Chapter 4

Later, he took me by the hand and led me out of that broken house.

When I first entered the Whites', I felt out of place in this wealthy household.

The people below me had their fair share of gossip.

They said I had an unclear background and impure intentions.

When Rock found out, he was furious and severely punished those who spread rumors.

Under his protection, the gossip stopped.

It was just like how he now protected Gracia.

But now, he had someone else to protect.

Later, I worked hard and quickly became familiar with the Whites'.

Until I turned twenty.

Rumors started spreading again.

They said I was the child bride of the Whites'.

They said I would soon marry Rock.

After understanding human nature, it was the first time I blushed with embarrassment.

The Whites laughed and said Rock should give me a legitimate status.

I thought it was just a joke, but they were serious.

Rock didn’t object. He even took me back to my village.

He knelt three times and bowed nine times at my parents’ graves, promising that he would treat me well, that he liked me, and that he wanted to marry me and spend his life with me.

But the night before the wedding, Rock suddenly went to meet someone.

When he returned to the room, he yelled at me,

[Cloe, I never thought you were so good at pretending to be weak!]

I didn’t understand what had gotten into him.

I thought he had gotten really angry with me, and that he wouldn’t go through with the wedding the next day.

But he still came, his face dark with anger.

Not only did he come, but his tone was full of disdain.

[Isn't it just that you want to get married? You want to stay in the Whites' for the rest of your life, right?]

[I'll give you what you want!]

His words were full of mockery.

With just one sentence, he labeled me as someone with ulterior motives.

I had heard such words before, but coming from his mouth, they were so harsh and painful.

I didn’t want any misunderstandings between us.

I wanted to get to the bottom of his strange behavior.

Only then did I find out that the night before the wedding, Rock had met with Gracia, his childhood sweetheart.

I clearly remember, in a moment of impulse, I ran to find Rock to confront him.

[Is there someone else in your heart? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why did you have to marry me?]

I had no idea that this sentence touched a nerve in him.

He suddenly sat up straight.

[That sentence should be directed at yourself!]

[People with ulterior motives should not be so greedy!]

I was unjustly accused and full of anger.

I confronted him with the same attitude I had when arguing or fighting with others, demanding that he explain himself.

But Rock always remained silent.

He told me to stay in my place and stop causing trouble.

After that, our relationship reached freezing point.

We would fight after just a few words.

When he started seeing Gracia more frequently,

there was even less to talk about between us.

The Whites' tried to persuade Rock to reconcile with me, but they couldn’t control him.

So they tried to suppress Gracia at every turn.

He blamed everything on me, saying I had become better at pretending to be the weak one to gain sympathy.

After endless arguments and rebuttals,

I slowly stopped speaking.

This marriage dragged on for five more years.

The next morning,

Rock knelt in the ancestral hall, where he was scolded and whipped by Mathew.

When Mathew saw me, his expression softened.

He took me into the study and spoke earnestly,

[lane, I heard about what happened yesterday.]

[Today, I’m going to make this unfilial son apologize to you properly!]

I clenched the divorce papers in my hand.

I walked up to the desk and said seriously,

[Dad, I plan to divorce Rock. Please support me.]