Divorce Chaos: The Fallout from Gift Giving

The day after Brandon received the court summons, he contacted me, wanting to talk.

I had been staying at my friend's place for over a month without a single call from him, but now that he realized I was serious, he started to panic.

He threatened to drag out the divorce if I didn't talk to him, forcing me to go back home. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the whole family was sitting on the sofa waiting for me, even his sister was there.

My sister-in-law enthusiastically came over to welcome me and led me to sit down, "Whitney, don't be mad at my brother. I scolded him as soon as I heard about this.

I know you meant well for Charlie and me and my brother, being a man, just didn't understand our girl talk and overreacted."

My mother-in-law chimed in, "Exactly, my dear Whitney, everyone in the Perry Family knows your good intentions. It's just that silly boy who doesn't appreciate you. Listen to me, Bryan is too young to be without a mother!"

My son, who had been sulking in the corner, suddenly rushed over and hugged my leg, crying, "I don't want to be a kid without a mom! I'll get bullied by other kids!"

What a touching scene, full of loyalty and affection. If I hadn't overheard my mother-in-law's words before I entered, I might have believed it.

Just as I reached the door, I received a message on my phone. I stood at the corner to reply before going in, but I heard my mother-in-law's voice through the partially opened door, "Everyone, hold your tempers and put on a good act later. This divorce cannot happen!"

Brenda continued, "Since she hasn't been home, doing the cooking and cleaning has given me back pain. Ten years without doing chores and now it's killing me. Plus, her parents' shop, if they divorce and her parents die, she'll have sole ownership and Bryan won't get a penny!"

They were putting on this show of reluctance to lose me, but really, they didn't want to lose a free laborer and access to my parents' assets.

I sneered, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. I have no money and you can't expect to take advantage of my parents either. You all know how much I've sacrificed for this family and how you've treated me. I'm determined to get this divorce."

Seeing my firm stance, they dropped the pretense. My son stood up first, hands on his hips and shouted at me, "You heartless woman, you're not fit to be my mom!"

My mother-in-law echoed, "Yes, I've never seen a woman who abandons her own child in my life. You're truly wicked!"

"What did our Perry Family do in a past life to deserve marrying someone like you? Fine, you can get a divorce, but give back the dowry our family gave you."

I've heard of people demanding back the dowry after an engagement breaks off, but never after ten years of marriage and a child. What a scheme to get something for nothing.

I looked at Brandon, who had remained silent throughout. Since I walked in, he sat on the armchair next to the sofa, his eyes closed, listening to music as if none of this concerned him.

But I noticed his gaze occasionally flicked toward the door, as if waiting for someone. Sure enough, soon there was a noise at the door.

When I saw who it was, I knew this wasn't going to be easy to resolve today. My parents had arrived.

My dad saw me and immediately started scolding, "Whitney, how dare you? Filing for divorce without telling us, you are going straight to court. You're really doing this! You might not feel ashamed, but we, the Carey family, do!"

Only then did Brandon lazily stand up and walk to my parents.

My dad, seeing him, apologized, "Brandon, my daughter is immature. Please forgive her."

No wonder Brandon was so indifferent earlier. He had already planned to use my parents to pressure me to drop the divorce.

He took out the card I had given his sister and acted aggrieved, "Dad, this is the card Whitney gave to my sister. I was too embarrassed to show it. I only mentioned her divorce in passing and didn't expect Whitney to react so drastically."

"I wanted to wait until she calmed down before bringing her back, but then I received the court summon letter. Look at what this has come to. I don't want Bryan to grow up without a mom," he continued.

I've seen plenty of manipulative women online, but this was my first encounter with a manipulative man in real life.

My dad took the card and angrily snapped it in half. He raised his hand as if to hit me, forcing me to withdraw the divorce application.

I realized I had fallen into Brandon's trap today and I didn't want to argue further, "This marriage is ending."

With that, I picked up my bag to leave. Seeing me about to go, my dad grabbed a fruit knife from the table and slashed at his own hand, "Are you really going to divorce?"