Chapter 4

Nina's foot came down with a thud, her hand waving the feather duster menacingly as she lunged at William once more.

"Look at the chaos you've created! Your grandfather would be turning in his grave if he knew about this. If he could, he'd come back just to give you a piece of his mind! Even if Brian s furious and giving you the cold shoulder, I'd rather have him as my only son than you!"

"Why are you attacking me? He's equally responsible for our divorce, why don't you lash out at him!"

William darted around like a cornered animal, his tall figure bounding from the sofa to the cabinet, from the cabinet to the stairs, and from the stairs back to the sofa. Thankfully, the ceiling was lofty, and the lights were hung high, otherwise, he would have been swinging from the chandeliers.

"Brian did nothing wrong, it's all your fault. You're always buried in work, never at home, not a single soothing word from you. You're always busy with work, but that doesn't mean you can just neglect your family, does it?"

Nina's words were cleverly chosen. While it seemed like she was scolding her son, she was actually trying to show Brian that William's neglect wasn't intentional - he was just too caught up in his work.

As she pursued William around the house, her eyes kept darting towards Brian. If Brian said 'stop', she would instantly cease her assault on William.

Brian didn't even flinch, he saw right through the charade. Nina was staging a spectacle for him. She was hoping that after a good thrashing, he would simmer down, William would express remorse, and everything would return to normal. Divorce? After all this drama, why bother?

Brian smirked to himself, indeed, blood is thicker than water.

He left the cake in the kitchen and seized the opportunity to slip upstairs while Nina was preoccupied with chasing William.

"I'm going to change my clothes."

The old house still had their room. Brian would return every month to spend a few days with William's parents, so he had clothes there. He ascended the stairs at a leisurely pace.

A resounding door slam echoed from upstairs.

Nina's feather duster struck William's back, making him yelp. He winced in pain, massaging his aching back.

"This is serious. Even a beating isn't doing the trick."

The feather duster was frayed, feathers strewn all over the living room. The slender bamboo handle was also snapped by Nina. She bit her lip and furrowed her brows, realizing that this was not a farce, it was real. Brian was seriously considering divorcing William.

She stared at the staircase, unable to decipher why.

Regardless of the reason for the divorce, it couldn't transpire.

If it couldn't happen, then there had to be a way to prevent it.

Brian wanted a divorce, regardless of who was right or wrong. Since she, as the mother-in-law, had to intervene, she couldn't just side with William. She couldn't just defend William and criticize Brian. If the couple was at odds, as the mother-in-law, she had to chastise her son in front of Brian. Look, I've disciplined him, I've vented your anger, you're not upset anymore, right? William would apologize, and as long as Brian was pacified and no longer desired a divorce, everything would be fine.

Of course, she didn't genuinely want to harm her son. It was all just an act, a show to set the tone. It was a show for Brian, not a genuine punishment.

But now, Brian had retreated upstairs, not even bothering to watch.

William rolled up his sleeve to reveal several swollen, purple welts on his arm. "You really hit me, look at this."

Feeling aggrieved, William protested. He hadn't seen his mother in two years, and the first thing she did when she saw him was assault him.

"If beating you prevents him from divorcing, I'd break your legs if I had to.

What on earth did you do to make Brian so upset? He's had a rough few years, did you do something to truly provoke him?"

"You're blaming me, just go ahead and blame me for everything. I upset him? The last time I called him was during the New Year, I have no idea what got into him."

Regarding the divorce, he was genuinely clueless, he had no idea why.

"Go, go upstairs and soothe him, say sweet things, even kneel if you have to, go, quickly!"

Nina nudged and prodded, urging William to go upstairs. Kneeling was acceptable, as long as he could win Brian back and keep the family intact, it was worth it.

"No, mom, wait, mom, I lost my shoe, what should I say, he's ignoring me."

William bent over to retrieve his shoe, his mother was so insistent, he had no choice but to ascend the stairs.

"You good-for-nothing, you don't even know how to appease your spouse, what use are you? Say whatever he wants to hear, apologize, agree with everything he says, cling to his legs and cry if you have to."

"That's too humiliating, it's utterly shameless."

"Do you want your pride or do you want Brian?"

Nina glared at him, challenging him.

With Brian by his side, he wouldn't need to think about retirement, or spend his time haggling with foreigners over a single percentage point for a whole month.

"I want Brian."