Chapter 4

Julie said, "As long as you behave yourself and do your part in this family, I'll treat you like my own flesh and blood.

"From now on, just pretend your parents are dead. Don't bring them up again. If they have the nerve to show their faces here, I'll chase them out with a broom.

"Those shameless old things think they can take advantage of our family? How revolting!"

I nodded with a smile on my face. "You're right, Julie. It wouldn't be right for me to lay a hand on them, so if they come around causing trouble, I'll leave them to you."

Julie snorted and turned back to the TV, looking pleased with herself.

For once, Dale gave me an approving nod. "Now you're finally acting like a proper son-in-law."

After dinner, we went back to our rooms to rest. At 2:00 am, I started making trips to the bathroom. I went seven times that night.

By the time I got up the next morning, my face was as white as a sheet.

Dale and Julie had already packed their bags and were anxiously checking the time, worried about missing their flight.

I said weakly, "You all go ahead. I think I ate something bad. I need to go get a shot."

Julie's face immediately fell. She started complaining, "I told you not to go back to the countryside, but you just had to go! You've come back covered in germs!

"And now you're pulling this crap right before we're supposed to leave? How disgusting!"

Amelia frowned at me, then picked up her suitcase. "You go to the hospital first. We'll head over without you. Once you're done, just catch a flight and meet us there."

The door slammed shut. I stood in the middle of the living room, listening to their footsteps fade down the stairs, followed by the sound of the car starting and driving away.

I sat motionless on the couch, waiting for the time to pass. Two hours later, I got the update that the plane had taken off.

That was the moment I started making calls.

I called the hotel in Walabi first. "This is Kenneth Chambers. I made a reservation yesterday, but I won't be needing the room anymore. I'd like to cancel it."

Then I called the restaurants, the airport pickup, and all the activities I booked. I canceled every single booking I'd shown them yesterday.

One refund after another came through.

Then I called a real estate agent. "The house is my premarital property. Put it on the market. The sooner you can sell it, the better."

After that, I left the house, hailed a cab, and went straight to the bank.

Amelia had left her bank card at home. She always covered the keypad with her hand whenever she entered her PIN, but I could see everything clearly in the reflection on the counter's glass surface. She kept her guard up around me, so I pretended not to notice.

The teller punched in the numbers, then looked at me. "The total is 573,000 dollars."

She'd been saving every cent she had for years, never dipping into it once. My paycheck, on the other hand, went entirely toward her family.

"I'd like to withdraw everything," I said.

As I walked out of the bank with the money, my phone started vibrating like crazy.

Before long, I had 37 missed calls. Messages from Amelia started flooding my screen, one after another.

"What happened to the hotel reservation?"

"Where's the person who was supposed to pick us up? We've been waiting at the airport for an hour! What is going on? Is this how you handle things?"

"My parents are starving! The restaurant says there's no reservation under our name, so they won't prepare anything for us!"

Her final text was full of fury.

"Did you take my money out of my account?"