Amnesiac Fiancé Married Another, So I Married His Brother - Chapter 48

Huo Xuanye’s phone rang.

He took it out and saw it was Zhuang Ze calling, so he put it on speaker.

A furious roar erupted from the other end.

“Let me out! Do you even know who I am?”

“The eldest young master of the Huo family is my son-in-law!!”

“Call the Huo family, tell them to come here!”

“Give me the phone! I need to call my daughter!”

The moment Huo Xuanye heard the man’s voice, his entire world shattered.

It was Zhou Motang’s father.

A wave of deep regret surged in Huo Xuanye’s heart. If he had discovered Zhou Motang’s father was still alive that day and exposed them immediately, would Li Su have been spared this suffering?

It was all his fault.

All because of a single moment of hesitation.

Huo Xuanye was consumed by the urge to storm into the police station and beat the man surnamed Zhou to a pulp. His tear-filled eyes fixed on the operating room as he uttered just one sentence, “Zhuang Ze, call my brother. Tell him to go to the police station.”

“Understood.”

Li Chen also heard Zhou Zhanpeng’s hysterical shouting.

“I thought your brother’s wife was an orphan. How did a father suddenly appear?” Li Chen asked, puzzled.

“Fake. They lied to my brother.”

Huo Xuanye looked utterly broken. “Brother, if I… if I had known her father was still alive, that he was a scumbag, wouldn’t I deserve to die a thousand deaths? If I had exposed them sooner, maybe Li Su wouldn’t have gotten hurt…”

Listening to his murmurs, Li Chen’s fists clenched again.

He grabbed Huo Xuanye’s collar and slammed him against the wall. “You knew all along, yet you did nothing. Huo Xuanye, are you out of your damn mind?”

How could he have known the Zhou family would target Li Su?

He thought Zhou Motang and her father were just after money.

Huo Xuanye’s eyes were hollow, completely resigned to Li Chen’s fury, his expression screaming despair.

“Huo Xuanye, you’re finished! I’ll never forgive you.”

Huo Xuanye’s heart sank even further.

If Li Su never recovered, he would never forgive himself either.

He would carry this guilt for the rest of his life.

He wished he could take her place, bear her injuries instead.

He didn’t dance, it wouldn’t matter if his legs were hurt.

His hands didn’t matter.

Leaning against the wall, Huo Xuanye silently wept.

Meanwhile, after receiving Zhuang Ze’s message, Huo Zhenzhou also instructed his driver to bring Zhou Motang along.

When he arrived at the police station, he saw a strange man locked behind bars.

The man appeared to be in his forties, dressed somewhat sloppily, with features vaguely resembling Zhou Motang’s.

“Son-in-law! Son-in-law!”

There were plenty of Huo Zhenzhou’s photos online, and Zhou Zhanpeng recognized him instantly.

“Zhou Motang is my daughter! I’m your father-in-law!”

“Get me the best lawyer, I didn’t mean to do it! I was just doing it for my daughter!”

Huo Zhenzhou’s gaze was icy. “Explain.”

Zhou Zhanpeng, oblivious to the fury simmering beneath Huo Zhenzhou’s calm exterior, hurriedly justified himself. “My daughter has no power, no status, she has nothing! She said she couldn’t compare to your brother’s wife in the family, that she was miserable. As a father, I just wanted her to be happy!”

“That girl, Li Su, I looked into her. She’s a dancer. So I acted on impulse and attacked her legs. If she can’t dance anymore, my daughter will be happier…”

Sacrificing someone else’s well-being for his daughter’s happiness.

How could such a person exist in this world?

“Daughter!”

“Tangtang, you’re here!”

The moment Zhou Motang saw Zhou Zhanpeng, her legs went weak.

Huo Zhenzhou stood rigidly in front of the iron cage, his gaze cold and indifferent, exuding an aloof, untouchable aura that made her feel fear from the inside out.

“I’m not your daughter! You’ve got the wrong person!”

“My dad died a long time ago!”

Zhou Motang grabbed Huo Zhenzhou’s arm. “Husband, let’s go. He’s already been arrested. Whatever the sentence is, let it be.”

“Zhou Motang! Who do you think I ended up here for?! How dare you say I’m not your father? You always go around saying I’m dead, fine, whatever, but this time, you have to save me!”

“I don’t know you!” Zhou Motang snapped sharply.

Huo Zhenzhou looked at her expressionlessly. “Arguing won’t solve anything. Let’s do a paternity test.”

Zhou Motang’s face instantly paled.

It seemed a paternity test wouldn’t even be necessary.

“Why did you lie to me?” Huo Zhenzhou asked coldly.

“It’s true he’s my father, but ever since I was little, he never took care of the family. I was raised by my grandfather. He never had my best interests at heart, he only cares about money. Husband, I didn’t put him up to this!” Zhou Motang clutched Huo Zhenzhou’s wrist, her eyes pleading. “Believe me, I didn’t!”

“If it weren’t for you complaining in front of me, would I have done that to her just to make you feel better? Zhou Motang, I did it all for you!!” Zhou Zhanpeng roared.

“Quiet! Quiet! This is a police station, not a place for you to argue!” an officer interjected.

“Son-in-law, you have to save me! If this gets out, the Huo family’s reputation will suffer too…”

Zhou Motang grew even more terrified at those words.

The elders of the Huo family might already know about this.

She didn’t dare return to the Huo residence now.

Zhou Zhanpeng had ruined her!

Huo Xuanye would never let him off.

“The law isn’t mine to dictate. You committed a crime, and the law will deal with you. I can’t help you.”

Huo Zhenzhou turned and walked away.

Zhou Motang immediately followed.

Outside the police station, the two stood by the car.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you. Having a father like that… I couldn’t bring myself to talk about him. He’s lazy, a good-for-nothing, always in debt. I thought if I gave him the money, he’d leave the capital and stay out of my life. I never expected him to do this…”

If only she hadn’t delayed, if only she’d given him the money sooner.

Maybe he would’ve left.

But now, things had escalated like this.

Li Su and Huo Xuanye wouldn’t let it go.

And she could hardly stay in the Huo family anymore.

“What else have you lied to me about?”

Huo Zhenzhou’s dark, icy eyes bore into her like an unfathomable abyss.

Fragments of memories flashed through Zhou Motang’s mind.

Back then, the Huo family had sent people to the island to look for him.

Back then, she had known Huo Zhenzhou’s identity all along but never contacted the Huo family.

Back then, she had known Huo Zhenzhou had a fiancée, yet she still made her grandfather arrange their marriage on his deathbed.

Even recently, she had taken three million from him under the pretense of helping the island.

Zhou Motang bit her lip and shook her head.

“No, nothing else…”

“Husband, if he had been a good father, I wouldn’t have lied to you.”

“Before I met you, he hadn’t come home for two years. My grandfather said to just consider him dead. That’s why I told you I had no family, I really thought he was gone…”

“It was only after he saw our wedding, after he found out I married into wealth, that he reached out to me…”

Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded, “Huo Zhenzhou, please believe me, okay?”

Huo Zhenzhou’s gaze remained cold.

“I admit, because Li Su is your fiancée, I was jealous of her. I was afraid that after you regained your memory, you would leave me. But I never intended to hurt her!”

“She’s a dancer, an injury to her leg is a devastating blow!”

“I’m not that cruel. I just love you. I never meant to harm anyone…”

Huo Zhenzhou opened the car door. “Go home first.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to the hospital.”

“I’m going too.” Zhou Motang stood stubbornly.

“They know the identity of the perpetrator. They probably don’t want to see you.” Although Huo Zhenzhou hadn’t fully regained his memory, Huo Xuanye was his younger brother. He still had some understanding of Huo Xuanye’s temper.

“Then I should go even more to apologize. I want to see how she’s doing…”

The moment the two arrived outside the operating room, the fire in Huo Xuanye’s eyes was practically burning.

Huo Xuanye sneered coldly. “Brother, you actually brought this liar here?”

Zhou Motang hid behind Huo Zhenzhou. “A’Ye, one should take responsibility for their own actions. What he did has nothing to do with me. I hope you can be rational about this. We’re all devastated about Li Su’s injury…”

“What do you have to be devastated about? That you didn’t manage to swindle money from my brother for your gambling-addict father?” Huo Xuanye clenched his fists. “Brother, I really regret it. That day, after I found out she met with her father, I didn’t make it clear to you. Now, it’s ruined Susu’s life…”

Huo Zhenzhou suddenly recalled the day Huo Xuanye had unexpectedly come to his office, talking about visiting her parents’ graves.

So that was the day.

Zhou Motang’s face turned pale. “You knew…”

“I only knew your father was still alive and that he was a gambling addict. If I’d known your jealousy was so strong that you’d let someone hurt Li Su, I would’ve thrown him into the sea long ago!”

Would Zhou Zhanpeng have ever gotten the chance to harm Li Su otherwise?

In his entire life, Huo Xuanye had never regretted anything.

This was the first and only time and it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Fine. Go ahead and drag him out of the police station now. Throw him into the sea, I won’t object. Do you think I wanted a father like that?” Zhou Motang lashed out in desperation. “Let him pay for his crimes! Whether it’s the death penalty or life imprisonment, I accept it!”

Huo Xuanye said coldly, “Of course. I’ll hire the best lawyer to ensure he gets the harshest sentence.”

But on the other hand, Huo Xuanye didn’t want that.

Because the harsher Zhou Zhanpengs’s punishment, the more severe Li Su’s injuries would be.

He wanted Li Su’s injuries to be minor. He wanted her to be able to stand on stage again.

He wanted her to remain the brave, strong, optimistic, and gentle person she had always been.

Huo Xuanye was terrified.

The longer the surgery dragged on, the more anxious he became.

Beside him, Li Chen remained silent, but the look in his eyes was enough to kill Zhou Zhanpeng a thousand times over.

After several hours of surgery, Li Su was finally wheeled out.

She lay on the hospital bed, the anesthesia wearing off. Though she could open her eyes, she wasn’t fully conscious yet and couldn’t speak.

Huo Xuanye rushed forward. “Doctor, how is she?”

The doctor said, “Diagnosis: closed comminuted fracture of the midshaft of the right tibia + fibula fracture; common peroneal nerve concussion injury; grade III contusion of the triceps surae muscle.”

The medical jargon was lost on him. Huo Xuanye pressed urgently, “Will her leg recover? She’s a dancer, will she be able to dance again?”

If Li Su were awake, this would undoubtedly be the question she’d want answered most.