My Alleged Husband

Chapter 2121: Chapter 1954: Once

I can’t remember, nor count how many times the paths I’ve walked were so difficult!

Zhang Zhentian knew that he had become a man at the end of his rope. No matter where he went, no one was willing to help him. He had made too many mistakes in the past, and no one was willing to genuinely help him once. The mistakes he made back then had broken everyone’s hearts. So why beg others for help now? It would be better to rely on himself; perhaps a miracle could happen to him one day.

When everyone rejected Zhang Zhentian’s requests time and again, they felt pain in their hearts. No one expected that a family once so close would end up like this. No one could predict what his next move would be, and what he would eventually lose. Everything followed his nature. Every mistake he made would eventually bring punishment, a punishment that would be unforgettable for a lifetime.

Old Master Zhang felt deep pain seeing her son so dejected. She actually knew that if she helped her son once more, perhaps the outcome would be different. Yet, she still chose to refuse because helping him would only make him more reckless and ungrateful. That would only harm her son, so how could that be considered help? Thus, she cruelly rejected her son’s plea.

”Is my life, Zhang Zhentian, really destined to be spent alone for the rest of my days? No, I won’t accept that. I still have so much life left to live joyfully and freely. Why destroy my life here and now, making my heart so pained? Why does fate have to treat me like this, why?”

Finally, Zhang Zhentian pleaded in front of Ran Zhihan.

”Zhihan, I know many things in the past were my fault. I am sorry for hurting you so deeply. But now, I am truly at a dead end. Perhaps only you can help me with this matter. I beg you, please don’t let your mom leave me. You know what your mom means to me. Over the years, I realize that both your mom and I have caused you significant harm, harm that might never be mended in this lifetime. But I hope you can give both of us another chance, a sincere chance to change and stay by your side. I have sought your grandfather and your husband, but we couldn’t find them. They are unwilling to help me, and now only you can. Please, I beg you, help me!”

Ran Zhihan didn’t know what to do. No matter what she decided, it was wrong. Whether to help or not was a decision held in her thoughts. But this person in front of her was her husband’s father, her husband’s biological father whom her husband and grandfather had decided not to help. Should she, as the daughter-in-law, get involved? If she did, what would her husband and grandfather think of her? Should she really become this pushover?

”Dad, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I truly don’t know what to do. My husband and my grandfather have decided not to help you, and as their family member, as a daughter-in-law of the Zhang Family, how can I betray my own family to help you? You know what you’ve done. I don’t care about the harm you’ve done to me. What I care about is my husband’s opinion. If my husband agrees to help you, I will help you without hesitation. But if they don’t want to help you, I have nothing more to say, and I can’t help you. Doing so would mean betraying my husband.”

”Foolish child, you should know how your husband is. He just can’t let go of the pride. Once you help me, the relationship between you and your husband will be better, and he will treat you kindly, won’t he? I am his biological father. Even if there are many unpleasant things between us, he can’t not acknowledge me as his father. Sometimes you need to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, don’t you? It’s such a simple matter, yet you make it complicated. The more complicated things become, the worse they get. Quietly helping me would be better for everyone involved. Why are you unwilling to do so?”

”Dad, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, or that I’m unwilling to do what you ask, but I simply can’t. Doing so would ruin my relationship with my husband. If I help you, he might become very angry and ignore me forever. I know that by not helping you, I’m being selfish, but who isn’t selfish for their family? If someone claims not to be selfish for their family, it only means they don’t truly care for their family, right? In fact, you probably understand your son’s character better than I do. Once he makes a decision, no one can change it, and no one dares to go against his wishes. If I do this for you today, my family might be destroyed. Even if our relationship is good, there will always be some estrangement.”

”But I’m truly at my wits’ end now. If it weren’t for being desperate, I would never have come to ask you for help. In my life, I have never asked you for anything, not until now. But to my disappointment, the first time I ask for your help, you have a reason to refuse me. I know that in your heart, your family is more important than your relatives. Because you care about your own family, I can’t say anything else, lest your husband comes to trouble me!”

Ran Zhihan really didn’t know what to say. On one hand was her father-in-law, on the other was her husband. Choosing one side would offend the other. Why not be a little selfish and make her husband happier? She knew her decision was selfish, but she had no choice. She didn’t want to be caught in the middle, stuck in a dilemma. Her husband’s decisions must be followed, not opposed. Her father-in-law’s decisions could be respected or ignored. She only respected her husband’s decisions.

”Respect is mutual, but I failed to do it, so she left me. Grandfather, is it because of this that, even with power, I can’t change the fact that I drove her away?”