Domineering ex, cute wife trapped

This time, Sophia gathered the courage to finally pull out the divorce agreement she had prepared from a canvas bag that had been used for years and was even starting to yellow. She looked at William sitting across from her with a look of disdain and coldly said, "Sign it. Once you sign, I will move out immediately." William's eyes were vacant. He felt that he had to do something now, or else his family would lose all face. After all, Sophia had only married him because his family had unconditionally fulfilled all her requirements and even paid off hundreds of thousands of yuan in usurious loans for her family. Otherwise, Sophia would probably never have even looked at him. The room was incredibly quiet. No one spoke, both parties testing and guessing what the other was thinking, or more accurately, trying to figure out how to gain something from the other. However, to William, his family held no value for Sophia's family. To put it bluntly, his family was just a parasite interested only in money. But in Sophia’s eyes, his family were a bunch of arrogant and useless people, even a group of incurable mental patients. “Get on with it. How can a grown man be so slow?” Sophia shoved the pen into William’s hand, speaking impatiently, “It’s just a signature, why is it so hard? You’re not a disabled person, nor an illiterate, so why do you have to look so troubled?” William didn’t expect Sophia to still have this bad temper after so many years, as it had never changed: “Sophia, can you speak nicely?” Sophia angrily slammed the table and shouted, “How could I speak nicely at this point? We've been married for five or six years, I’ve managed everything in this house inside and out, and all you do is act like a lazy master. And your mother, what’s her problem? She’s so old but still runs to our house all the time, rummaging through drawers and looking for passbooks and bank cards. What’s she trying to do? Is she afraid that I might use your hard-earned money to keep a young lover?” “William, you really have no conscience,” Sophia continued, her voice getting louder as she shouted, “Tell me, what’s wrong with my mother? She comes to our house every weekend to help tidy up, otherwise, would our house be this clean and comfortable?” Sophia sneered in her heart, thinking how clueless this man was. If it weren’t for that so-called good mother-in-law secretly borrowing usurious loans to speculate in stocks and getting into massive debt, forcing the company’s 40% share to be transferred to Mr. Chen, how would they be in such a lowly position now? "Is that the reason she keeps searching through the house, suspecting me of something? Did I do anything so outrageous as a daughter-in-law to deserve being scolded by her like this? To put it bluntly, I didn’t leave any heirs for your family, and you know this. That’s why your mother never gave me a second glance at home, and she never mentioned me outside. Besides, I never even fought with you over your mistress..." Sophia took a deep breath and felt much better. After all these years, she finally had the chance to argue with William, and she was about to get rid of the title “Mrs. William,” which made her feel exhilarated and excited. However, William still believed that as long as he apologized sincerely and promised not to do anything reckless in the future, Sophia would stay with him. So, he smiled and said, “Sophia, I’m sorry. I haven’t done well over the years, I haven’t fulfilled my responsibilities as a husband, and I’ve made you suffer so much. I promise I will listen to you from now on and cut ties with that woman. Please believe me, I will keep my word.” But Sophia didn’t appreciate it. She simply said “Sign it” without any further words and remained silent, starting a psychological battle with William. William, however, sat still like a wooden figure in a rice field, not moving, with his hands clasped, fingers lightly touching his nose, eyes closed, and his right foot tapping the floor in time with the ticking of the clock. The sound was in stark contrast to the atmosphere of the room. Yes, he was testing Sophia’s patience, trying to provoke the restless heart within her. But no matter what, Sophia was determined to divorce William. She ignored him for an hour, no matter what he said or did. In the end, William sighed, shaking his head, and sneered, “In the end, you’ve won. After all these years of marriage, we’re about to go our separate ways. Don’t you want to take something from our family?” “Hmph, I’m afraid the only thing worth taking from the William family is money!” Sophia stood up, looking around and feeling sentimental. “From the day we got married, I never thought of divorcing William. When we were dating, I already knew his family looked down on me, a poor wife, but at that time, we were willing to share our lives and stayed loyal to each other. After marriage, William’s mother still treated me the same and never changed. As William’s career started to pick up, he spent more time socializing with clients and friends, coming home later and later, sometimes not returning at all. Meanwhile, I had to deal with his mother’s sarcasm and orders at home. Anyone would be fed up. Now that I can leave, even though I feel reluctant, it’s nice to have peace.” “Indeed, these years have been hard on you. Now that we’re divorcing, I won’t treat you unfairly. We’ll go to the company to get the check, and I’ll send you home.” “Forget about the money. I’m not divorcing William for that worthless family’s wealth. And as for going home, you don’t need to go with me. I’ll take the bus myself. Anyway, my parents aren’t fond of you. I’d rather not cause them any more discomfort.” Sophia said impatiently, taking the divorce agreement and carefully looking at William’s neat signature. She bent down and quickly shoved the agreement back into the canvas bag. “Farewell, from now on, I have nothing to do with William... Oh, wait, I should say starting tomorrow.” William didn’t expect Sophia to be so resolute, but he had no choice but to face reality and calmly said, “Yes, tomorrow morning we’ll go to the civil affairs bureau to handle the divorce procedures.” Sophia tightly gripped her canvas bag, expressionless, staring at the half-open, brown iron door. “Then please, William, make sure to bring the household register and marriage certificate, and be at the civil affairs bureau by 9 AM sharp tomorrow.” “You women really change so fast. Just signed the divorce agreement, and now you’re cutting ties completely,” William said, opening the door to drive Sophia home, but Sophia was already walking away from him. “Hey, do you really have to be so decisive? It’s just a ride home. Do you really have to cut ties so quickly?” Sophia didn’t look back as she walked toward the bus stop heading out of town, completely ignoring William’s frustration. As luck would have it, a bus heading to her neighborhood arrived just as she reached the stop. Fortunately, she didn’t have much luggage—only an old travel bag—so she felt a little relieved. After getting on the bus, she casually sat by the window. Maybe it was because the afternoon was particularly hot, the air conditioning in the bus blew a cool breeze over her, and the stray strands of hair on her forehead lightly brushed her face, but she didn’t mind. She kept her head down, looking at the wedding ring on her right hand’s middle finger, realizing she had forgotten to return it to William. When Sophia arrived home after an hour-long bus ride, she was met with a chaotic scene in the yard. Seeing the relatives gathered around, she immediately felt like her head was going to explode. She rubbed her temples and took a deep breath before walking toward them. “Mom, Dad, I’m home,” Sophia said, pretending everything was fine, smiling cheerfully as she asked, “Uncle, Aunt, why are you all visiting today?” The relatives who were sitting around talking excitedly had never been so eager to visit her home, not even during holidays. Something must be up for them to act this way. “Oh, your uncle’s investment project from a few years ago is starting to make a profit, and we made a few billion just last month, so we’re planning where to go for a nice celebration,” Sophia’s aunt said, looking at Sophia with disdain, then continuing, “Why is Sophia alone with luggage? Where is William? Why didn’t he come back with you?” They were like opportunistic people who always went with the flow. None of them were worth any respect in Sophia’s eyes, but she still had to pretend to be happy and flatter them, “Really? That’s amazing. How about we go to a Vienna buffet? I heard they just launched some new dishes.” Sophia’s aunt took her hand and smiled, “Look at Sophia, as soon as she hears about good food, she’s all smiles.” "Of course, I'm happy because Uncle and Aunt are treating us," William thought to himself, rolling his eyes at Sophia in his mind. Who wouldn’t be happy with a free meal, especially when it's at a five-star hotel in the most bustling area of A city? "Mom, I'm going to change into another set of clothes. You all can talk first." However, William’s mother, Chu Lingling, also stood up and followed William into the inner room. Before she even set down her backpack, she couldn’t wait and softly murmured, "Has the divorce happened?" William, feeling exhausted, nodded in acknowledgment. But Chu Lingling didn’t seem ready to stop and continued, "Divorce is good. Originally, your dad and I thought that if you married into the Ling family, you’d live a good life, no longer suffering with us. But who would have thought everything was just a facade, and behind the scenes, you were living like a maid, taking care of their whole family's meals and daily needs from morning to night."