Chapter 3 · From Bruised Bride To Ex-Wife In 24 Hours

I arrived back at that hollow new home right as lunch began.

Margaret and David were sitting at the table, eating their meal.

The table was set with four savory sides and a bowl of soup, but no plate or silverware waited for me there.

Margaret didn't bother to glance up when I walked in.

She took slow bites of her food and spoke in a dismissive, uncaring tone, "You finally came home. We didn't save you any food, so fix yourself some spaghetti."

She spoke to me like I was hired help she could order around whenever she wanted.

David glanced at me with tangled emotions in his eyes. But he said nothing and kept eating.

It felt as if the abuse from the night before had never happened at all.

Margaret and David worked as a cruel pair. One was the abuser and the other her accomplice. They truly were like mother, like son.

I paid them no mind and walked over to the table.

Margaret frowned when I stood in place, and she tapped her plate out of irritation.

"Quit standing there blocking the way. Go make your own food and clean up the dishes afterward," she snapped.

A cold, empty smile tugged at my lips.

I slowly set the manila envelope holding my documents on the table.

The soft sound broke the quiet room, and both David and Margaret stopped eating to stare at the envelope.

"What's this?" David asked.

Ignoring his question, I opened the envelope and took out the two documents inside.

I picked up my medical injury report first. "David, you know exactly what this is?"

I opened the report wide and slid it across the table toward him.

Every bruise and wound covered on my skin was printed clearly on the paper for them to see.

Every mark served as silent proof of the pain I'd endured.

Beneath the photos lay the doctor's official written notes, stamped with the hospital's official embossed seal.

David's eyes widened sharply.

His hand shook and his silverware slipped from his grasp, clattering hard against the floor.

"You... you went to the hospital?" he stammered.

"What else was I supposed to do?" I stared at him coldly. "Should I have waited for my injuries to fade and pretended none of it ever happened?"

Margaret leaned over to glance at the paper, and her expression turned harsh and livid in an instant.

"You hateful girl, how could you go to a hospital? Family matters stay behind closed doors. Can't you understand that?" she snapped as she reached out fast to snatch the medical report away from me.

I pulled my hand back and dodged her grasp.

Then I picked up the second document set in front of me.

It was the divorce papers.

I set them down sharply on top of the injury report, the sound sharp and clear as they landed before David.

"You ought to take a good look at this too. These are divorce papers," I spoke slowly and clearly, letting every word sink in. "David, I want a divorce."

Thick silence fell over the dining room at once.

The whole room felt cold and still.

David shot up from his seat so fast that his chair crashed backward against the floor with a harsh noise.

He stared at the divorce papers, his face drained of all color and shock written all over his features.

"A divorce? Have you lost your mind, Emily? We only got married yesterday," he burst out.

"Yes, we did," I said with a bitter, mocking smile. "We married one day ago, and on our wedding night, you held me down so your mother could hurt me.

"If you held any sense of decency, you would never need to ask why I'm doing this."

My words cut through him like a harsh blow.

His pale face burned red with embarrassment and anger. His lips trembled but no reply came out.

Margaret's expression shifted from shock to rage, her face turning dark and flushed with fury.

She pointed a shaking finger straight at me, every line of her body tight with anger. "Don't you dare."

"Try me," I answered steadily.

My voice stayed soft and low, yet it weighed heavily in the stiff, quiet room.

Margaret choked on her own anger, unable to catch her breath as her face grew bright red.

"You have grown far too bold and disrespectful," she shouted. "David, look at the wife you chose. She threatens divorce barely one day after your wedding and shames our entire family name."

She began to yell and carry on, slapping her leg over and over in a loud, shrill outburst.

David finally snapped out of his stunned state.

He grabbed the divorce papers off the table and tore them into tiny pieces in a fit of rage.

Torn scraps fluttered down through the air like thin flakes.

"I won't agree to this," he growled, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes. "You hear me? There will be no divorce, not now and not ever."

"You won't agree?" I lifted one eyebrow and looked right back at him. "That is fine by me. If you refuse to end this marriage peacefully, we can settle everything in court."

I pointed at the unharmed medical report sitting on the table. "This official documentation, the physical marks left on my body, and every cruel action you and your mother took last night will all count as solid evidence. A judge will see the full truth.

"Your acts of domestic harm and intentional injury are fully proven. You will lose all shared property and leave this marriage with nothing. Your public name will be ruined forever, and your actions will leave a permanent legal mark on your record."

"You..." David's eyes went wide with pure dread.

He had never expected the quiet, compliant woman he married to turn so calm and unyielding overnight, or to become someone he could no longer control.

Chapter 3

I arrived back at that hollow new home right as lunch began.

Margaret and David were sitting at the table, eating their meal.

The table was set with four savory sides and a bowl of soup, but no plate or silverware waited for me there.

Margaret didn't bother to glance up when I walked in.

She took slow bites of her food and spoke in a dismissive, uncaring tone, "You finally came home. We didn't save you any food, so fix yourself some spaghetti."

She spoke to me like I was hired help she could order around whenever she wanted.

David glanced at me with tangled emotions in his eyes. But he said nothing and kept eating.

It felt as if the abuse from the night before had never happened at all.

Margaret and David worked as a cruel pair. One was the abuser and the other her accomplice. They truly were like mother, like son.

I paid them no mind and walked over to the table.

Margaret frowned when I stood in place, and she tapped her plate out of irritation.

"Quit standing there blocking the way. Go make your own food and clean up the dishes afterward," she snapped.

A cold, empty smile tugged at my lips.

I slowly set the manila envelope holding my documents on the table.

The soft sound broke the quiet room, and both David and Margaret stopped eating to stare at the envelope.

"What's this?" David asked.

Ignoring his question, I opened the envelope and took out the two documents inside.

I picked up my medical injury report first. "David, you know exactly what this is?"

I opened the report wide and slid it across the table toward him.

Every bruise and wound covered on my skin was printed clearly on the paper for them to see.

Every mark served as silent proof of the pain I'd endured.

Beneath the photos lay the doctor's official written notes, stamped with the hospital's official embossed seal.

David's eyes widened sharply.

His hand shook and his silverware slipped from his grasp, clattering hard against the floor.

"You... you went to the hospital?" he stammered.

"What else was I supposed to do?" I stared at him coldly. "Should I have waited for my injuries to fade and pretended none of it ever happened?"

Margaret leaned over to glance at the paper, and her expression turned harsh and livid in an instant.

"You hateful girl, how could you go to a hospital? Family matters stay behind closed doors. Can't you understand that?" she snapped as she reached out fast to snatch the medical report away from me.

I pulled my hand back and dodged her grasp.

Then I picked up the second document set in front of me.

It was the divorce papers.

I set them down sharply on top of the injury report, the sound sharp and clear as they landed before David.

"You ought to take a good look at this too. These are divorce papers," I spoke slowly and clearly, letting every word sink in. "David, I want a divorce."

Thick silence fell over the dining room at once.

The whole room felt cold and still.

David shot up from his seat so fast that his chair crashed backward against the floor with a harsh noise.

He stared at the divorce papers, his face drained of all color and shock written all over his features.

"A divorce? Have you lost your mind, Emily? We only got married yesterday," he burst out.

"Yes, we did," I said with a bitter, mocking smile. "We married one day ago, and on our wedding night, you held me down so your mother could hurt me.

"If you held any sense of decency, you would never need to ask why I'm doing this."

My words cut through him like a harsh blow.

His pale face burned red with embarrassment and anger. His lips trembled but no reply came out.

Margaret's expression shifted from shock to rage, her face turning dark and flushed with fury.

She pointed a shaking finger straight at me, every line of her body tight with anger. "Don't you dare."

"Try me," I answered steadily.

My voice stayed soft and low, yet it weighed heavily in the stiff, quiet room.

Margaret choked on her own anger, unable to catch her breath as her face grew bright red.

"You have grown far too bold and disrespectful," she shouted. "David, look at the wife you chose. She threatens divorce barely one day after your wedding and shames our entire family name."

She began to yell and carry on, slapping her leg over and over in a loud, shrill outburst.

David finally snapped out of his stunned state.

He grabbed the divorce papers off the table and tore them into tiny pieces in a fit of rage.

Torn scraps fluttered down through the air like thin flakes.

"I won't agree to this," he growled, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes. "You hear me? There will be no divorce, not now and not ever."

"You won't agree?" I lifted one eyebrow and looked right back at him. "That is fine by me. If you refuse to end this marriage peacefully, we can settle everything in court."

"You..." David's eyes went wide with pure dread.

He had never expected the quiet, compliant woman he married to turn so calm and unyielding overnight, or to become someone he could no longer control.