jin’s mother said sharply,

“You brought the marriage certificate and household papers, right?”

“Oh, dear in-law, don’t be so hasty,”
my stepmother replied quickly, digging into her bag.
She pulled out a heavy silver bracelet.

“I came to show respect on my daughter’s behalf. Look—this bracelet was specially brought from abroad for you. Please, try it on!”

At first, Yu Jin’s mother said,

“Oh, you shouldn’t… I can’t accept this—well, we’re all family, aren’t we? No need to be so formal.”

But her eyes were already smiling.
She pretended to refuse a few times, then let my stepmother fasten the bracelet on her wrist.
The dark expression on her face disappeared instantly.

The two women sat down together on the sofa, chatting as if nothing had happened.
I knew from the look of it that the entire matter would be decided between them.

Yu Jin’s mother complained that I wasn’t “pure.”
My stepmother immediately spun a story—saying I had been assaulted as a child and the culprit had never been caught.

Her ability to lie so smoothly amazed me.
Compared with her, Yu Jin’s mother—who thought herself shrewd—was nothing.
Within a few flattering sentences, she was laughing happily, and the topic of divorce was quietly swept aside.

Yu Jin tried several times to interrupt, even gave his mother looks to remind her why they’d come, but she ignored him completely—too pleased with her new gift and my stepmother’s sweet words.

Then my stepmother smiled and said,

“Yan Shuang can be stubborn. Please be patient with her. If she ever makes you unhappy, just call me—I’ll bring her back and discipline her myself.
Or, if that’s too much trouble, your son can ‘teach’ her how to behave as a proper wife. Don’t hold back.”

As she said that, she looked at me meaningfully.
A chill ran down my spine.

Memories flashed before me—
Back when my father was away, she used to tie me to a chair and throw things at me, aiming for my head.
The louder I cried, the harder she laughed.
I had been hospitalized several times with concussions.
Even when I fainted, she’d leave me on the floor until morning, only to start again the next day.

After I started working, she stopped—age had made her weaker, and I was no longer a helpless child.
But the fear she’d planted in me had never left.
Even now, sitting there, I still felt that same cold terror creeping up my back.