Chapter 288

The scorching sun beat down on the dirt road of the Garcia Village, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Captain Stone... please stop them..." Captain Garcia arrived panting, sweat beading on his forehead.

John Stone Sr. took a drag from his pipe, squinting. "Let them vent, Old Garcia. My niece is still lying in the clinic, fighting for her life. If this turns fatal..."

He didn’t finish, but the implication was clear.

The villagers who had been ready to intervene hesitated. Every family had sons who needed wives—who would marry into a village known for "beating wives to death"?

"They’ll kill him if this goes on..." Captain Garcia’s voice trembled as he watched the Garcia men writhing on the ground.

"Divorce! It’s happening!" Michael Stone delivered another kick to Christopher Garcia’s stomach, making him gasp in pain.

Christopher, his face swollen, slurred, "She... couldn’t bear children..."

"Bull!" Emily Johnson yanked off her straw hat, her voice sharp. "Infertility could be the man’s fault too!"

The crowd erupted in murmurs.

"You’re the problem, and you blame her?" Michael kicked him again. "Pathetic!"

Emily scanned the crowd, raising her voice. "Women aren’t the only ones who can be infertile—some men just shift the blame!"

Dressed in a crisp white blouse, she stood out among the dust-covered villagers. Though fierce in the fight, her words were measured—clearly an educated woman.

"Take Christopher to finalize the divorce! And return every last bit of her dowry!" John Stone Sr. declared.

Daniel River dragged Christopher by the collar while William Stone gathered men to retrieve the dowry. The Garcia family huddled against the wall, not daring to interfere.

Patricia Stone peeked at Emily from the crowd. Remembering their past fights, she realized Emily had held back—today, she’d seen her swing a stick like she could take on ten men.

Only after the Stones left did Mrs. Garcia collapse, wailing, "This is a curse..."

The daughters-in-law helped each other inside—there’d be no work in the fields that afternoon.

At the town’s civil office, the clerk processed the divorce without question upon hearing the wife was critically injured. Daniel shoved Christopher outside and kicked him away. "Get lost!"

"Emily—" Michael suddenly remembered and quickly placed the straw hat back on her head. "Go home first. I need to make another stop in town."

Belatedly, he regretted it—she’d seen him brawling! All his usual gentlemanly pretense was ruined. Damn those Garcias.

Emily gave him an amused glance before turning toward home. Under the hat, her lips curled—her husband was downright dashing in a fight.