The plot is built on a series of rare coincidences, as if the entire city has a population below 1000. I said the same about [[MySister]].

None of the key characters had any regard for basic safety and damage control. Their reckless actions enabled the situation to grow worse and bigger, hurting more and more people.

— In WJT’s shoes… (more comparable to my own age and family structure)

First off, he committed a harmful sexual assault. Even if the women is a drunken prostitute paid by his client, it’s a crime to /assault/ a semiconscious person, but in the court, it’s nearly impossible to prove “nonconsensual” beyond reasonable doubt.

2) Priority is damage control, to protect 1) his wife and daughter 2) the rape victim 3) himself [his family and dad loves him and needs him to stay strong]. He needs protection by a competent lawyer. His wellbeing, his family and its members, his career are all at stake, but he didn’t get sufficient protection. (In this contrived story, his own family members and colleagues are not suitable advisors — they don’t even know about privacy and confidentiality.)

His lawyer would probably point out his Achilles heel and focus thereon. He could seek to settle out of court with a large sum… would protect him from the big legal consequences.

His lawyer would also point out the lack of evidence. Evidence of nonconsensual. Evidence of penetration. Evidence of who performed penetration. His lawyer could argue that CX came into WJT’s room, stripped naked, and lied down beside him, pretending to be drunken, giving implicit consent.

CX is the only witness, but look at her character and motive. She is not out to get him. There’s no real hate. So a sincere apology and an out-of-court settlement could be enough for her, and he needs to cut all ties and relocate his family if necessary.

3) If needed, he needs to come clean with his wife (no one else). This is a lot lighter than an affair. If wife demands a divorce then he has to deal with it, but look at her character and her situation. She is not crazy and won’t go for divorce. Again, they need to eliminate all interactions with CX or ZXP, and relocate if necessary.

4) In this contrived story, he is exposed to hazardous interactions with ZXP and CX. His lawyer and his protective instinct should tell him to eliminate those hazards immediately. His daughter need to change school immediately. He need to quit the loan project immediately and have no influence on it. He should also consider changing job, to further reduce the ZXP hazard. If this city is so small, then he needs to relocate his family. It’s possible given his financial and professional background.

5) CX should not inform WJT about the pregnancy, but if she informs him, then he can discuss his legal choices with his lawyer. He can probably sign legal papers to remain unknown to the child. He can turn down all paternity tests and, if necessary, relocate his family and become unreachable. This is necessary if CX (appears to) threaten to /weaponize/ the pregancy.

In conclusion,  throughout the trials and tribulations, he needs to keep cool and stay strong. This is Not the worst possible disaster. Life has to go on, and his family needs him to stay healthy and strong.

In this contrived story, WJT lost his mind as a thinking adult, when he continued the hazardous interactions (with ZXP and CX), without regard to basic safety. This is unthinkable of any adult.

— In CX’s shoes ..
She needs to know how much there is to lose and commit to limit the loss/damage/pain up to that point, not beyond that Limit. Beyond that limit, there was much more to lose than the marriage. (In fact the marriage didn’t exist in the beginning, and was actually a very small loss if she had given it up or postpone it for 3 years to let things cool down.) In some cases, it could lead to a broken family at WJT, or a manslaughter by ZXP, or multiple deaths of the aged parents.

She didn’t see the limit as life-n-death. Big mistake.

Immediately after the mistake, the stakes were much lower and the Limit quite tolerable:

• There was no child in the beginning (simpler situation).
• The WJT family is completely outside her life
• No one would get to know it beyond the immediate family. It was similar to a bride-to-be who was sexually assaulted years ago. Not much of a reputation risk to ZXP’s family.
• She had relatively low duty to protect ZXP, having known him for 3Y only. Legally, it was just a boyfriend who intended to marry her.

In contrast, she had a duty to do her part for her parents and other loved ones. Last but not least, she has a duty to be kind to herself, which is what her parents wanted when they brought her up. She doesn’t need to care much about those in-laws or the wife/daughter of WJT. She doesn’t owe them anything. Priority was completely distorted in this fictional character.

As she agreed to become a legal wife and daughter-in-law, the stakes suddenly became much higher. As she decided not to relocate, the stakes became even higher. As she decided against abortion, the stakes became still higher.

( CX was completely irrational when she blames herself for all the silly thoughts/actions of other individuals after the event. Those individuals over-react, so they are responsible for the fallouts. )

The worst damage was 1) her own wellbeing and reputation (mian4zi) 2) her original family’s reputation 3) her husband’s feelings. The other damages are LG2. Her school is a big place full of embarrassments and scandals and it’s not her duty to protect the school (it’s not her family!).

Now if the husband turns out to be an emotional shipwreck beyond repair, then she has a tough choice. Again, ZXP is not her child, but an adult with his own (deep) problems. A reasonable husband is expected to manage his own traumatic reactions, and be a solid support for the spouse who is in real trauma. ZXP is a crying baby torturing the spouse who is still bleeding from the innocent mistake. So CX can dump him without guilt.. would reduce suffering for everyone, and esp. the worst damages listed.  Alternatively, CX can keep the marriage, but on an adult-adult basis:

• the in-laws must behave reasonably, otherwise the couple move out
• the couple makes joint decisions about relocation. If no agreement, then CX should have the right to stay in another city in the interim. This relocation is crucial to damage control. Indeed, CX spent 3Y in Tibet, but only after lots of preventable damages were done. Why not relocate in the beginning.
• CX has the sole right to decide on abortion.
• CX has the sole right to decide to skip the official wedding, because she is in trauma.