Chapter 2

Just as things were getting rowdy, Charles walked in. He looked around and saw there was nowhere for him to sit.

He gave my shin a lazy tap with the back of his hand and hinted I should move it.

Without a word, he plopped down at the foot of the bed, forcing me to scrunch up my legs.

I was about to explode. Seriously, what kind of father-in-law would do this? He had zero boundaries.

Just as I was about to lose it, Charles jumped in first.

"How did you end up with an ovarian rupture? I've heard some women get too wild and end up hurting themselves," he said and gave me this creepy, pervy look.

I couldn't believe it. After everything I'd been through, Charles was still trying to smear my name.

But what made it even worse was that Ryan absolutely hated hearing stuff like this.

After his dad said that, Ryan started looking at me all weird.

Just as I was about to blow up, Grace stepped in first.

She gave Charles a hard shove in the back, and he almost went sprawling on the floor.

"Charles, you've got some nerve, making up filthy gossip about your own daughter-in-law," Grace snapped.

Alex snorted, "Even if I thought Ryan would cheat, I'd never bet on Sophia."

Ryan's face went pale, and then flushed red. He jabbed a finger at Alex. "What's wrong with you? Watch your mouth."

I couldn't hold back anymore. "Oh, so you do know how to watch your mouth, huh?

"So what about your dad just now? Is it only okay for him to run his mouth? Double standards much?"

"Honey, don't get upset. Dad didn't do it on purpose," Ryan said, trying to calm me down.

Not on purpose?

Ever since I married Ryan, we'd been arguing nonstop, and most of the time, it was all thanks to Charles and his mouth.

Charles was always a slob, which was bad enough.

But what really got to me was how creepy and pervy he was.

Whenever I was home alone, he'd always give me these creepy, sneaky looks.

If Grace didn't keep such a close eye on him, who knew what kind of messed-up stuff he'd try to pull?

Before, I never wanted to make a scene, mostly out of respect for Grace since she'd always treated me well.

But today, he had the nerve to smear me, and I wasn't about to let him off the hook.

Just then, the doctor came in for his rounds, and I was about to ask him about my condition.

But Ryan jumped in before I could, sounding even more anxious than I was. "Doctor, what's wrong with my wife? She's always been fine before."

The doctor pushed his glasses up with his middle finger. "There are a lot of reasons for an ovarian rupture. In her case, it was a spontaneous one. Just make sure to rest and take care of her."

Ryan finally looked relieved, a rare smile appearing on his face as he saw the doctor out.

But I just couldn't settle down, no matter what.

If the doctor hadn't warned me to keep my emotions in check, I doubt I'd even make it to discharge.

*****

I spent three days in the hospital.

And Ryan knew he was in the doghouse. He kept showing up with different take-out bags to erase the score.

Every night, he unfolded a cot beside mine and turned the room into his little office, keyboard clacking under the dim light.

Even the nurse who came to change my bandages would joke around, "Mr. Hughes really loves you. He's barely left your side since you got sick.

"If he steps out and comes back without seeing you, he's running all over the place looking for you. He gets so worked up."

I just gave her a polite smile, but deep down, I knew Ryan was only doing all this because he felt guilty.

He'd already cheated on me.

Even worse, I might even know the person he cheated with.

Even though I was out of the hospital, I was still wiped out, so I just didn't have the energy to deal with any of this right now.