首頁 / Emotional Realism 短篇故事 / The Night I Learned I Wasn't the Only Son‑in‑Law / 第 1 章 - 第 9 章

《The Night I Learned I Wasn't the Only Son‑in‑Law》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 9 章

9 章節

Chapter 1

I reached out and knocked on the door. A young man answered. He wore an apron around his waist and carried himself like the man of the house.A long-buried memory suddenly surfaced in my mind. I had seen him in a photo before.Last Christmas, Natalia Lane had sent me a family photo. Besides my in-laws and her, there was this same man in it.Natalia had told me that he was her distant cousin, Vincent Hale. She said his parents lived out of town, and since he had no one to spend Christmas with, he had come to her family's place to celebrate. I had even asked Natalia to take good care of him and get him a generous gift.His tone was sharp, and he was openly dismissive of me. "What are you doing at our door?"I was about to say something when the voice of my father-in-law, Arthur Lane, came from inside. "Vincent, who is it? Come inside and eat when you're done."Vincent turned his head with a smile. "Alright, Dad. I'll be right there."I opened my mouth but said nothing. Arthur's af

Chapter 2

I opened my mouth, but my throat tightened, and no sound came out. All I could do was stare at Natalia, the woman who had been my wife for five years.The child inside the house shouted, "Mom, you're back!"Her voice was bright and clear, but her words froze me in place. Vincent quickly picked her up and stepped farther into the house.My hand on the door frame was shaking. "Natalia, what did that child just call you?"Natalia's face turned as white as a sheet. Her lips moved, but she made no sound.At that moment, Arthur and Liliana came to the doorway, with several relatives peering over their shoulders.Liliana frowned and looked me over with disgust, as if I were something filthy. "Who is this? It's Christmas. Natalia, is he your friend? What's all the shouting about? The relatives inside can hear everything. Take it outside if there's something you need to discuss. Don't cause a scene in the house."I suddenly laughed, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "Do you two not ev

Chapter 3

The child looked about four years old. That meant Natalia had given birth to this child in the first year of our marriage.My stomach churned violently.Vincent suddenly stepped out. "Natalia! How could Daphne… She's too young to hear any of this."Daphne seemed frightened and started crying.Liliana immediately pulled Daphne and Vincent to her side. She said to Daphne, "Don't cry. I'm right here. I'll drive this bad guy away right now!"The moment Liliana finished speaking, she rushed over and shoved me. I lost my footing and stumbled backward as the gift bag slipped from my hand and hit the ground. The fine wine, gourmet chocolates, and skincare products inside were scattered all over the floor.A relative peeked out. "Well, he really brought quite a lot of things."Liliana kicked the gift bag aside. "Who'd want his stuff? It's filthy!"Liliana kept shoving me while Natalia just stood there, letting her parents humiliate me. They treated me like a complete outsider.With one

Chapter 4

I quickly played the voice message.He let out a bitter laugh and said, "Six years ago, I thought I was Natalia's boyfriend too. Later, I went looking for her and ran into Vincent. Her parents called me crazy and told me to leave."I called the police, but nothing came of it. Their whole family stuck to the same story. Do you have any proof?"The voice message finished."I'm collecting proof right now. I need your help," I replied."Got it. I'll email you the evidence I've gathered. Stay safe," he said.I set down my phone and opened my laptop. Theodore's email had arrived. The email contained a large number of attachments, including photos, chat screenshots, and bank transfer records.I called home. Mom answered, her voice cheerful. "Marcus, did you meet Natalia's parents? Were they happy?"I took a deep breath. "Mom, Dad, something terrible happened."I told them what had happened as briefly as I could. After I finished speaking, silence fell on the other end of the line.D

Chapter 5

The next day, I stood below Natalia's apartment with my parents beside me. Mom's eyes were still swollen, while Dad kept a straight face the entire time."You don't need to say anything later. Just stand behind me," I said.Mom said, "Marcus, if they get physical—""Levi arranged for the media to film from a building across the street. If anything happens, they'll call the police right away," I replied.Dad spoke up. "Tell that shameless woman to come out. I'm going to—""Dad, don't get violent. We're settling this through the law," I said.I headed upstairs. A new Christmas wreath hung on the door, and its bright red color hurt my eyes.I could hear lively sounds coming from inside the house. They seemed to be playing cards.I raised my hand and knocked on the door. The noise inside immediately stopped.The moment Arthur saw me, his face darkened. "Why are you here again? It's Christmas. You're ruining everyone's mood!"I ignored him, pushed the door open, and walked in. Mor

Chapter 6

"Fine, I'll pay you back," Natalia said.Vincent turned to look at her. "Where are you going to get the money?""I'll sell the house and the car," Natalia answered.Vincent froze. "Then where are we going to live? What about Daphne?"This time, he truly started to panic. "Natalia, how can you just decide to sell the house like that? Where are Daphne and I supposed to go? Is this how you treat me?"Natalia ignored him and looked at me. "Three days. Give me three days."I took out the agreement I had prepared in advance. "Sign it. Acknowledge everything and commit to repaying within three days."Natalia stared at the agreement, her hands trembling even more. After staying silent for a long while, she picked up the pen and signed her name. I tucked the agreement away and turned to leave.On my way downstairs, I heard the sound of things being smashed coming from the apartment, along with Vincent's shouting, Daphne's crying, and my in-laws' cursing. I didn't look back.Mom pulled

Chapter 7

I stared at the screen and didn't reply to Natalia's message.Just then, Levi sent me a message. "Marcus, things are way too quiet on Vincent's side. Something's off.""I know," I replied.I kept my phone in my hand. The sky outside was overcast.That afternoon, an unknown number called. I picked up and found Vincent on the other end.His voice carried a hint of yielding, making him seem like a completely different person from the man he'd been that day at the Lane residence. "Marcus, can we meet?""There's no need," I replied."I really need to tell you something. Please, just give me ten minutes. Let's meet at the coffee shop downstairs from your place. It's a public area," he said.In the end, I went. Vincent sat in a corner, unshaven and listless.I sat down and didn't order anything. "Go ahead."He looked up, his eyes red-rimmed. "I was only 18 years old when Natalia and I got together."He pulled out a photo from his bag and slid it toward me. The photo had yellowed, a

Chapter 8

Natalia sat at the defendant's table, dressed in the orange jumpsuit she wore in the detention center. She had lost a lot of weight and kept her head down the whole time.The gallery was packed. My parents sat in the second row, holding each other's hands tightly.The judge struck the gavel, and the trial began.Levi nudged my hand and passed me a tissue. Only then did I realize I was crying. After everything, I still felt a sense of sadness.When it was time to present evidence, Levi stood up and walked to the center of the courtroom. "Your Honor, we submit our evidence."The evidence was presented item by item, page by page, and the chain of evidence was textbook-perfect. The courtroom fell completely silent.Natalia's lawyer gave up on arguing the case.During the final statements, Natalia asked to speak. She stood up, her handcuffs rattling. "Your Honor, I… I was wrong. I'm sorry to Marcus, and to everyone else. Marcus, for the sake of the five years we spent as husband and

Chapter 9

The line for the book signing stretched a long way. When it was a young man's turn, his eyes were red-rimmed as he said, "Thank you. I was about to get married, but after reading your book, I looked into things and found out that she was seeing someone else too."I shook his hand and said nothing.After the signing session concluded, Levi handed me a document. "Natalia applied for a reduced sentence in prison, but Vincent's testimony got it denied," he said.I nodded, completely indifferent.Another six months passed. With my own savings and book royalties, I bought a small apartment with a balcony. I also got a cat and named her Penny.Theodore visited my place occasionally. We'd drink coffee and rarely talk about the past. He had opened a flower shop, saying the scent helped cover up memories.…In three years, a street could change completely. Next to the bookstore I often visited, a storefront that had sat empty for ages suddenly got renovated into a cafe called Northlight C

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