Chapter 3

I smiled bitterly, not offering any explanation. After all, stuff like this had happened far too often.

Nadine's first lover had once accused me of splashing boiling water on him. The truth was, the water was cold.

Nadine didn't care about anything else and immediately started beating me up, forcing me to apologize to him.

Nadine's second lover claimed I had deliberately stepped on his shoes, so she made me lick them as punishment.

She even forced me to eat an entire packet of salt because her third lover accused me of putting too much salt in his food, which landed me in the hospital.

Nadine's fourth lover made a mistake at work, causing a major order to fall apart, and he pinned the blame on me.

She didn't bother to get the facts straight. She just forced me to apologize in person and even reprimanded me in public.

There were so many incidents like this that I couldn't finish telling them all in one night.

At the very beginning, I tried to explain myself and even swore on my life that I hadn't done any of those things, but it was all in vain.

Perhaps the truth didn't matter to Nadine at all.

"Oh, it's raining. You should stay out here in the rain and reflect on what you've done!"

Nadine kicked me hard, got into the car with Terrence, and drove off. The exhaust fumes hit my face.

The rain started getting heavier, lashing down on me, leaving me drenched and disheveled.

I heard a honk, and a car suddenly pulled up next to me. It was Jessica.

Without caring about getting wet, she hurriedly got out of the car and helped me in. Then, she asked, "Do you want to go home? Or…"

"I want to see my mom," I replied. I never wanted to return to the so-called home I shared with Nadine for the rest of my life.

As soon as I arrived at the heart center where Mom had been admitted, I happened to run into her attending doctor. I quickly greeted him before asking about her surgery, but he simply rolled his eyes at me.

"I've never seen someone so heartless! You actually asked us to cancel the surgery so you could gamble the money away."

I froze for a moment. Then I quickly said, "I've already signed the surgery consent form. I even transferred money into the card linked to the medical bills. Why would I cancel her surgery?"

Frowning, the doctor said, "According to the plan, the surgery was set for yesterday. Since there wasn't enough money in your account, I gave you a call, but you told us to cancel the surgery because you were going to Alasia to gamble big."

What?

Startled, I quickly pulled out my phone and realized it was powered off. After turning it on, I realized that three days had passed since I lost consciousness, yet the battery was still at 50%.

That meant someone had been using my phone during that time. They had impersonated me while communicating with the hospital.

"Then how's my mom doing?" At that moment, I started shaking from head to toe.

The doctor sighed. "She passed away this morning. I called you, but you didn't pick up. Her body's in the morgue."

My mind went completely blank, and I collapsed on the spot. Still, I made myself get up and dashed toward the morgue.

Seeing Mom's lifeless body, I couldn't hold back my tears.

I immediately called Nadine and interrogated her. "Didn't you say you already paid out the bonus? Why haven't I received it?"

It wasn't Nadine who replied, but Terrence.

"I withheld your bonus. I'll give it to you later, depending on your performance." Terrence let out a chuckle.

"You… I needed the bonus for my mom's surgery!" I roared.

"Oh?" Terrence sounded unconcerned. "I thought I'd help you cancel the surgery. That's why you don't need the money anymore."

"So it was you…" I was so angry that I started trembling and even coughed up blood.

"I mean, what else can I do? Bullying you is the best way to make Nadine happy." Terrence burst out laughing instead.

Then I heard Nadine's voice from the other end. "Terrence, who's on the phone?"

"It's Barry. He's asking for his bonus, but I told him his performance lately has been unacceptable. That's why I withheld it for now," Terrence replied calmly.

"Well done! Tell him if he wants the bonus, he has to stay outside all night. Otherwise, not only will I cancel the bonus, but I'll also stop paying for his mom's medical bills," Nadine said with a playful smile.

"Did you hear that, Barry? You have to stay outside all night!" Terrence exclaimed in delight.

The next moment, Terrence and Nadine were locked in each other's arms, kissing passionately as they fell onto the bed. I then heard their ragged breathing through the phone.

What a shameless pair.

After ending the call, I took Mom's hand and said, "Mom, I'm so sorry…"

I cried all night, and Jessica stayed by my side the entire time.

The next morning, I went to the police station to file a report before asking Jessica to handle my divorce proceedings. Then I went home to make the arrangements for Mom's funeral.