My Wife Pretended to Be Poor

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 ha

“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 donat

“How is that possible?”Seeing Elena’s shocked look, Adam relaxed. “I knew there was no way that ratty-dressed man could be your husband. He’s not worth a single hair on your head! You and Mr. Sinclair are the best match, after all!”At that moment, Elena finally realized what she had forgotten.She hurriedly brought out her phone and checked it, and found that I had not texted after asking for money.Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.Usually, I would call her after only a few hours of her not responding to a text. Once, she had been stalked by some scoundrels. After learning that, I had waited for her at the mouth of the alley every day, terrified that something would happen to her. Elena came back to herself and subconsciously called me. She wanted to ask how Mom’s condition was and how much money she needed so she could find a way to get it and send it over. Elena could not leave Hanson’s mother’s side. Once she was stable, Elena would go and see Mom.She ig

The doctor added, “Your mother’s organs helped bring hope and joy to two other families. I’m sure your mother will be happy about that. Besides, your mother only ever wanted to see you and your wife happy. She would want you to come out of this sadness soon.”Elena stared at the screen, unable to speak. She suddenly felt like a horrible person. She could have easily settled everything, but she had not considered it a problem at all. The woman who had prepared Elena’s lunch and sold off her jewelry to repay Elena’s debts had died just like that. Elena first called Adam to ask about Mom’s heart. Then, she seemed to recall something and quickly called my workplace. She remembered that I had told her about finding a job with a very high wage. As the sun rose outside, Elena found my boss with just one phone call. “Trevor Melchick? He got his last paycheck yesterday and left.”My boss complained to Elena in a huff, “I sent him to Cityview Tower to clean the windows there yest

I saw Elena stiffen. Then, she admitted, “Yes, I’ve fallen in love with Trevor.”Although her back was to me, I could hear the sincerity in her words. “The soup Harmony cooked for me is my favorite food in the world. It’s better than any delicacy in the world. That tiny basement apartment is the best safe harbor in the world of business. I always thought of this as a game, but I fell for Trevor long ago. It was only that I did not know it. I will spend the rest of my life paying for what I did.”My heart was surprisingly calm in the face of Elena’s heartfelt confession. Once upon a time, these were the words I wanted most to hear. Elena said that she was shy and would never say that she loved me. Even during the wedding, she only blushed as everyone teased her. All this time, I always wanted her to see me and one day say that she loved me too. But I never expected her confession would come at such an inopportune time. I walked around Elena with a blank expression and looked a