A Wife's Dilemma

"We're all gathered here today to discuss Tony and Kate," Pierce Willow announced.

At the elderly man's announcement, everyone seated in the parlor of Willowhouse turned toward the young couple standing at a corner at the same time.

Tony Quill was holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, his gaze tender as he looked at his wife Kate Willow.

She was dressed beautifully in a stark white dress. She was exceedingly beautiful with her tall, slender form and her alabaster skin, with an otherworldliness that almost painted her divine.

Still, Tony found it especially heartwarming that the whole family was gathered together to celebrate their third wedding anniversary.

That was when Rain, his twelve-year-old sister, leaned in to whisper into his ear, "I think Kate lost her ring. It's been a while since I've seen her wear one too, but I got one with my pocket money. Hehe!"

Ring?

As Rain sneakily slipped the ring into Tony's palm, Tony glanced at Kate's finger and only realized then that she was not wearing her ring.

"You have a good eye," he chuckled as he gave Rain's button nose a pinch.

In reality, he never knew because it had been a month since he last saw her—she had been very busy with the joint project with the Carters.

He had actually prepared a huge surprise for his wife too, as he had been working in secret to help her secure the joint project.

He began, "Kate. So, about the joint project with the Carters—"

"Let's not talk about business today," Kate said, cutting him short as her cool attitude left him feeling a little awkward.

Still, he tried again. "Actually, I…"

Nonetheless, Kate had already moved to the main seat, her tone firm as she snapped, "Read it, Benji!"

Benji Willow picked up the document laid out on the table right then and read it out loud. "Three years ago, the Quill family was on the verge of bankruptcy after Tony's parents died in a fire. It was our family who stepped up and took their debt upon our shoulders, even seeing fit to fulfill an old agreement, taking in Tony as a son-in-law.

"However, Tony never showed gratitude and goofed off for three years, even flirting with other women and ruining our family's reputation. Hence, our family has agreed that Kate will divorce him, while we evict him and his sister from the house."

Tony froze.

What was going on here?

He was under the impression that the entire Willow family was gathered together to celebrate his and Kate's wedding anniversary, but they were pushing for his divorce instead?!

"Why?" he asked, looking toward Kate before he knew it.

Kate was not looking him in the eye, let alone responding.

That was when a man in a suit strode into the parlor, making a beeline for the main seat.

"Mr. Fisher!"

"Greetings, Mr. Fisher!"

The Willows were greeting him at once, their attitudes sycophantic toward Lex Fisher, the heir to one of the most important families in Riverton.

He nodded to everyone, and then sat down beside Kate as if it was perfectly natural.

Benji then handed a copy of the divorce papers to Lex, asking, "Will this do, Mr. Fisher?"

Lex smiled in approval. "What a well-written document! You're definitely going places—heck, I think you should write the wedding invitations for Kate and I. Your grandfather should be proud!"

Seeing Pierce smiling and nodding, Benji exclaimed in delight, "Thank you so much, Mr. Fisher!"

Lex raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Fisher…?"

Benji was taken aback, but soon came to a realization. "Oh, I mean Brother-in-Law!"

Hearing that, Lex laughed in satisfaction, while the rest of the Willows laughed as well.

Only Tony and Rain were left out, with Tony watching the rest of them with pain in his eyes.

Eventually, his gaze stopped on Kate, who remained impassive.

It was a stark contrast with how the Willows treated him with disdain while fawning over Lex.

That made it clear Kate had a change of heart and planned to divorce him to remarry Lex, thus marrying into a family that stood among the top one percent of Riverton.

And the Willows all knew about it—only Tony and Rain were kept in the dark.

Even as rage and grief swelled inside Tony, someone snapped furiously, "How could you do this?! It's despicable! You have no right!"

Everyone turned to find Rain standing there, her cheeks flushed and her knuckles clenched.

"No right, you say?"

Benji's face dropped as he snapped back, "You and your brother are both losers who have freeloaded off us for three years! Or what, are we supposed to let you continue to leech off us for the rest of our lives?"

Rain ignored him, however, her eyes fixed on Kate as she continued, "Kate, Tom has been completely loyal and been good to you. How could you do this to him?!

"And you accuse him of cheating! But the way I see it, you're the one who's cheating on him!"

The rest of the Willows were snorting in contempt, while Kate remained impassive.

Seeing that left Tony utterly disappointed, as he now understood that Kate was determined.

Rain was young and wouldn’t let it slide when Tony was insulted, defamed, and abandoned, and she kept ranting, "You were childhood friends with Tony! Our parents knew you since you were a child and treated you like family in the five years he served in the military.

"He came back after that fire which killed my parents to arrange their funeral matters, but then, you and your family came hounding him, making him agree to that arranged marriage.

"After he did, he treated you people like his own family and didn't argue when you took over our family's business!

"Moreover, my brother wasn't goofing off—he was either busy finding the people who murdered our parents or using our old family connections to partner with the Willow family's businesses.

"He's never cheated once, but what about you, Kate Willow?! Not only did you break so many promises, but you even cheated on my brother!"

Despite being just a child, Rain's words touched a nerve.

The Willows actually felt embarrassed, as they had risen to riches from the Quinn family's wealth and connections.

So seeing Kate remaining unaffected left Tony utterly disenchanted.

He took Rain's hand, giving it a squeeze to tell her to stop—it was clear that Kate had cheated on him, even bringing her new lover to her own home, right in his face.

Since the Willows chose to be ignorant, and since Kate wanted to be so heartless, there was no reason for them to stay.

That was when Benji, feeling humiliated, bellowed, "You brat! Watch your words, or I'll slap you!"

Nearby, Lex laughed loftily. "What a cheeky brat! She should be taught a lesson in respect! Go on, Benji!"

"Right!" Benji nodded and strode toward Rain, growling, "You and your brother are nothing but dogs! How dare you holler in our house!"

"No, you're the dog—and an ungrateful one at that!" Rain retorted. "That joint project with the Carters? That was all thanks to Tom!"

"What, your brother?! He's a loser!" Benji snorted as he advanced on Rain. "The joint project is all thanks to Mr. Fisher! Now shut your trap!"

To suck up to Lex, he raised his hand, ready to hit Rain.

However, even as Rain flinched and closed her eyes, Benji was left gritting his teeth in pain as he felt a vice-like grip on his hand.

Turning and seeing who it was, he hollered, "Let go of me, Tony!"

Tony ignored him, however, his eyes fixed on Kate as he asked, "Forget using me like a tool—you're playing dumb when your own brother is going to hurt my sister?"

Kate was ready to speak but ultimately did nothing and turned away.

Benji, knowing that Tony had been part of the military and that he stood no chance, had no choice but to threaten Tony, "Let go of me, or I'll hurt your sister!"

That was when Tony wheeled on him with an icy glare. "I've been bearing with all your shenanigans for three years not just to protect my marriage, but also to protect my sister from suffering any grief in this house!

"But it's clear that I've been holding back too much, that you all got so full of yourself and keep getting worse!"

He could bear with the Willows' insults and ostracizing, but Rain was his only family, and he would not tolerate anyone bullying her.

This was the line in the sand!

Thump!

Grabbing Benji's head right then, Tony slammed Benji face first onto the table, knocking him out.

The parlor was dead silent as Tony let go, allowing Benji to collapse limply on the floor like a puddle.

None of them could have expected that the always mild-mannered Tony would get physical!

Still, after a while, Kate sprang to her feet. "Tony!"

"What? Am I in the wrong here?" Tony retorted. "Perhaps you think you have the right to cheat because I pampered and tolerated you, and that you get to let your brother bully my sister?"

His retort left Kate stumped for a while, and she eventually breathed a long sigh. "Fine! You've already hurt Benji, so you must be satisfied, right?! Just sign the papers and leave!"

"No problem! I won't stop you from marrying rich." Tony snorted. "From now on, we'll both go our separate ways!"

He did not hesitate to sign the divorce papers, hence ending his marriage with Kate.

In reality, he had once been the heir to the Quill family and joined the military service as his family wished, though in those five years, he had many extraordinary encounters and was dubbed a miracle worker.

It had come to an abrupt end five years ago, when his parents were killed and he returned to Riverton following his discharge, before holding up the promise to marry Kate.

In fact, the Willows' fortunes had seen a meteoric rise over the last three years all because he had been helping them in secret. But he could not reveal that it was him, because he had been staying incognito while investigating the massacre of his family, which in turn led to the Willows regarding him with disdain and eventually this.

"Let's go, Rain," he said, taking his sister's hand and strode toward the front door.

"Stop right there!"

Lex rose to his feet as he bellowed, "Kate is my girlfriend and soon my wife! Did you think you could get away with hurting her brother?!"

Tony stopped in his tracks, coming to a realization just then.