Chapter 4

“Asher, your house was already sold. Didn’t you know about that?”

I gasped. “When did that happen?”

“Last month. After deducting all the fines from late payment, it was sold for five hundred thousand dollars.

“Maeve signed it. After she sold the house, she rented from the new owner for six months…”

My grip loosened as my phone fell to the floor.

My last hope was gone.

Every step I took as I walked back to the hospital felt heavy. However, I could not stop.

When the traffic light turned red, I snapped back to reality and opened Ethan’s social media.

Last month, he posted a new breakdancing video every single day.

I heard that he had hired one of the best breakdancing teachers and paid a hefty fee for private, one-on-one lessons, which only made the cost even higher.

Maeve had liked every single video. She even commented with some supportive stickers.

[Be confident and take it slow. I’ll always be here for you.]

I was puzzled back then.

He had not worked in years because of his depression. Maeve had been paying for everything for the past five years. So where had he gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire a celebrity teacher?

I finally understood.

To boost his confidence and dissuade him from killing himself, Maeve had sold the house we bought together to hire a dance teacher for him.

Someone riding a bike ran into my calf. I felt numb.

I just answered the calls from the hospital like a robot as I repeated my apologies and promised to pay the fees soon. I begged them to not cancel the surgery.

After I hung up, I looked up at the darkened sky.

I thought I had met my true love when I dated Maeve.

However, after five years of marriage, I was left with nothing.

Suddenly, a thunderclap jolted me back to reality. I came back to my senses and returned to the hospital to take care of my mother.

That night, I called and asked all my relatives and friends if I could borrow some money from them. I still did not have enough by morning.

David sighed and said, “If Maeve didn’t have a debt back then, your mother’s savings would have been enough for the surgery.”

I suddenly sat upright.

When we were married, Maeve did not have a house, a car, or a gambling addiction. I wondered how she had a debt.

I clicked on Ethan’s social media account again.

Ten minutes ago, he had posted an update.

[Very soon, I’ll study overseas. It’s a shame to leave my house empty, so if you’re interested in renting, please contact me.]

How did he own a house?

Maeve had told me that she and Ethan used to live in a rented apartment.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt something did not click. I went home and pried Maeve’s desk open.

She had a habit of keeping every single record when it came to money. There was a stack of receipts. Some of them came from the dance teacher.

When I flipped to the very end, there was a sales and purchase agreement for a house.

[One million dollars. The property owner: Ethan Reid.]

That was her debt.

I was overwhelmed with anger all of a sudden. I wanted to take out my phone and take some photos for my lawyer when I suddenly saw a few receipts from luxury brands.

Watches, belts, tux…

All of them added up to almost five hundred thousand dollars.

In the right corner, Maeve had left a note.

[I overlooked your feelings during our marriage. After this, I will treat you well.]

I gaped and stared at everything in disbelief as I reread them. Then, I looked at the purchase date.

It was in the second month of our marriage.

We had just come back from our honeymoon, and I was hopeful about our future when she told me solemnly about Ethan’s depression.

Since then, I was the one trapped by Ethan’s depression.

I finally realized that the one and a half million she got from my mother for her so-called debt was to fund the house for Ethan and buy luxury goods for him.

For so many years, she had not been doing it out of guilt. It was clear that things were not over between them.

I was stuck in the middle and had wasted five years of my life.

A shiver ran down my spine. I had completely given up on her by that point.

I swallowed and took photos of all the receipts for my lawyer. Then, I called the police.

“Hello, I want to make a police report. I was scammed out of at least one and a half million dollars. Now, the culprit is escaping on a plane. Please help me stop him!”