Chapter 153: She Won’t Marry

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: She Won’t Marry

’No.’ She couldn’t lose her temper with her daughter yet. She still had to coax her.

Mrs. Tao suppressed her frustration, recalling the words her son had repeated to her several times: "What if you lose your temper with her and she gets angry and runs off without a second thought? She might be free if she runs, but our family will be utterly ruined."

Mrs. Tao lowered her head, digging her nails fiercely into her palm. Even as she remembered again how this shameless daughter had forced her and her son to kneel in humiliation before their in-laws, she had long since grown to despise her from the bottom of her heart. On the surface, however, she held her temper and followed her son’s advice to persuade her daughter slowly. Softening her voice, she sighed and said:

"If you’d known it would come to this, why did you do it in the first place? Whether you get a divorce now is no longer up to you. Those two children aren’t of the Lin family’s blood, your husband went to jail because he acted rashly over this, and your in-laws in the Lin family hate you to the bone. Even if you insist on not divorcing, do you really think you can go back to living the good life you had before?"

An unhappy expression crossed Tao Jianren’s face. "Mom, you don’t understand. You can’t reason with matters of the heart. Even if my in-laws hate me, as long as Lin Dong still has me in his heart, I can turn this around."

"You’re still too naive. You have no idea how much men value their heirs. If it were anything else, it might have been fine." Mrs. Tao sneered inwardly at her daughter’s naivety but maintained a patient expression as she continued to persuade her. "Let’s take a step back. Even if your husband doesn’t care, would his parents, or even his entire Clan, tolerate children who aren’t of the Lin family continuing to muddle their bloodline?"

"..." Tao Jianren hesitated. After a long moment, she bit her lip. "As long as Lin Dong doesn’t care, it’ll be fine. He’s their only son; they’ll never win against him and will eventually give in to his wishes. I... I just have to send the children back to the Gu Family, right?" ’It was always like this. She knew her in-laws could never win against Lin Dong. When they were buying the car, her father-in-law had been dead set against it, saying it was too flashy. But at her urging, Lin Dong just refused to eat for one day, and his parents caved. This time would surely be no exception.’

Tao Jianren grit her teeth and steeled herself. "As long as the two children aren’t around, Lin Dong won’t keep thinking about it. And it’s not like we can’t have more children. When Lin Dong gets out, I’ll just give him a few more sons." Tao Jianren was suddenly filled with regret. For years, Lin Dong had begged her for another child, but she had adamantly refused, thinking that childbirth was painful and would ruin her figure.

But now, she truly regretted it. If only she had one, or even two or three, of Lin Dong’s biological sons...

"You really are—" ’...so incredibly dense.’

Seeing that Tao Jianren was completely impervious to reason, Mrs. Tao finally started to lose her patience, her voice rising slightly. "Even if you were willing to have another child with your husband now, can you guarantee it would be a son? Or can you guarantee that the Lin family wouldn’t suspect whether the child you give birth to is actually theirs?"

Tao Jianren’s face flushed crimson. Her mother’s words had struck a nerve, hitting her exactly where it hurt most. But she had no way to argue—’unfaithful once, untrustworthy forever.’ That was a mantra her father-in-law was always repeating. How could she have forgotten? The Lin family would never let her have Lin Dong’s child again.

"Also, have you forgotten where your husband is right now? He’ll be in there for several years before he can get out. Even if his parents dote on their son and seem to have given in for now, aren’t you afraid they’ll use all sorts of tricks to torment you and the two children at home during those years? What if they treat you like a maid, make you do everything, and work you until you look years older, then present a prettier girl to your husband when he gets out?" Seeing Tao Jianren’s face alternating between red and white, Mrs. Tao knew her words had hit home and decided to add more fuel to the fire.

"They... they wouldn’t really do that, would they?" Tao Jianren was stunned. Her mother’s words made her want to back down. ’That’s right, my father-in-law is a treacherous man. He’s definitely capable of something like that.’ She reached up and touched her face, noticing that it wasn’t as smooth as before since she hadn’t been using her good creams and lotions lately. If she were tormented by those two old people under various pretexts...

She shivered, recalling a coworker who had talked about the cruel tactics of her in-laws. Most people with vicious mothers-in-law looked old for their age, appearing five or six years older than they really were. If that happened to her...

’No. If I lose my beauty, Lin Dong will definitely find me repulsive when he gets out. She knew this full well, and so did her in-laws.’

"Why wouldn’t they? What you did could have ended the Lin family’s entire line. Just tormenting you would be merciful of them. If they were a bit crueler, I’d be afraid you and the children wouldn’t even be alive in a few years. Children are especially fragile. All they’d have to do is not take them to the hospital right away when they get sick with a fever, not give you money for a doctor, and then you’ll see if they survive." Seeing Tao Jianren’s fear, Mrs. Tao was inwardly delighted and made her words even more terrifying. "And don’t think they wouldn’t. The news that those two aren’t their family’s children is already all over town. If they did that, no one would say a thing about it. But you—tell me, if you end up old and haggard from the torment, get rejected by your husband, and have no children, what will you have left to live for in the second half of your life?"

"SOB SOB... But what does Gu Lihui have now? His family was never as well-off as the Lin family to begin with. He used to be handsome, but now... I don’t even dare to imagine what his face looks like. Mom, I’ll agree to divorce Lin Dong, but can I please not marry Gu Lihui? I’ll find someone else. With my looks, I can definitely find another good family."

Tao Jianren sobbed. Ever since she learned that Lin Dong had thrown acid right in Gu Lihui’s face, her love for him had vanished like smoke. A handsome, dashing Gu Lihui—even if his supposed talent was all for show and he was just a doorman at a newspaper office—was someone she could at least say worked at a newspaper. They could be seen as a pair of "the scholar and the beauty." But now...

She shook her head forcefully. ’No, she couldn’t marry a man who surely looked like a monster now. She didn’t want to ruin the rest of her life.’

"But if you marry someone else, what will happen to the two children?" Mrs. Tao sighed, feigning a worried expression. "Your in-laws might be forcing you to marry into the Gu Family out of revenge, but isn’t it also the best choice you have right now?"

"No, absolutely not! Just the thought of having to look at a face that must be like a demon’s every day makes me want to vomit." Tao Jianren gripped her mother’s hand tightly, crying and pleading, "Mom, I can’t wrong myself like this just for the children. I can’t sacrifice myself. I just can’t do it."