Chapter 3I Filed Divorce When He Saved Her First

Craig desperately tried to hold back the furious mob. Anna was on the floor, sobbing and banging her head, begging them to let me go. My mother-in-law, snapping out of her daze, ran to the nurses' station for help.

Eventually, the chaos was brought under control. But by then, I was a broken, bloody mess. Craig, his face pale with panic, rushed me to the emergency room.

Someone had filmed the entire incident and posted it online.

I woke up in a regular hospital room after surgery and checked my phone.

The top trending topic: "Mom and Daughter Fall in Water, Dad Saves Daughter, Mom Files for Divorce."

A related topic was number two: "Your Wife and Your Mom Fall in the Water. Who Do You Save First?"

I calmly clicked on the first link. There were already hundreds of thousands of comments, all of them cursing me.

"She doesn't deserve to be a mother. Go to hell."

"Not this again. Last time, a mother buried her daughter alive in a flour bin because her husband bought the girl a roasted duck. I hope this father learns from that and protects his child."

"Seconded. And that other mother who threw her daughter in the river because she was jealous. The father in this story needs to watch his kid like a hawk."

"She sees her daughter as a rival, a competitor. People like that are incredibly selfish. She should be sterilized."

"What is there to even think about? Divorce her immediately before she becomes an even bigger problem."

"If it were me, I'd rather my daughter have no mother than a mother like that. Get as far away from her as possible."

My hospital room was surrounded by reporters and angry netizens. I could hear Craig's patient, defensive voice on the other side of the door.

"My wife wasn't always like this. She used to love our daughter more than I did. I don't know what's happened to her. Maybe I spoiled her too much. She can't handle me being nice to any other female, even if it's our own daughter. Thank you all for your concern. I love my wife very much. I won't be divorcing her."

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I got out of bed and slowly opened the door.

"Craig, you can stop the act. This divorce is happening."

He turned, his voice low and pleading. "Honey, I promise I'll love you even more from now on. Please, don't be like this. If you're really that upset about Anna, I'll send her to live with my mom for a while."

I was unmoved. "The divorce is non-negotiable. And not only am I divorcing you, I'm taking everything. You will leave with nothing."

Craig's face darkened.

The crowd of onlookers could no longer contain their outrage. They surged forward, wanting to attack me again, but the reporters blocked their path.

"You psycho bitch, why don't you just die?"

"Any real man would divorce her. After she's gone, let's see who would ever want a monster like her."

"You better pray you never get out of this hospital. If you do, I hope you trip and break your neck."

The reporters shoved their microphones in my face.

"Ms. Hayes, is it true what they're saying online? Are you divorcing your husband because he saved your daughter first?"

"Will you regret giving up such a loving husband and a wonderful daughter?"

"Is there another reason? Perhaps you're seriously ill and don't want to be a burden to your family?"

I spoke calmly. "Yes, it's because he saved our daughter first. No, I'm not seriously ill. If I'm sick with anything, it's from being beaten by these ignorant fools. And after the divorce is finalized, I will be filing lawsuits against every single person who assaulted me."