My wife and I went in for a checkup, and she was diagnosed with liver cancer.
I was afraid she couldn't handle the news, so I didn't dare tell her right away. Instead I went home and talked it over with my mother about selling the house to pay for her treatment.
My mother was quiet for a moment, then answered in a flat, unbothered tone. "You have my support. But only on one condition. You have to tell her first that you're the one with cancer. If she stays by you no matter what, your father and I will sell our house too, to pay for her treatment."
My wife and I loved each other, so I went to my in-laws' house full of confidence and said, "Honey, the checkup came back. They found liver cancer in me. I'm thinking of selling the house—"
She was peeling a tangerine for me. The second she heard it, she slammed the tangerine down on the coffee table and demanded, her voice sharp, "You sell the house, and where am I supposed to live? Let's get divorced. You walk away with nothing!"
I stood there stunned, feeling like my heart was breaking. "Honey, you're joking, right?"
She pointed at the door, out of patience. "I'm not in the mood to joke with you. Get out, now!"
I said nothing. I got up and left. I'd barely stepped out of the building's entrance when the client's boss called me. "The EA test for that game your studio made got an amazing response. My company wants to buy out full ownership for fifty million."
1.
"Good to hear from you, Ms. Gilbert. The ownership buyout—let's talk it through in person tomorrow."
After exchanging a few words with Amy Gilbert, chairwoman of Gilbert Group, I hung up and looked up at my mother-in-law's window.
If Glenda Pruitt had shown me even half an ounce of real feeling, she'd have been the wife of a man worth a fortune.
But she didn't deserve it.
Back home, I flipped on the lights and there was our wedding photo on the living room wall.
The way we'd looked at each other in it, there had been love there.
And after we married, I never let her want for anything.
She didn't have to work. A housekeeper did the chores. When she wanted designer bags, I bought them for her on installments.
You could say I truly treasured her, held her in the palm of my hand like something precious.
But what I got in return...
I was still standing there grieving when I heard the door open behind me.
The next moment, it swung wide.
Glenda and my mother-in-law, Marie Larson, walked in, followed by my brother-in-law, Max Pruitt, and my father-in-law, Gilbert Pruitt.
Had she changed her mind?
I knew the thought made me pathetic, a doormat. But I really did care too much, so I clung to that sliver of hope.
"Glenda, you—"
I didn't finish. She shoved past me, walked in without a word, and sat down on the couch.
"Quit standing in the way!"
Marie shoved me too, then walked past me.
Before I could catch my balance, Gilbert shoved me as well and left a line behind him. "Dead man walking. Get lost."
I clenched my fists, and only then did I understand how ugly this family could really be.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Max was already in front of me, grabbing my collar and pushing me toward the door. "Get out. Is this your house?"
He wasn't strong. The slightest effort and I flung him off.
I shut the door, gave them all a long, hard look, and my anger curled into a laugh.
"Max, you dropped out of vocational school. That six-thousand-a-month job of yours? I got it for you, didn't I?"
I pointed the question right at his face.
Max sneered. "Six thousand a month, and you've got the nerve to bring it up? My sister's this good-looking. Get me a rich brother-in-law instead, and tossing me a few million wouldn't even be a problem, would it?"
I ignored him and pointed at Marie. "You got taken by an overseas romance scam. Lost over three hundred thousand. I called a hacker friend and got it all back for you overnight, didn't I?"
Marie planted her hands on her hips, her face pure spite. "That was the least you could do!"
I ignored her too and turned to Gilbert with a cold smile. "In the three years I've been married to Glenda, you've been arrested six times for soliciting. Which time wasn't it me who paid your fines?"
Gilbert went white in an instant. He didn't even dare look at Marie and rushed to cover himself. "Don't talk nonsense. I've never solicited anyone!"
Marie went blank for a second, then blew up all at once, grabbing Gilbert by the hair and hitting him. "You old bastard, you actually paid for it?"
