Chapter 9 A Confrontation With Coraline

• Enduring the pain, I propped myself up from the couch. No matter what, I'm not going to allow him to do as he pleases. Even if we were still a loving couple, I wouldn't allow him to interfere in my work, much less when our relationship is now in tatters.
• After washing my face, I changed. While I was still contemplating how I should conceal the scratches on my face and neck with makeup, loud pounding sounded at the door.
• Through the peephole, I saw my mother-in-law, Coraline Zelinsky. All at once, trepidation surged within me. Ugh! She's definitely not here for any good reason, considering the suddenness of her visit. Yet, I couldn't ignore her.
• Having no other choice, I slowly opened the door. Before I could even greet her, she slapped me hard across the face. My ears buzzed at the strike as though a bee was flitting around me.
• “Give my son his eye back, you b*tch!”
• “Coraline, I...”
• Before I had even finished speaking, she charged forward and grabbed my hair, cursing me out aggressively.
• “Julius is still receiving treatment in the hospital, yet you came home to sleep! How nice! You don't care about him at all, huh? You're such an ungrateful b*tch!”
• “Coraline, can you please be reasonable? Not only did your son fool around with another woman behind my back, but he even brought her home! I did nothing wrong!”
• Irritation swamped me as she continued yanking at my hair. After breaking free from her grip, my scalp smarted so badly that I felt as though it was going to tear.
• “Fool around? Hah! You speak as though you're oh-so-pure. What right do you have to condemn Julius when you're not even a virgin on your wedding night? It's already merciful of him that he didn't divorce you after finding out that you're such a sl*t. Now, he merely went out for some comfort, yet you dare to kick up such a fuss?”
• I finally knew why the reason for Julius' questionable morals. Sure enough, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! But that aside, I never thought that he'd actually tell his mother about our marital issues! How abhorrent!
• I was so livid that I didn't want to yak with her anymore. Just when I was planning to slam the door in her face, she clutched at my clothes while standing by the door fiercely as though having discerned my intention.
• A moment later, she abruptly screeched.
• “You're really something else, Liliana! Sure enough, you're cheating on Julius with another man!”
• As I looked down, I glimpsed the bruises from my scuffle with Julius last night, marring my skin under my clothes.
• What a lunatic! I rolled my eyes at her. “This isn't the evidence of me having an affair out there. Open your eyes and look carefully. This is the evidence of your son roughing me up after bringing his mistress home. So you want to kick up a fuss, huh? I'll play along with you!”
• Coraline had always been a shrew. As she single-handedly raised Julius, she pampered him greatly and would forever side with him regardless of whether he was in the right or otherwise.
• Back then, my greatest worry about this marriage was the fact that I would have such a mother-in-law. But later, I thought that everything would be fine as long as I didn't provoke her.
• But from the look of things now, I was really too naive then!
• Upon hearing that, Coraline was startled for a moment since that possibility probably never crossed her mind. In the next second, she hastily slipped her mask back in place and glowered at me in disdain.
• “This is nothing. Look at my son's eye! I've never seen such a ruthless woman like you who'd poke out her own man's eye! What exactly are you plotting? So, you were eager to bag my son when you saw that he came back from abroad, but you're now disdaining him after having gotten yourself some rich man? I've seen brazen women, but never one as shameless as you! You're obviously a b*tch whose family never taught you any manners!”
• “That's enough!” I snapped at long last. I don't care if she castigates me, but not my family! Thus, I snarled, “The video of your son getting it on with another woman in the car is now in my hands, so you'd better not anger me!”