Chapter 2

Maeve was on the phone for half an hour. By the time she hung up with a smile on her lips, I was packing my bags.

“Where are you going?”

“To the hospital. I want to take care of my mom.”

She was stunned. Then, she pursed her lips.

“Your mother’s surgery is going to be delayed anyway. It’s fine if you’re not there.

“I’ll go and pay for the school fees tomorrow. Then, I’ll accompany Ethan to buy some supplies for his travels. He’s afraid that you’ll misunderstand, so he asks if you can join us.”

I did not stop packing my bags. I zipped my suitcase without any hesitation.

“It’s not the first time anyway. There’s nothing for me to misunderstand.”

“What?”

“From now on, you can spend all your time and money on him as you wish.”

I put on my shoes and glanced at her before I shut the door.

“Maeve, you can take care of your ex-husband on your own.

“I’ll tell my lawyer to send you the divorce agreement. I’m really curious to see whether you treat me as nicely as you treat Ethan when I become your ex-husband.”

In the hospital, my mother was unaware of what had happened.

She brought the cupcakes out and told me to take them back to Maeve the next day.

I did not react. Instead, I lay on the hospital cot and stared at the ceiling for the whole night.

The next day, a while after I sent out the divorce agreement, Ethan called me with a sigh.

“Asher, are you two still fighting?

“I’m sorry. I always cause trouble for you and Maeve. I didn’t want to be a burden…”

In the hallway, the patients and their families were walking past me in a hurry. I suddenly felt very irritated.

“Ethan, I’m very busy. I don’t have time for this.

“If you want to talk, you can talk to Maeve. She’s free. She can spend all day on you.”

I hung up and went to the cafeteria to buy some food for my mother.

When I was queuing, my phone rang again.

Maeve was trying to restrain her emotions as she questioned me.

“Asher, how many times do I have to tell you that Ethan has severe depression? I told you not to trigger him!

“How can you tell him that he’s a burden?”

I frowned in confusion.

“He said that himself.”

Maeve immediately exploded.

“Why aren’t you admitting to it? Do you know that because of this, Ethan has cut his wrist?

“How can you be this cruel? It’s a human life! Initially, I wanted to give him some hope with the lottery money. Now, it’s all ruined because of you!”

I immediately stopped in my tracks. Then, I walked out of the queue and said coldly, “You know that he has severe depression, and you also know he always calls himself a burden. I never said that to him.

“Besides, his life is not the only precious life out there. What about my mom?

“When we got married, your family didn’t even pay a single cent. Not only did my mother pay for our wedding, but she also took out one and a half million to pay for your debt!

“Now that you’ve won two and a half million dollars, you aren’t even willing to set aside just half a million for my mother’s treatment. How dare you accuse me of being cruel?”

She immediately fell silent.

Maeve tried to speak a few times but failed.

“I will definitely pay the money back to your mother. I’ll think of other ways to get money for her medical bills.”

I gritted my teeth. “Have you signed the divorce papers?”

“I won’t sign it. I won’t divorce you.”

Ethan suddenly called out her name. She said hurriedly, “You should calm down. After I’m done with Ethan’s things, I promise I’ll give you a proper explanation.”

Then, she ended the call.

I took a deep breath and bought some food for my mother.

My mother felt that something was wrong, so she asked if I was fighting with Maeve.

I shook my head and changed the topic.

However, over the five years of our marriage, Ethan had always been a source of conflict between us.

We were a married couple, but I was the one who paid for all of our expenses.

Of her thirty-thousand-dollar salary, she had to give Ethan twenty-five thousand. It was a condition she had willingly agreed to include in their divorce settlement.

On regular days, she would talk to him and accompany him to his therapy. Every season, she would go on trips with him to cheer him up.

She would immediately reply to his text messages. Whenever something happened, she would leave me alone and run to him.

Even when my mother had a fever late at night, she would take our only car to drive to Ethan because he was in a bad mood.

I fought and argued, but she would always give me the same excuse.

“Ethan’s depressed because of me! I can’t leave him alone!”