Love's Ambition Episode 14

Stripping masks off and exposing unpleasant secrets

Haoming suddenly morphed from loving husband to perfect self-serving scumbag, shattering Xu Yan's heart and simultaneously threatening her with destroying her job if she did not comply with keeping up appearances.

Qiao Lin also lied about marriage but this became a private joke between her and Dr Yu with no grim consequence.

Detailed synopsis contains spoilers :
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Xu Yan confronted Haoming about hiding his fatherhood and using her for his ambition while lying to her. Haoming went to his safe and brought out files and photos documenting Xu Yan's deception about her Qiao family and her past acquaintances, when she had married him. He told her that he had liked her qualities of charm, that managed to win his hard-to-please mother, and her endurance ; he had gambled that a more socially equal marriage partner might have caused trouble with his illegitimate son, but that Xu Yan looked noble "without the unpleasant temper", totally confirming Fang Lei's previous assessment that he had chosen her not for sentiments but for her appearance and obedience, that her personal ambitions were welcome because they benefited his career. He detailed the threats he had made disappear for her benefit : Lin Tao, Zhou Zeyuan ... He only was willing to pay in cash and in kind if she kept playing the perfect wife. "From the moment he knew she was a fraud, he could never fall in love with her."

Xu Yan clung to some few sweet memories (the band aid, the guihua jam...) but when she calmly told Haoming she was accepting a divorce, he coldly threatened her with her unsecured job if she did not meekly accept to put up a smiling face and remain his false perfect wife. He ordered her to attend some social events although Xu Yan warned him she might not be able to do it.

When he came home and she tried to tell her about her genuine love, he coldly rejected her again, disbelieving and not concerned about the anguish that was crushing her and her silent despair.
She was blaming herself for all that she was now enduring as punishment for her lie, so accepted the rebukes and commands. She went to the Jinda groundbreaking ceremony, woodenly playing her role, her smiling mask almost slipping her face in interview. Later, he warned her again that her job was on the line...
Later that night, as they were sharing a bed back to back, he took a phone call from Han Weiping and rushed over to stop Fang Lei who was threatening with suicide.
After he left, Han Weiping mocked Fang Lei quipping that "studying homebreakers like her helped his work".

At the hospital, Qiao Lin wanted to help Dr Yu and pretended that she was his wife to explain to the mother of a young surgery patient why she was so positive about him. Her trying to bribe the mom in order to prevent from making trouble ended up making waves in the hierarchy as Dr Yu's colleagues believed he was married!
But Dr Yu accepted her apology and sealed it with sharing an ice cream: her lie had in fact won over the difficult family member and helped him. They both laughed it off as a joke between friends.

Xu Yan later had to attend a Charity auction. She had had time to assess her losses and acted calm and composed, but dragged Fang Lei to her side in a show of benevolence, while she with apparent cool lack of shame fought to win a precious ring symbolizing love.... (to be continued!)

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