Chapter 101
In the hallway, the atmosphere was tense and hostile.
William and Emily, worried I might be at a disadvantage after I hadn't returned for so long, followed me out.
When Jerry saw William, his eyes flickered. And when Emily stood beside me, too, his arrogant attitude clearly toned down quite a bit.
The Johnson family's reputation and Emily's fearless style obviously made him realize this wasn't a place where he could throw tantrums freely.
However, when his gaze swept between William and me, seeing William's protective stance, that disgusting sneer appeared on his face again.
"I see," Jerry started in a sarcastic tone, his eyes sweeping over William with contempt. "No wonder my good son-in-law George doesn't want to come home or deal with you all."
"Turns out you, his wife, have been messing around with other men behind his back all along! Like mother, like daughter!"
"Shut up!" Mom had just calmed the guests inside and followed us out worriedly. She heard this filthy remark and trembled with anger, pointing at Jerry and shouting, "Jerry! What nonsense are you spouting? You're shameless yourself, don't come here slandering my daughter's reputation! My daughter is innocent, it's not your place to throw dirt on her! We don't want your stuff! Take your filthy things and get out!"
As Mom spoke, she grabbed the shabby gift bag Jerry had placed on the floor and threw it hard at his feet.
The bag burst open, and a cheap knockoff ornament rolled out, hitting the clean floor tiles with a dull thud.
Flora was also pale with anger. She turned and found a long-handled broom in the corner of the hallway, raising it to strike: "Get out! You ungrateful bastard! If you dare bully my sister and Grace again, I'll fight you!"
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, I suppressed my anger and disgust, stepped forward, and blocked Mom and Flora, trying to keep my voice steady: "Mom, Flora, go back inside. I'll handle this. There are so many guests inside, and Grandma's there too. Don't let them see this mess."
I knew that today's guests were all wealthy and influential, and many were Violet's old friends. They appeared polite on the surface, but actually loved watching this kind of drama—feuds between wealthy families, domestic scandals.
The more we fought, the more we played into certain people's hands.
Mom looked at me, her eyes red-rimmed, filled with frustration and worry.
I held her hand and said quietly, "Mom, think of Milly. She's still young. Don't let her see this. It's not good for her."
At the mention of Milly, Mom's expression softened instantly—that was her deepest weakness.
She bit her lip, took a deep breath, nodded firmly, turned, and pulled Flora, who was still waving the broom: "Flora, let's go inside. Don't make things difficult for Grace."
Though reluctant, Flora always listened to Mom and cared about me most.
She glared hard at Jerry and shouted at me, "Grace, if he dares lay a finger on you, just yell. I'll come out with a knife and fight him!"
With that, she let Mom half-drag, half-coax her back into the banquet hall.
In the hallway, only I, William, Emily, and Jerry—his face dark with anger and eyes full of malice—remained.
Seeing Mom and Flora leave, with only me and two outsiders remaining, Jerry seemed to think he could push me around again.
He felt our whole family was targeting him and making him lose face, his tone growing more resentful: "Is this really necessary? I just made a mistake that all men in the world make! I just had an affair! I didn't kill anyone or commit arson, I didn't do anything terrible! You mother and daughter, and that crazy woman, why are you acting like you've seen your worst enemy?"
He paused, putting on a disgusting expression of deep devotion: "Besides, I love your mom! I don't want a divorce, you know that! What kind of child forces their parents to split up? That's going against nature, you'll be struck by lightning!"
Hearing this twisted, shameless speech, I found it utterly absurd.
I laughed coldly, my voice like an ice-cold blade: "Struck by lightning? Jerry, you're not afraid of being struck by lightning, so why should I be? After all, you're capable of selling your wife for profit, doing things worse than animals."
The fake smile on Jerry's face froze instantly, replaced by rage at being completely exposed. He suddenly stepped forward, trying to push me aside: "Move! I need to go in and greet Mrs. Violet Smith! I have business dealings with the Smith family now. Don't get in the way of my work!"
I looked at him mockingly: "Business? What business? Planning to sell someone again in exchange for some sleazy deal?"
"You!" Jerry's face flushed with anger, his finger almost poking my nose. "Grace, you couldn't keep your man, your marriage failed—don't take it out on me."
"That thing with Tom last time was an accident. I didn't know he would make moves on your mom. Didn't I call the police afterward? Tom apologized too. What more do you want? What's the point of holding onto it?"
He got more agitated as he spoke, as if he were the one who'd suffered a great injustice: "And Sarah, she's such a good girl, childhood sweethearts with George. You're the one who used some dirty tricks to steal her place."
"Now that Sarah's back, she's the rightful one. If you had any sense, you'd step aside voluntarily. Why do you keep clinging on and refusing to divorce? Dragging it out till now, what's the point?"
Every word was like a red-hot branding iron, burning into my heart.
My biological father not only sided with the scumbag who tried to assault his wife, not only spoke up for the homewrecker who ruined my marriage and pushed me to the edge, but actually blamed me, the victim, for everything!
He said I stole Sarah's place, said I couldn't keep my man, said I was clinging on and refusing to divorce.
A huge sense of absurdity and sharp pain exploded in my chest, making me almost unable to stand. My face turned pale as paper, and even breathing became difficult.
This wasn't criticism—this was using the most vicious knife to repeatedly torture my already wounded heart.
Seeing my face change suddenly and my breathing quicken, Jerry thought he'd hit my sore spot. He became even more smug and unrestrained, his tone increasingly harsh: "You are in the wrong. What degree do you have, what background? Don't you know your place?"
"How you got into George's bed and became Mrs. Smith in the first place—we both know the truth. If you weren't my daughter, I'd be embarrassed for you!"
He looked me up and down, his eyes full of contempt: "If you divorce now, people might respect you a bit, think you have some backbone. But if you keep dragging it out like this, clinging on shamelessly, what's the point? Besides making people look down on you more, what will you gain?"
"Enough!" William couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward, shielding me behind him, his eyes sharp as he stared down Jerry. "Mr. Brown, watch your words. This is a public place, and Grace is your biological daughter! Slandering and insulting her like this—do you deserve to be called a father?"
Jerry was intimidated by William's presence and stepped back, but then, seeing William protecting me, a knowing look flashed in his eyes, followed by even more malicious excitement.
He pointed at William and laughed strangely at me: "Hit a nerve, did I? Got your lover to stand up for you? I wondered why you were so tough—turns out you've got backup now!"
"Grace, you're really something, dragging George along without divorcing while messing around with other men on the side. No wonder George doesn't want you. If I were him, I'd find you disgusting too!"
"Shut up!" William was furious, his fists clenched so tight they cracked, about to step forward.
I suddenly reached out and grabbed William's arm tightly.