Reunited After Ten Autumns

After the divorce, I returned to my hometown, a broken man carrying my son's ashes, and opened a small clinic.

It had been ten years since I last saw Seraphina Vance.

Arthur, Leos back! Ive come to take you home!

Her expression was solemn, even more earnest than when she confessed her love to me all those years ago.

Leo, clinging to her arm, smirked, a brazen glint in his eyes. "Brother-in-law, I was too reckless back then, running away from home. It made my sister misunderstand you, thinking you forced me to my death."

"But she's never truly moved on from you all these years. You shouldn't be holding a grudge, hiding out here."

I stared at Seraphina, my face devoid of emotion. "Now that your beloved foster brother has returned, can I finally have my son back?"

Seraphina frowned, almost imperceptibly. "Arthur, I can apologize for what happened back then."

"You only lost a son and an arm, but Leo nearly had his reputation ruined and suffered out there for a full ten years!"

"You need to let it go!"

I opened my mouth, but the strength to argue had long left me.

"You're right. I've let it go. Please leave, both of you."

Ten years ago, the news that I, a dermatologist, had treated Leo for an STI leaked.

In a fit of rage, Seraphina ordered her men to break my arm, destroying my career.

"Leo is just a kid! How dare you slander his name, spread rumors that he had a venereal disease?"

"Someone as malicious as you doesn't deserve to be a doctor!"

Soon after, she posted a video of me showering online.

"Some people are constantly hooking up, can't even wash off that disgusting stench of depravity!"

Her parents, my in-laws, reprimanded her for going too far.

Seraphina scoffed, "He slandered Leo and still refuses to admit it! Only by making him experience the pain of being slandered will he realize his mistake!"

When it came to Leo, my in-laws remained silent.

Overnight, our son was branded "the spawn of a deviant," tormented at kindergarten, and became severely withdrawn.

My reputation was ruined; I was fired from the hospital and vilified online.

Frantic, I found the treatment reports, desperate to explain to Seraphina.

But she didn't even bother to glance at them, tossing them casually into the trash.

"Still unrepentant, daring to forge evidence and continue to tarnish Leo's name?"

"What did such a pure and kind young man like Leo ever do to you, that you would so meticulously plot against him?"

Leo, who had initially tearfully begged me for treatment, claiming hed been accidentally infected by a promiscuous girlfriend and was filled with regret, now glared at me with venomous eyes.

"Brother-in-law, I was only eighteen, still a child! How could you be so cruel to me?"

"Do you have any idea how much harm those rumors caused me?"

He buried his face in Seraphina's embrace, sobbing. He claimed that on his way home from school, thugs would harass him, asking how much he charged for a night, and he'd nearly been assaulted by a drunkard

Seraphina's face darkened instantly. She dragged me to the heart of the city's bar district.

"This trash is free to take!"

"Men and women, young and old, no preferences!"

"He can't get pregnant, so no responsibility needed!"

Countless drunken patrons, eyes gleaming, leered at me, their faces contorted in lewd smiles. I broke down, desperately clutching Seraphina.

"No, you can't do this to me! I really didn't"

Her face remained impassive as she kicked my injured arm. The searing pain forced me to release her.

"You need to deeply experience the suffering you inflicted on Leo!"

"Don't worry, this is just a small lesson, to make you remember!"

"At the critical moment, the bodyguards will intervene!"

She gently comforted Leo, walking away step by step. But once her figure disappeared, the drunken crowd surged forward like wild animals, tearing at my clothes.

"No, don't help me!"

I struggled wildly, reaching out to the bodyguards Seraphina had arranged. They merely gave a cold command.

"Don't kill him!"

I can't recall how I ended up in the hospital. I only remember my colleague, tears streaming down her face, as she worked to save me.

"How could Seraphina do this to you?"

"She used to say you were the person she admired most, back when she was pursuing you."

I wanted to know too. How could the woman who once loved me so deeply inflict such cruelty? Why did she get to treat me this way?

Battered and bruised, I was discharged three days later, a shell of my former self. I returned home like a zombie.

Only my four-year-old son, seeing me, burrowed into my arms, his voice thick with injustice. "Daddy, all the kids pick on me! They call me the dirty man's kid, they call my daddy"

I choked back tears, gently comforting him. "Little Ace, they're lying. Daddy didn't"

My son looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. "But everyone says you wronged Mommy. Many people saw your pictures from the bar online."

My heart lurched. I stared at Seraphina, disbelief warring with horror. "You how could you"

I hadn't been without my doubts. Perhaps, allowing those drunkards to brazenly assault me wasn't Seraphina's intention. Maybe Leo had acted on his own, and she was unaware. But now

I could no longer deceive myself.

Seraphina frowned, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. "Leo only wanted to vent his anger, so he faked those photos and posted them online."

"Isn't that what you did to him?"

"When it's your turn to be slandered, you can't handle it? Then how dare you forge evidence to slander Leo?"

I closed my eyes in despair, my heart completely broken. "Forged photos? Do you believe that?"

"Do you truly not know what happened to me that night?"

Seraphina roared, cutting me off. "Enough! This matter ends here!"

"Leo has decided not to pursue this further with you, so don't be so petty and cling to it!"

Perhaps to placate me, Seraphina sighed, then suddenly embraced me from behind, whispering, "Alright, I know you're angry, I'll make it up to you tonight."

"You know, even though Leo isn't my biological brother, he's been pampered since childhood and never suffered any hardships."

"As his brother-in-law, you shouldn't be so petty with a child!"

My body stiffened. The nightmare of that night flashed through my mind, making me tremble uncontrollably. I violently pushed Seraphina away, then vomited uncontrollably, retching until I brought up bile.

Seraphina's face turned ashen. "Arthur! What is the meaning of this?"

"I haven't even scorned you, and you dare to sulk and throw a tantrum at me?"

"You malicious man, you're filthy! And to think Leo was even worried you'd be angry, and persuaded me to comfort you"

Another pang of agony shot through my heart. So, her willingness to touch me was merely a task assigned by Leo? No, Leo probably just wanted her to see the scars covering my body, the damage inflicted by those drunkards.

I completely lost the will to argue. "Since you detest me so much, let's get a divorce."

I had married Seraphina with so much hope. Now, I yearned to escape this repulsive marriage with an equal measure of despair.

Seraphina's face grew even darker. "You are utterly irrational!"

"All these years, I truly spoiled you rotten!"

"Since you remain stubborn and unrepentant, I'll revoke your privileges and give you time to reflect!"

Seraphina canceled my cards. Even though I had never spent a single penny from her black card's supplementary account.

The next morning, Leo beamed at the rows of limited-edition sneakers before him. "Sister, you're the best!"

He excitedly kissed Seraphina's cheek. Seraphina dotingly ruffled his hair. "You silly child, isn't it only natural for your sister to be good to you?"

"Spending money on you makes me happy. You're not like some people, who from beginning to end, show no gratitude and don't know their place!"

She curled her lips, her words laced with sarcasm. Then, she cast a cold glance my way. "What, finally admit you were wrong?"

I nodded silently. I was indeed wrong, wrong to have loved her.

Leo pouted. "Some people don't admit they're wrong, they just realize they're out of money!"

I offered no explanation, no rebuttal. Calmly, I produced the divorce papers and the bank card Seraphina had given me.

"I have my own salary and savings; I've never spent a cent of yours."

"I will leave with nothing, taking not a single thread from the Vance estate."

"My only request is custody of Little Ace."

Seraphina froze instantly. "Arthur, you"

Leo secretly gloated, snatching the divorce papers to glance at them. Then he sighed, "Brother-in-law, why are you doing this? You know sister can't bear to divorce."

"Even if you revealed your ugly true colors, for the sake of the child, sister would never kick you out."

"What's the point of this charade?"

I shot him a sidelong glance. "Shouldn't you be happy that Seraphina and I are divorcing?"

That way, no one would compete with him for his "good sister."

Leo instantly looked on the verge of tears, appearing utterly helpless. "Brother-in-law, what do you mean by that?"

"I merely spoke the truth. How can you be so maliciously suspicious of me?"

Seraphina's face darkened. With a bang, she slammed her hand on the table. "Arthur, apologize to Leo!"

I opened my mouth, a thought stirring within me. "Apologize? I can!"

"Sign first!"

Seraphina grew even angrier, grabbing the divorce papers and tearing them to shreds. "Put away your little tricks!"

"Playing hard to get won't work on me!"

"I advise you to give up that fantasy! I will never let you succeed, and I will certainly not entrust my son to a scoundrel like you!"

I couldn't understand why she refused. Because of our son? Yet she herself had labeled Little Ace "the spawn of a deviant." Because of feelings? Had she ever truly harbored feelings for me?

However, since she cared so much for Leo I took a deep breath, then pulled out a diligently collected file. "This is the evidence of Leo's illness! And the surveillance video of him crying and begging me for treatment in my office, along with his treatment records"

Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to slander Leo again?"

I said calmly, "Whether it's slander or not, the police and the judge will give me justice in court."

"If you refuse to divorce, I don't mind going to court to sue for divorce."

"Your breaking my arm and utterly destroying me because of his lies is proof that our relationship has fractured."

"A woman as morally bankrupt and ruthless as you doesn't deserve to be a mother!"

Seraphina scoffed. "Go ahead, if you dare. I'd like to see how you continue to lie in court!"

However, at that moment, Leo suddenly snatched a fruit knife from the table and lightly cut his wrist. He cried and screamed, raging loudly. "Brother-in-law, are you not satisfied until you've forced me to my death?"

Seraphina's face instantly changed. She snatched the fruit knife away and frantically helped Leo up. "Quick, to the hospital!"

I could tell at a glance that Leo was faking it. But Seraphina violently pushed me, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

"If anything happens to Leo, you will never be forgiven, even in a hundred deaths!"