Linda stood there with an acrimonious sneer on her round face.
Dorothy didn’t expect to see her adoptive mother there, and she was stunned for a moment.
“Mom, why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here?”
Linda glared at Dorothy with hatred. She wanted to rush over to Dorothy and tear off a few pieces of her flesh. She said, “Dorothy, I brought you back from the welfare home and worked hard to raise you. Yet, you’re such an ungrateful brat! Do you know that Rosalie attempted suicide in the hospital? It was such a deep gash. If the doctor hadn’t saved her in time, she wouldn’t have lived. If you have any grievances, please come to me. Why do you want to hurt Rosalie all the time?”
“It’s all your fault, Dorothy. Why can’t you let Credence go? It was you who took Credence away from Rosie. Now that your relationship with Credence is broken, why don’t you divorce him? Why do you keep holding on to Credence and refuse to let him go?”
“Tell me, how much money do you want so that you’re willing to leave Credence? Are 5 million dollars enough?”
“Mom, your purpose of meeting me is to ask me to divorce Credence… to grant your daughter Rosalie’s wish?” Dorothy asked.
Dorothy’s fingers clung to the two black ribbons on her handbag tightly. She could feel sorrow in her heart, suffocating her.
She always knew that, ever since Linda and Caleb gave birth to their own daughter Rosalie, their feelings toward Dorothy had changed completely.
However, she did not intend to blame them.
After all, it was common to be partial to one’s biological daughter rather than one’s adoptive daughter.
However, she believed that in terms of gratitude and filial piety to her parents, she faired better than Rosalie did. However, she was still an outsider, an outsider who was excluded from the Fisher family.
“Yes, that’s what I mean,” Linda replied.
She sneered and spoke as if it was a matter of fact, “I’ve watched you all these years. Although you’ve married Credence as you wished, you’re not happy at all. Credence only has Rosalie in his heart. It is pointless for you to keep pestering him like this. It’s better to divorce him and wish him and Rosalie the best.”
“Dorothy, in life, one should know their own worth. Given your status as an orphan, you don’t even have the right to stand beside Credence. As for Sheldon’s matter, you should thank him for not sending you to prison. However, he will never forgive you. Now, Rosalie has also been hurt by you. It is our fate to be mother and daughter. I don’t want to punish you for your fault. As long as you divorce Credence, I will give you two million more as a reward, on top of the five million dollars,” Linda said.
Her words were all threats and lures, pressurizing Dorothy to take the initiative to terminate her marriage with Credence.
Dorothy finally understood Linda’s real intention in finding her. She looked at her adoptive mother sadly, and her eyes reddened. She held back her tears and uttered with a hoarse voice, “Mom, besides Rosalie, do you have a place in your heart that belongs to me? Although I am not you and Dad’s biological daughter, I have never done anything to hurt you. Why do you want to force me into a dead end?”
“The fact that your precious daughter cut her wrist to attempt suicide has nothing to do with me. Since she wanted to die, why didn’t she cut deeper? Why didn’t she die in the end?”
At that moment, Dorothy was like a child who had been abandoned by the whole world. She burst into tears and shouted hysterically.
She told herself that she should have been used to the fact that no one loved her.
“Don’t mind it. Don’t mind it.” she thought to herself.
However, she couldn’t hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.
Dorothy looked at Linda with her reddened eyes. Linda was the woman who had raised her but always favored her own daughter.
She was finally filled with despair.
“Mom, to be honest, unless I die, I will never divorce Credence! As long as I live, I will not let Credence and Rosalie be together. I want her to be regarded as a mistress forever. I want her to live in pain and torment. I will never let her get together with Credence in my lifetime, nor in the next!” Dorothy said.
Bang bang!
Linda rushed up to Dorothy and gave her two slaps in anger. She cursed, “Dorothy, you are a shameless little b’tch. Rosalie is your younger sister. How can you be so vicious?”
Linda was so angry her face twisted in fury. She glared at Dorothy fiercely, as if she was looking at her sworn enemy. Her gaze was full of viciousness.
“She is my sister? Mom, is there something wrong with your brain or am I misremembering?”
Dorothy did not move, enduring Linda’s two ruthless slaps. She felt her cheeks burning with pain. She clenched her teeth and looked at the fierce woman in front of her, smiling slowly.
The smile was pained and repressed. “Mom, you and Dad have only one daughter, and that is Rosalie! As for me, you don’t treat me like a daughter at all. I’m just your pet. When you are in a good mood, you can be nice to me. When you are in a bad mood, I become your punching bag. No matter how much Rosalie has hurt others, you forgive and tolerate her unconditionally. However, if I do something wrong, even if it’s a trivial matter, you and Dad will tie me up and beat me…”
“It is because I’m just an adopted daughter and hence, I have to suffer all the unfair treatment. As I’m just an adopted daughter, I have to let Credence be with your biological daughter, right?”
Linda pursed her acrimonious lips and snorted with disdain, “Dorothy, the person that Credence likes is Rosalie and Rosalie likes him too. If it wasn’t for the old man of the Scott family, you would never have gotten a chance to marry Credence. Besides, you’ve already enjoyed the privilege of being Mrs. Scott for four years. It’s time for you to return Credence to Rosalie. Don’t be so shameless!”
Dorothy’s body trembled violently. She looked at Linda with misty eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke calmly and bitterly, “Yes, I am shameless. But your daughter wants to hook up with her brother-in-law every day. How is she better than me? Mom, as long as I am alive, I will never divorce Credence.”
“I’m not happy, so everyone can’t be happy either.”
Even if she was doomed to live in Purgatory in the future, she would drag Rosalie to hell with her.
For so many years, even if Linda and Caleb had gone too far and despised her, Dorothy had never really hated them.
Without the Fisher family raising her, she might not have been able to grow up safely in the impoverished orphanage.
After all, she should hold gratitude towards those who had raised her.
Therefore, she never really blamed Linda’s family, including Rosalie who had wronged her in every way.
However, at that moment, Dorothy was resentful towards the woman standing in front of her.
“It’s not up to you to decide whether to divorce or not,” Linda said.
Linda’s face suddenly turned livid. She strode up to Dorothy and gave her shoulder a push. Linda said, “You are a barren woman. Why don’t you divorce him? Do you want Credence to be without an heir? I’ll tell you, that’s impossible. The Scott family will never allow a barren woman to be Mrs. Scott. If you would rather die than divorce him, then be prepared for Credence to have another family out of marriage. Be prepared for him to have a baby with Rosalie.”
“Mom, you’re probably still dreaming! Do you know why Credence is merely dating your precious daughter? Because he’s only interested in my body. Even if it’s just for crappy s*x, he will never divorce me!”
Her words were her counterattack. However, Dorothy’s mind was a mess at that moment. Why couldn’t she give birth to a child anymore? What exactly did Linda know?
She didn’t have time to ponder on it before Linda gave her a push. She staggered backwards and her stiff back bumped into a cool chest. In a panic, she turned around. When she saw the man behind her clearly, she was so frightened that her heart almost stopped beating.
“Credence, why… why are you here?”
How long had he been here? How much did he hear?
Dorothy was stunned and stopped in her tracks. For a moment, she did not know how to face him. Did he hear everything she just said?
Without any reason, Dorothy felt uneasy.
Facing Credence’s cold gaze, she was unable to distinguish his emotions, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear at the bottom of her heart.
“Credence, I’m just here to talk to Dorothy about some matters. Since you’re back, you should have a good chat with Dorothy. Don’t take too long. Rosalie needs you!”
Dorothy was not the only one who was afraid of Credence. Linda was also extremely afraid of him. She greeted him with a smile, turned around, and left quickly.
“Dorothy, you’re not happy living with me?”
“Since you are not happy, then everyone can’t be happy?”
His tall and domineering body approached Dorothy, step by step. It was not until he had forced her into a corner that he stopped, and his face turned gloomy.
“I’m only interested in your body. Even if it’s just for crappy sex, I won’t divorce you… right?”