Chapter 2: Completely Ending a Life of Humiliation

Today, Leo's heart was pounding with anticipation as he awaited that moment's arrival.

The car drove into the villa district and stopped in front of Villa No. 3. Tina hurriedly got out of the car; she really didn't want to spend another second with her cowardly, mute brother-in-law.

It was now eight in the evening. After parking the car, Leo entered the villa, returned to his room, and closed the door.

Leo and Sophia Henley each had their own bedroom. Although they had been married for four years, their marriage was in name only—they hadn't even held hands.

At this moment, Leo had a strong premonition that the familiar pain would soon return, but this time it would be even more intense than before.

Leo took the calendar from the table and crossed out the number 30 with a pen.

Today would mark the end of his life of humiliation. Even if the old man had deceived him, he would leave the Henley family for good!

A sharp pain pierced through his head. Leo quickly took off his shirt, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to focus his mind, waiting for that moment to arrive.

Meanwhile, in the downstairs hall, his mother-in-law, Jessica Henley, entered with a man about Leo's age, chatting and laughing.

"Gilbert, how could you come back to Langstel without telling me earlier?" Jessica led the man to the sofa. "Have a seat; I'll make you some coffee."

The man, named Gilbert Gray, was the son of Jessica's close friend. He wore a well-fitting casual suit, had long legs, and a handsome appearance—like the tall, attractive leading men often seen in dramas.

"Aunt Jessica, you are so nice. I just graduated from abroad and came to see you and Sophia," Gilbert said, taking out a small, exquisite box and handing it to Jessica. "I didn't have time to prepare a proper gift; I hope you'll like this."

"Gilbert, your mother and I are best friends. You don't need to go through such formalities," Jessica pretended to be upset.

Gilbert smiled, saying, "That's why I bought gifts for both my mom and you."

"You sweet child!" Jessica opened the box to find a beautiful bracelet, clearly expensive. She placed the box aside and went to get Gilbert some coffee, sighing inwardly.

Jessica had watched Gilbert grow up; he had always been well-behaved and smart.

Initially, she had hoped to pair him with Sophia after their university graduation. However, Gilbert's decision to study abroad had delayed those plans.

Soon after he went abroad, Tina fell ill with a rare disease. With both domestic and international hospitals helpless, Jessica, who was somewhat superstitious, turned to a fortune teller for help.

The fortune teller advised her to arrange a marriage between Sophia and a young man of humble origins to cure Tina's illness.

Miraculously, after the marriage, Sophia's illness vanished.

However, Jessica didn't credit Leo for her daughter's recovery. To her, Leo, an orphan, was just a tool. If it weren't for the complications of property division in a divorce, Jessica would have kicked him out long ago.

And to make matters worse, Leo had lost his voice three years ago.

Thinking of her mute son-in-law and comparing him to Gilbert, Jessica felt a surge of irritation.

"By the way, Aunt Jessica, isn't Sophia back yet?" Gilbert looked around casually and asked.

Jessica placed a cup of coffee in front of Gilbert and replied, "She's busy with work and might not be home until ten."

"I heard Sophia got married while I was abroad. Is her husband at home?" Gilbert inquired.

A look of disgust crossed Jessica's face as she pointed to the second floor, saying, "That lazy good-for-nothing should be upstairs, though who knows what he's doing."

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk appeared on Gilbert's face. "Where does Sophia's husband work?"

Hearing this question, Jessica's anger flared up, exacerbated by her menopausal mood swings. She yelled upstairs, "Leo, we have a guest! Why aren't you coming down? Are you avoiding people?"

Upon hearing her words, Gilbert secretly thought that things seemed exactly like what he had heard.

In fact, before coming, he had already heard that Sophia had married a useless man.

This man spent his days lounging at home, living off a woman, and never working.

Oh, it also would not be easy for a mute like him to find a job anyway.

He was indeed living worse than a house pet.

It was almost nine o'clock, and Leo's symptoms were becoming more evident. Despite hearing Jessica's calls, he couldn't leave his room.

Jessica, hearing no response from upstairs, shouted again, "Tina, your sweetheart Gilbert is here! Hurry down!"

Tina's door was opened, and she glanced downstairs, displeased. "Mom, why are you yelling? Gilbert's here, so what? Why make a fuss?"

Tina disliked Leo and disliked Gilbert even more. Her intuition told her that Gilbert was a scheming individual and not a good person.

"Tina, how can you talk to your mother like that?" Jessica's anger flared again.

Gilbert quickly interjected, saying to Jessica, "Please don't be angry. It's not worth upsetting yourself. Sophia's husband might not be home."

Using a bit of reverse psychology, Gilbert was eager to meet the infamous live-in son-in-law.

As expected, Jessica couldn't hold back her anger at hearing this and urged by asking, "Tina, is Leo back?"

"Yes, he came home with me!"

"Go call him down!" Jessica ordered.

"Fine," Tina replied impatiently and headed to Leo's room.

Tina felt her cowardly brother-in-law was getting more outrageous. As soon as he got home, he locked himself in his room, acting like he was some sort of master.

Just as Tina reached to knock, a scream of agony came from Leo's room—a scream of utter pain.

This scream didn't frighten Tina. She sighed helplessly and shook her head, saying, "Oh, he's having another episode again."

The Henley family members had grown used to this. Similar incidents had occurred in the past two years, and no one had bothered to take Leo to a hospital. To the Henley family, it would be best if Leo died.

But Tina still pushed the door open and saw a scene she would never forget.

"Ah!" After a brief moment of shock, Tina let out a terrified scream and fled.

On the bed there was a human-like figure, as if it had just been pulled out of tar, covered in a layer of black goo, with only a pair of bright black eyes showing any sign of life.

No wonder Tina was frightened.