Stefanie hit the roof and pointed at Winnie,. shouting, “Would he have gone to you if you hadn’t seduced him?! Why hadn’t you sought another man in the six years you cut off contact with him?! He admitted to liking you in court. Do you dare say that you two didn’t have a relationship?”
Winnie took a deep breath, angered by Stefanie’s words, and said, ‘I admit that I haven’t sought another man because I haven’t fully moved on from my relationship with Edmont. But just because I haven’t found a partner doesn’t mean I want to ruin your family. Edmont and I were already a couple, and it was only because of your intervention that we broke up. It’s natural to have feelings, but our feelings were based on respect. During your marriage, we never did anything to betray you.”
At that, Stefanie snorted disdainfully. “How ridiculous! The court’s judgment is still sitting in my drawer. Do you think your words are absolute?! You are the homewrecker to my marriage. Do you think you can still clear your name after all these years?”
“It’s me!” Edmont spoke up just then. “I was selfish. I didn’t want to lose my job and still. wanted love. The marriage with you was not what I wanted. There was never a day I didn’t think about her in the last five years. She didn’t interfere in our marriage. In fact, she kept rejecting me.”
He continued, “I took a whole year from deciding to get a divorce to the actual divorce. I kept convincing myself that I wanted to give our child a complete family. Honestly, your unreasonable behavior exhausted me both mentally and physically. Eventually, I couldn’t continue anymore.
I deliberately admitted to the affair in court so that the court would sentence me guilty and give everything to you. It would secure your life with our son, and finding someone else should be easy for you. I only brought unwarranted shame to Winnie for over twenty years. I’ve wronged Winnie and also both you and our son. It’s my fault alone. If you have any grievances, direct them at me, don’t take it out on the children.”
Stefanie sneered, looking at Edmont, then burst into laughter, eventually turning into uncontrollable laughter. However, there was always a hint of desolation in her laughter. “In the end, it’s all my fault, huh? You two, your didn’t seduce him, and you didn’t have an affair. I was the one who brought you two together. Is that right?!”
At that, she pointed at Winnie and continued, “You knew very well that he was willing to divorce because of you. You stayed by his side within the year he decided to get a divorce until the actual divorce. If you had no intentions of breaking us up, couldn’t you have kept your distance from him? Don’t you think you’ve been making him itch and crave to be with you by keeping yourself visible but out of reach?!”
Then, she turned back to Edmont. “Do you think seduction is about having sex in bed and forcing a man to divorce? Isn’t it more like what she did, gradually permeating your life without fully revealing herself?! If this isn’t seduction, then what is it? Tell me, what do you call it?”
“This city doesn’t belong to Edmont alone,” Winnie argued with a frown. “Why should I hide away just because he’s here? And it’s not like I can’t coerce a man into taking responsibility. Have you forgotten how you got Edmont? Don’t you have any sense of guilt? If you consider my approach as seduction, then so be it! It’s up to you to interpret it however you want!”
“Winnie Parker!” Stefanie pointed at her, furious and boiling with anger. “As fanciful as you put it, even if there was nothing between you two when we were married, you caused our marriage to fall apart. What defense do you have? No matter how much you say, you’re just a hypocritical b*tch!”
“And what were you when you deceived my boyfriend in my name?!” Winnie retorted.
