Hazel Sinclair sat on the sofa while her second brother held a cotton ball with tweezers, slowly disinfecting her wound.
Hazel Sinclair frowned every time the disinfectant-soaked cotton ball touched her wound.
A dab, a flinch.
"Why are you being so rough? Can’t you see she’s in agony?" Mrs. Sinclair, who was standing nearby, saw this and pushed her second son’s shoulder. The shove drove the cotton ball hard into the wound.
"Ssss—" Hazel Sinclair felt a jolt of pain shoot straight to the crown of her head.
Mrs. Sinclair hastily withdrew her hand, not daring to utter another word.
"I bet that hurts even more now," Ethan Sinclair remarked, glancing up at his mother.
Leon Sterling, sitting beside her, gripped her hand tightly, his gaze fixed on the wound.
He was overwhelmed with self-blame.
’If only I had pulled Hazel away a little faster, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.’
The Sinclairs gathered around, and seeing the long gash, they were itching to beat Evan Sinclair to a pulp.
’That damned bastard. If he’s going to be angry, he can go home and stew in it. What gives him the right to throw a fit in our house?’
Juliet Sinclair watched from the sidelines, her heart pounding with anxiety.
When she saw the grim expression on her eldest brother’s face, she grew even more tense.
’We’re doomed,’ she thought. ’He’s furious.’
’I never would have guessed Hazel Sinclair was so important to them.’
Fiona Chambers stood to the side, looking utterly wretched. She was furious, but after being thoroughly reprimanded, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.
’These people are not to be trifled with.’
Fiona Chambers began to seethe with resentment for the family patriarch. He hadn’t divided the assets fairly, giving the main company to the eldest son while her family only got two subsidiaries.
’And now look,’ she fumed. ’Those two subsidiaries have fallen into the hands of that worthless girl.’
After Ethan Sinclair finished bandaging her wound, Leon Sterling anxiously asked him, "Her eyes are all swollen from crying. Is there any way to reduce the swelling?"
Ethan Sinclair glanced at her red, swollen eyes and said, "Apply an ice pack, or boil a few eggs."
Leon Sterling nodded. "Okay."
Once everything was taken care of, Ethan Sinclair noticed that the family of four was still there, and his eyes filled with impatience.
"Get the hell out of here. Are you planning on staying for New Year’s?"
"Out—"
Serena Sinclair limped out of the Sinclair Villa, and the other three reluctantly followed suit.
With that group dealt with, everyone’s gaze fell upon the couple sitting on the sofa.
"Leon Sterling, you can get out. Hazel Sinclair is staying," Caleb Sinclair said.
Leon Sterling gripped her hand and looked at them earnestly. "I’m taking Hazel home."
"She’s my wife."
"You can get a divorce. The two of you will go to the registry office tomorrow and file the papers," Caleb Sinclair said coldly.
"No."
The word came from Hazel Sinclair, who looked at the gathered members of her family.
"I’m not divorcing him."
At these words, the face of every Sinclair in the room darkened.
"Are you completely love-struck? You’d rather live in that rundown studio than this mansion?"
"Watch out, or you’ll have cockroaches crawling on you while you sleep," Simon Sinclair said, his tone a mixture of anger and disappointment.
’Cockroaches?’
Hearing that, Hazel Sinclair laughed dryly to herself.
’Those things are a daily companion for any hardworking stiff!’
’Dark, damp apartments that never see the sun are the perfect breeding grounds for them.’
’I’ve practically become an expert at exterminating them.’
"I rented a new apartment today—a three-bedroom in the city. I won’t let her keep living in that studio."
"I’ve been running a street stall to earn money. It’s been hard, but I will treat her right," Leon Sterling said, looking at them with utmost seriousness.
"Look at how she’s dressed. You call this treating her right?" Ethan Sinclair demanded, pointing at her clothes.
Hazel Sinclair glanced down at her dress. ’It’s perfectly nice,’ she thought. ’I bought it at a real store in the mall. It cost almost a thousand dollars.’
’Back in my old life, I’d never have dreamed of spending so much on one dress. I used to buy all my clothes for 9.9 dollars on some bargain-bin shopping app.’
"And her hands—look, they’re getting calluses! Her hair has gotten all dry and has split ends," Simon Sinclair added angrily, pointing at her sleek, dark hair.
Hearing this, Hazel raised a hand to touch her silky hair and then glanced down at her hands.
Her hair was still smooth and dark, her hands as fair as jade, without a single trace of manual labor.
"Her quality of life has seriously declined. You say you treat her well? Is this what you call treating her well?"
"Everything she eats, wears, or uses has always cost at least ten thousand dollars. When has she ever had to suffer like this in her entire life?" Caleb Sinclair continued to berate him.
Listening to their accusations, one after another, Leon Sterling lowered his head in shame, unable to say a word.
’It was true. Since he’d gone bankrupt, Hazel had endured so many hardships with him.’
’Now that her relationship with the Sinclair family has eased, what right do I have to stop her from returning to them?’
Hazel Sinclair heard that and started cursing wildly in her mind. ’The original owner of this body must have been born under a lucky star! She’s had such good fortune her whole life!’
’Doted on by the Sinclair family, never suffered a day even after getting married... and just a few months after Leon Sterling went bankrupt, a pauper like me transmigrated into her body!’
’Where’s the school counselor when you need one? I’m losing it!’
’I’m really losing it!’
The system silently covered its ears, not wanting to hear her foul language. There was no counselor, only Jason Sinclair.
Feeling a wave of inferiority, Leon Sterling slowly loosened his grip on Hazel Sinclair’s hand, his heart twisting in pain.
Just then, Hazel Sinclair reached out and grabbed his wrist. Looking at everyone, she declared, "The way I’m living now is the result of my own choices."
"I was the shameless one who climbed into his bed and insisted on marrying him." The moment Hazel Sinclair said this, the expressions of the others changed drastically.
Leon Sterling immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, looking at her earnestly. "I was the one who was shameless back then, not you."
"Don’t you ever say something like that again."
"Exactly! He’s the shameless one. He saw how beautiful you were, had wicked thoughts, and did that despicable thing," Simon Sinclair agreed, nodding vehemently as he pushed all the blame onto Leon Sterling.
"Besides, he still owes me money, so I can’t divorce him." With that, Hazel Sinclair grabbed Leon Sterling’s hand, stood up, and started walking toward the door.
"It’s very late. I need to go home."
Once they were outside the Sinclair Villa, Hazel Sinclair immediately shook his hand off and began walking ahead, pretending to be angry.
Seeing her reaction, Leon Sterling hurried to catch up and asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"
"Weren’t you about to give me up? So what are you doing here now?"
"Who needs you, anyway!" Hazel Sinclair snapped. She stopped in her tracks, pointed a finger at his nose, and yelled,
"It’s one thing to have no skills and no money, but you can’t even protect me! Leon Sterling, you’re pathetic! You can’t even protect your own wife!"
Hearing Hazel Sinclair’s words, he stood frozen in place, head bowed. "I’m sorry."
’I never should have been willing to let you go.’
"What good is ’sorry,’ you pathetic loser!" Hazel Sinclair screamed, and as her voice peaked, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
"Let this be a lesson to you. If there’s a next time, we’re getting a divorce!"