My Wife Pretended to Be Poor

After my wife’s attempt to start a business failed, we lost everything. So I started working three jobs just to lighten her burden. When I was up on the thirtieth floor of a high-rise cleaning windows, there was a family celebrating a birthday inside. I looked inside enviously but unsuspectingly found my wife pushing out a cake made out of money to the older woman whose birthday was being celebrated. Through the window, I heard some conversation going on inside. “This is such a hard place to reserve, but Miss Pascal rented the whole floor out for her mother-in-law’s birthday!” “The tips she’s giving out tonight must be worth millions!” Suspended in midair, I nearly forgot how to breathe. What no one knew was that Miss Pascal’s real mother-in-law had just died in the hospital not long ago. Chapter 1 When Mom was sick in the hospital, she gripped my hand hard and begged, “My son, let’s not seek treatment anymore. I don’t want to give you and Elena more trouble.” I called my wife, Elena Pascal, in a frenzy. I wanted to ask her to bring my card to pay for Mom’s hospital bills. But in the brief time I had my back turned, Mom had leapt from the window. She had folded up her jacket. On top of it, she had placed some money in a tidy stack. I picked it up with trembling hands. There were some coins included with the bills as well. All added together, it totaled up to fifty-three dollars. I did not manage to contact Elena. I hurriedly handled Mom’s funerary affairs and rushed over to my job cleaning windows. My wage of three hundred dollars was enough to last our family of three a good few meals. That was why my heart shattered when I saw Elena in this opulently appointed five-star hotel. Was this woman, who spent money like water, the same woman as my wife Elena? The woman who had been dressed in mended clothes and ate only the simplest fare with me just the day before? A cold breeze blew my way, and I could not help but sneeze. Mechanically, I took out my phone and called Elena. Once again, no one answered. When my colleague noticed I had brought out my phone, he pointed up and dragged me upward. Just as my feet touched the ground, I was met with a helmet hurled toward me. “How dare you play on your phone during work hours? Are you nuts? You’re fired!” The helmet grazed my head, and it was enough to scratch me, bringing forth some blood. It hurt. Ah, so this was not a dream. I went downstairs in a daze. I stumbled into the hotel’s staff, who were all in an excited mood. “Miss Pascal is giving out bonuses! We’ll all get one if we just say something nice to her!” The ballroom was luxuriously decorated, and valuable items were littered all over. The surrounding people were all chattering, saying that the decorations for this birthday banquet cost at least a million dollars. I tightened the mask on my face and followed the crowd. When it was my turn, I found myself unable to speak when faced with Elena, who was dressed in a silk gown and wearing expensive jewels, along with an older woman. “Happy sixtieth birthday. I wish you… The best of health.” Had Mom not passed away, she would have been sixty this year as well. A few days ago, I had shared the idea of bringing Mom to someplace special for dinner to celebrate her birthday with Elena. However, Mom had immediately waved the idea off. She would rather we paid off the family’s debt earlier. That was more important than anything else. In the blink of an eye, she had passed on, and we were separated forever. Elena could not recognize my voice. She smiled and handed me some money in an envelope. “Here you go.” I ducked my head and accepted it with uncontrollably shaking hands. The envelope was quite thick, and I could tell that it contained no small sum. This money could have saved Mom’s life, but Elena had no trouble giving away hundreds of these envelopes! The others around me were raring to get their own bonuses and accidentally bumped into me. As everyone watched, I stumbled to the floor in my dirty workman’s clothes. They looked at me with judging gazes. All I could feel was bitter resentment. Just as I was about to clamber back up, a pair of hands reached out to me. Chapter 2 “Are you alright?” I looked up and found myself looking at the other host of tonight’s banquet. It was the old woman’s son. What a coincidence this was. I knew this man, too. This was the man Elena said had brought her into investing and caused her bankruptcy, Hanson Sinclair. On his advice, Elena had invested everything she had and ended up losing everything. However, it seemed that the only ones who had ended up with nothing were Mom and me. There was a flash of malice in Hanson’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly that it was hardly noticeable. I avoided Hanson’s helping hands, intent on getting up on my own, when a foot kicked me. I fell back down on my back like an overturned turtle. This attracted everyone’s attention in an instant. Even Elena had turned this way. In the time she took to totter over on her high heels, I had swiftly gotten up and left. I refused to let her see me in such a pitiful state. Once I was out of the building, my phone buzzed. A stranger had added me on Facebook. After accepting the request, I immediately received a video. The video featured Elena and Hanson tangled up together. Hanson’s husky voice sounded abruptly, “How long do you want to play with that silly man?” Elena chuckled. Her cruel words echoed in my head as she spoke them. “If it weren’t for that between us, I would have never lasted this long. His mom’s sick. If he knew I was rich, he’d surely think up some way to ask me for money.” I was flabbergasted. So Elena knew that Mom was sick! She had seen all the texts I had sent asking to borrow some money, but she had chosen to ignore them. When I stumbled back home, I looked at the cramped basement and laughed self-deprecatingly. Should I have been impressed by Elena’s commitment? She had lived in this basement with me for three years. She had put on such an amazing act. While living with us, she had always taken care of Mom. Elena had claimed that since both of her parents had passed away, it had been a long time since she had had a family. That was why she was always appreciative of the home we had. After Elena had failed in setting up her business, I had sold our house to pay off her debts. Even Mom had sold the bracelet Grandma had left her. I would never forget the look on Elena’s face when she received that money. She had been very touched and had promised not to attempt any bold or risky endeavors anymore. She had promised to spend the rest of her days with me honestly. Her tears that day and her smiling visage from tonight were like night and day. Looking around at my tiny home, I finally could not hold back anymore and sobbed loudly. Before meeting Elena, I was somewhat successful myself. I was the only college graduate from my village. After settling down in this city, I quickly brought Mom to come live with me. I met Elena at a dinner when she was being harassed by an executive. Back then, she stood in a corner in a bright white uniform, not even daring to do anything in protest. Using the excuse of having a toast, I dragged the executive away and won a grateful look from Elena. Later on, when Mom brought me lunch at the office, she bumped into Elena, who was choking down a dry sandwich. From then on, Mom always made me bring an extra lunch for Elena. After that, we had very naturally gotten together. Our wedding had been a simple affair, but Elena said that it was the happiest moment of her life. Not too long after, she tried setting up her business and failed, yet Mom and I remained her strongest supporters. Alas, it seemed that everything had simply been a game between rich people. In this game, I was the only one who had invested my true feelings in it. Mom had loved Elena because she loved me. However, she had lost her life because of that. Before I could dry my tears, the hospital called me. Chapter 3 “Mr. Melchick, your mother was an organ donor. We’ve found recipients for her organs. Please do come and see your mother one last time.” Mom was an organ donor? When had she agreed to something like that? I rushed over to the hospital. However, when I got there, I bumped into Elena and Hanson coming out of an ambulance at the entrance. Elena hurried out on her high heels, her tone anxious. “I don’t know what happened, but my mother-in-law suddenly fainted. Her blood type is O, so I’ve gotten all the O blood from all the hospitals in the city. You have to save her!” I was rooted to the spot as Elena brushed past me. If she had only looked up, she would have known that I had seen everything. But she had not. Even though she knew that Mom had been waiting for her to bring the money to save her, Elena never cared. She put all of her effort into Hanson’s mother. I walked with heavy footsteps to the morgue, where a doctor and nurses were waiting for me. They showed me the donation agreement Mom had signed and patted my shoulder to comfort me. “Mr. Melchick, your mother is a kind woman and is doing something wonderful! Her organs can bring joy to three families!” My fingertip brushed Mom’s signature, and I could not help but tear up. Mom was from a village and was illiterate. She had spent a lot of time learning before she managed to write her own name, despite all her support to send me to college. Mom was forever gone at this point… Because of how she had died, I had not dared to see her a second time after her death. I lost my composure and started sobbing loudly. The doctor also became tearful. He did not know how to comfort me and could only hold my hand. After a long time, I dried my eyes and faced the medical team. “I’m sorry for bringing trouble to you. Let’s not waste any more time. I’m sure Mom will be overjoyed to know that she’s saving so many people.” They all bowed to Mom, a sign of great respect. Just as they were about to take the organs away, a runner came in. “Who’s the next of kin of this donor? Miss Pascal is ready to buy this donor’s heart at a high price!” the man said. His gaze locked in on me, and he explained, “I have great news for you, sir.” He seemed to think that what he said would be something of an honor. Condescendingly, he announced, “My boss, Miss Pascal, her mother-in-law has a small heart issue and requires a heart on standby. Miss Pascal is willing to pay five million dollars for this heart. Will you sell it?” To the man, this was a brilliant thing. After all, no one would ever reject money. But I shook my head and rejected the offer. “This heart has already found its most suitable recipient. I won’t sell it no matter how much is offered.” I looked at the stopped ambulance and said steadily, “My mother isn’t as high-class as Miss Pascal’s mother-in-law, so maybe it’s best you find someone else.” I could not believe that Elena would actually do such a thing for Hanson’s mother. She was even willing to spend five million dollars on a heart! I laughed at myself at the thought of how I had been willing to get on my knees and beg anyone to lend me some money. How could Elena do something so arrogant? The man, probably an assistant, turned white. He pulled out a stack of cash and shoved it into my hands. “Money isn’t a problem. Everyone knows how capable Miss Pascal is. She’s the most amazing businesswoman in this city!” Chapter 4 I paused. I was tempted to mention that Elena was also the woman who had so thoroughly played me. Nevertheless, I shook my head. If it was Mom’s last wish to donate her organs, I needed to help her fulfill this wish. During this impasse, the doctor in charge of the organ transfer ran over, looking grim. “I’m sorry, Mr. Melchick, we’ve received orders from upstairs, and your mother’s organ donation might have to be delayed.” Before I could even process that, something bumped into me, and I crashed to the floor. When I finally came back to myself, I saw bills fluttering down around me. The assistant’s disdainful voice sounded, “Do you think you can win against the influence of Miss Pascal? Mr. Sinclair is Miss Pascal’s most beloved person, and she treats his mother as her own family. This money is worth more than your mother’s life, much less her heart.” I sat on the floor and cried. That much money was not necessary to buy Mom’s life. Even the tip Elena paid to chase off a service worker was enough to save her life. The assistant grabbed the cooler containing Mom’s heart and prepared to walk off, but I grabbed him. “That’s my mom’s heart. You can’t take it!” My mind was empty but for the desire to protect the last thing Mom had left on this earth. The assistant kicked me and grabbed for the cooler again, but I held it fast. I refused to let it go, even if they beat me up for it. Mom’s organs could not be sold to the highest bidder! It could save someone’s life, not be some standby heart for Hanson’s mother! During this altercation, Elena’s voice cut in along with the click of her heels. “Adam, have you not gotten rid of the next of kin yet?” I was stunned. I opened my mouth, about to call Elena’s name. I wanted to ask when she would finally let Mom go. “El—” But just as I let out this weak noise, the assistant had me dragged off with a look. “You think you can make your case with Miss Pascal?” The assistant, Adam, shot me a sideways glance and kicked me a few more times. “Take him away! It won’t be good for any of us if Miss Pascal finds out about this!” I struggled and yelled, “I’m her husband! Ask her if you don’t believe me! Ask her whose name is on her marriage certificate! That heart belongs to her mother-in-law! Ask her how she dares to try and steal it!” Everything went quiet for a moment, but then Adam clutched his stomach and let out a guffaw. “Everyone at Pascal Group knows Miss Pascal loves Mr. Sinclair the most. She gave him half her shares without blinking an eye.” Adam looked me up and down in judgment of my poor state and sputtered out a laugh. “But you? Even the bodyguards at the door wear haute couture suits. What makes you think I could ever believe you’re Miss Pascal’s husband? Stop joking!” Adam waved a hand, and several people dragged me away. Brought away from that situation, I let my tears fall freely as I listened to Elena question Adam about why he couldn’t handle such a small thing. “Did he think it was too little money? Well, give him more! I don’t care how much money it takes. Get that standby heart ready!” Adam immediately scraped and bowed and apologized. “Miss Pascal, that crazy man actually claimed to be your husband! He even said…” Adam subconsciously wanted to keep all this under wraps, but he said the rest of it at Elena’s glare, “He even said that the heart belongs to your mother-in-law.”