Escaping My Husband's Web of Deceit

I looked up at Lydia, who stormed into the room with fury in her eyes, and calmly said, "The doctor said I can't touch cold water."

"Elara, you think you're so high and mighty, but you're just a worthless bastard no one wants. Bastards breed nothing but garbage, and you're no exception. You can't even touch cold water, tsk!"

I stared at her twisted, contorted face, feeling like I was looking at a demon. "So, you're saying your son is a bastard?"

Lydia's eyes bulged, "What did you say?"

My voice remained calm, without a hint of emotion. "Didn't you just say bastards breed garbage?"

"You...!" Lydia was enraged, reaching out to grab me.

I quickly spun away, dodging her.

I would never let her do that to me again.

Every time she pinched me until my skin turned bruised and swollen, I used to tell Marcus about it at first.

But Marcus would always brush me off, "My mom's like that. She's older than you, just let her be! Once she calms down, she'll stop."

Yeah, as if it was nothing but pinching pork.

Of course! It wasn’t her being pinched, so how could he know the pain?

Lydia's face twisted in disbelief. "You... you dare dodge me?"

I simply stared at her, silent.

"What's all the noise about? You don’t know I didn’t sleep a wink last night?"

I smirked, knowing she had slept like a log.

Lydia’s ferocious face suddenly softened, turning pitiful as if she was about to complain.

But then Marcus’s attention was drawn to the diaper in Lydia's hand. "This diaper looks so familiar..."

I turned my attention inward, focusing on my thoughts.

Ignoring the smell, Marcus leaned in for a closer look, then turned to glare at me. "Did you cut up my underwear to use as a diaper?"

"We ran out of diapers," I replied.

Marcus roared, "Do you have any idea how much that underwear cost?"

Of course, I knew. Marcus always preferred comfort, especially when it came to underwear. Each piece cost over a thousand.

Lydia, clearly unaware, asked, "Is it really that expensive, son?"

Marcus stared at the ruined underwear that I'd cut into pieces, his face filled with pain. "It cost over eighteen hundred! How can it not be expensive?"

Yeah, how could it be cheap when it was propping up my daughter's bottom?

Upon hearing this, Lydia's face contorted in fury, and she lunged at me.

I dodged again, but this time Marcus grabbed me, and with a sharp slap, pain shot through my cheek.

"You wasteful woman."

Lydia blocked my escape, and I felt repeated stabs of pain as she slapped me.

"Slap!"

I received another slap from Marcus, this time on my right cheek.

"Ah!"

The cry of my daughter echoed through the room, seeming to mirror my pain.

Feeling her distress, I pushed them both away and ran for the door.

I flung open the door and screamed for help, "Help! Help me!"

Soon, neighbors were rushing to their doors. "Who’s calling for help?"

I stumbled toward Mrs. Keller’s house next door, collapsing at her feet, crying, "Wuwu... Help me, my husband and Lydia are beating me!"

I lifted my burning, swollen face for her to see.

Mrs. Keller gasped, "My God, what happened to you?"

Marcus and Lydia, who had followed me outside, still wore vicious expressions.

But as soon as they saw the neighbors gathered in the hallway, they instantly deflated.

I cried out louder, "I just had a daughter, and they don’t like her. Wuwu..."

"What? You just had a baby?" Mrs. Keller exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, I remember just a few days ago, she was still pregnant! She just gave birth!"

"This is unbelievable. She's in her confinement period and they're still beating her?"

"How can anyone treat a woman like this, especially after she gave birth to a daughter? Even if they don’t like it, it’s no excuse for domestic violence!"

"These people are animals!"

...

Suddenly, the air was filled with accusations, and everyone looked at Marcus and Lydia with scorn.

Marcus denied it. "No, it’s not true!"