The Unwanted Husband Strikes Back

9. Do You Know This, Matthew?

"I didn't want to discuss this because I was honouring Grandma's birthday. But since someone has been trying to bring me and Laura into disrepute, I can't help but expose it."

"Just tell us frankly, Tom. What exactly happened that this useless man dared to target you!" This time, annoyed with Danny, Desmond spoke up while tightening his fists.

"Tom Harold, you don't need to feel uncomfortable with me. Just tell me what really happened! I want to know what the son-in-law is doing living out there!" Grandma exclaimed.

Tom cleared his throat again and began to tell his story. "Yesterday, I ordered food delivery through the take-meals-out service to the hotel, and the courier was Laura's husband." Tom stopped his sentence for a moment, took a long breath, and said, "Unfortunately, when he delivered the food, he didn't act professionally."

"What did he do? Did he call you by your first name? Or did he not wear his full uniform? Or did he arrive late when delivering the food?" Desmond asked curiously.

Tom smiled with his face of hypocrisy and said again, "If it's just calling me by my first name and not in full uniform, I don't mind it. Even if he came late, I can understand; maybe the restaurant was busy, and there was a traffic jam on the road, which is normal. But what he did was he got angry and shouted while delivering the food. Not only that, but he also spilt all the food I ordered without apologizing at all. Therefore, I was forced to give her a one-star rating."

Tom told this story in an even tone, which made the Huxley family believe him and support him even more. Upon hearing this, the Huxley family shook their heads, and some even covered their faces, ashamed of Danny's attitude.

"Huh! Anthony, how did you educate your son-in-law to have such a bad attitude?" asked Grandma in annoyance.

Danny chuckled, "Don't you want to explain to everyone why I did that to you?"

"Of course, you're not focused at work," Tom replied calmly.

"I agree with what Tom did. Even a one-star rating is still too good for you. You should have been fired from the company instead!" Matthew added to escalate the situation.

Danny chuckled again, "Oh, really? I did spill the food you ordered on the floor, but it all happened by accident." Danny paused for a moment and glanced at his wife sharply. Laura looked away from her husband. "It all happened spontaneously after I caught you two in the room. You had almost all the buttons of your shirt open, while Laura was wearing a super mini outfit. Do you think I should keep quiet?"

Tom began to clench his fists but tried not to show anger. He smiled and remained calm.

"Huh! A loser is a loser! You did something wrong and now want to shift the blame onto Laura and Tom. I'm really ashamed to have a son-in-law like you!" Anthony exclaimed as he turned to his wife.

"Danny, as long as you can't prove that Laura and Tom are having an affair, you'd better keep quiet!" Michelle added.

While everyone blames Danny, no one will stand up for him. Laura is the most beautiful woman in town and comes from a wealthy family, while Tom is the heir to the Harold family, one of the top five most affluent families. This was the reality; people only favoured those with wealth, not losers like Danny.

Danny didn't want to explain anything more to the Huxley family and other invited guests. It was useless to him. Danny's turn was to smile calmly and lift his chin to look around. "Hmm, all right. According to you guys, since I don't have any evidence, I have no right to say Laura and Tom are having an affair."

"It's good that you realized that. You must apologize to the Huxley family and Tom for making false accusations!" Grandma exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, Grandma." Danny closed his mouth and said, "Oh, I mean, Mrs. Huxley, like you all said, we shouldn't make accusations without proof. Now let me ask you: A moment ago, you accused me of cheating on Laura. Do you have any proof of that?"

Everyone was silent, especially Laura. She hadn't counted on her husband, who had always remained quiet as he listened to all the abuse from his family, to have the courage to fight back.

That was until Grandma finally said, "That's it, there's no need to prolong this anymore! None of us have any evidence of infidelity. Now we'd better celebrate my birthday party again!"

But Desmond suddenly shouted, "Wait, Mom! It was true that there was no evidence of an affair by either Danny or Laura. But what about Matthew's condition? Should we also put this matter aside?"

"Mom, Matthew is the only grandson in the Huxley family. He was hurt by the matrilocal daughter-in-law. Are we going to let this man get away with it?" asked Kelly, Desmond's wife.

"Oh yes, I originally wanted to discuss this matter after the party, but I suddenly changed my mind. I don't think this is necessary anymore. While there are still family rules, let's just settle it now!" exclaimed Grandma again, showing her anger.

"He came up to me and started hitting me with his two men. I hit him again in self-defence," Danny replied calmly.

"Huh! Bullshit!" Kelly complained, not believing what Danny was saying.

Danny turned to the woman whose hair was always dyed blonde and smiled dismissively. "Not only that, but Matthew also pointed a knife at me and tried to stab me."

"Danny, what are you saying! You've been talking nonsense ever since!" exclaimed Grandma, increasingly annoyed.

Danny didn't say anything, so he took something out of his backpack and lifted his t-shirt to show the wet chest wound.

"You can call me bullshit, but what about this wound and the knife? If I take it to the police station, I'll see whose blood and fingerprints are on it!" Danny exclaimed as he held up the plastic seal containing the blood-stained knife at the tip."

That's when Matthew froze suddenly. Danny turned to cousin Laura and said, "Do you recognize this, Matthew?"

Matthew said nothing, his face suddenly pale, and he staggered back slowly.