Violette took a deep breath, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, her chest feeling tight.
The events of that night quickly spread among the servants. They witnessed Violette being kicked out of the main bedroom while Hans accompanied Irene there.
All the servants could clearly see that Hans had shown how important Irene was to him. At that moment, Violette lost face in her own home and became the subject of ridicule by the servants.
Hans did not attempt to remedy the situation or apologize to Violette.
A phone call from Violette's family came, as if they had heard the news. Her mother, Anna, in particular, immediately reprimanded Violette.
["Vio, how could you let another woman treat you like that? Where is your pride as a daughter of the Renault family?"]
"Mom, what happened was..."
["Forget it. Don't get into a conflict with Hans over a mistress. After all, you are still Mrs. Lombardi. You have to maintain that status."]
"Mom, your daughter was humiliated like this, how can you say that to me?" Violette said in disbelief on the phone.
["Violette, how old are you now? You are a woman who has been married for a long time but have yet to bear children for the Lombardi family. Don't make Hans unhappy and cause him to fight with you because of a mistress. If you divorce Hans, the Renault family will not accept you anymore."]
Violette did not answer. Her hands clenched tightly as she listened to her mother, Anna's, indifferent words. She understood that she was useless in the eyes of her family because she had not given the Lombardi family any children.
["Vio, are you listening to me? There's no need to fight with Hans over a mistress. He will get bored eventually and you will remain Mrs. Lombardi. It's better to think about how you can get pregnant."]
Violette's heart was so tired that she didn't argue with her mother.
"I understand, Mom." She hung up the phone.
Her family's attitude made Violette even more determined to keep her divorce a secret, and she would not return to the Renault family.
Hans came home early that day and found Violette in their main bedroom, packing some of her belongings into cardboard boxes.
"What did you tell your family?" His expression looked unhappy.
"Nothing," Violette replied briefly and wearily, continuing to pack her clothes into a box.
"Then why did your father call me and bring up Irene?"