His Mistress’ Cruelty

I took my parents-in-law, Edmund and Macy Hale, out to a restaurant. When it was time to pay, we ran into my husband’s female assistant, Vera Rhodes.

Seeing Mrs. Hale packing up the leftover bouillabaisse she had been drinking, Vera marched over and slapped the takeaway bag out of her hands. The soup splashed all over Mrs. Hale in an instant.

"If you can’t afford to eat here, then don’t come," she sneered. "Look at you, reeking of poverty. How do people like you deserve to be Mr. Orion Hale’s in-laws? Don’t embarrass him."

I asked the restaurant to prepare a fresh portion of fish soup to go. Before anyone could respond, Vera slapped me to the ground.

"This is a members-only restaurant. You’re using Mr. Hale’s card, aren’t you?" she mocked. "Can’t you earn your own money? You need his money to support your hillbilly parents?"

Mr. Hale was so enraged that he was rushed to the hospital. I called Orion and asked him to come sign the surgery consent form.

He laughed coldly. "Vera already told me everything. Your dad even needs to trick me into paying medical bills now? Has your whole family gone insane from poverty?

"If you’re going to die, then hurry up and die. Just don’t die in front of me. It’s bad luck."

"Orion Hale, your dad is in emergency surgery. Get to the hospital right now!"

Orion answered carelessly, his tone lazy and indifferent. "Oh? Isn’t that a little too convenient? I just got to Vera Rhodes’s place, and suddenly Dad has an accident?

"Lyra, next time you make up an excuse, how about cursing yourself instead? Stop dragging my parents into it."

My father-in-law, Mr. Edmund Hale, was being resuscitated in the emergency room downstairs, while my mother-in-law, Mrs. Macy Hale, had collapsed from anxiety and fainted.

I was staying by her bedside, completely overwhelmed, unable to be in two places at once.

On top of that, the critical condition notice for Mr. Hale had already been issued.

Clinging to what little family bond remained, I wanted Orion to see his father one last time. I swallowed my anger and continued trying to persuade him.

"I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Vera.

"I took your parents out to eat. She kept provoking us, and that’s what angered Dad into collapsing. He’s already been declared critically ill. You need to come sign the consent form. If you keep delaying, you might not make it in time to see him for the last time..."

Orion suddenly exploded, cutting me off mid-sentence. The sound of the phone slamming to the ground rang out, followed by his furious shouts, broken and distorted through the line.

"Lyra, are you done yet? Vera already told me everything. Your hillbilly parents came into town, and you used my money to treat them to a meal. I let that slide.

"Now the old man gets sick, and you want me to rush over. Isn’t that just so I’ll personally swipe my card and pay? You think I don’t know what you’re really after?

"I told you a long time ago, Lyra. Didn’t you marry me for my money? My money. You won’t get a single cent of it, even if you die."

Vera spoke in a soft, delicate voice, murmuring a few words to comfort him. Then she slowly walked over to the phone and spoke with open provocation, "Lyra, I saw it with my own eyes. That country woman was perfectly fine. Why don’t you let her talk to Orion for a bit? Surely Orion can recognize his own mother’s voice, right?"

I fell silent.

Mrs. Hale had been severely frightened earlier. She was lying in the hospital bed now, wearing an oxygen mask, finally asleep. If I woke her up just to prove to her own son that the man lying in the emergency room was his biological father, I couldn’t imagine how devastated she would be.

After a long moment of hesitation, I let out a quiet sigh. "She just fell asleep. I don’t want to disturb her."

No one responded.

From Orion’s end of the call came the faint rustling of clothes, followed by the unmistakable sounds of two people kissing, lost in each other.

After a long while, Orion finally spoke again, his voice hoarse, "If you can’t provide proof, then stop bothering me. Or are you trying to listen to us?"

Vera lightly slapped him, her voice coy and playful. "You’re awful. I don’t want her to hear that. She’s so annoying. I’m turning off your phone now, okay?"