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Wages of Jealousy

Wages of Jealousy

Short Story · Emotional Realism
By:  Awakening KissCompleted
Language: English
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9Chapters
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Synopsis

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Face Slapping

Melodramatic

Nanny

Freak

After I broke my leg, I hired a caregiver called Linda Sherman to look after me in the hospital because I didn't want my parents to worry. I started joking around with my best friend Wendy Sherman when I was lying in my bed, bored. I said, "I'm an orphan. I have to depend on your takeout to keep me alive." It was only a joke, but Linda took it seriously and thought I was a disabled orphan. She immediately started laying down rules. "You ordered takeout again today, didn't you? You're in no position to keep treating yourself to expensive food. Don't you know what your finances look like right now? You lie in bed all day. Why do you need all that makeup? A woman should behave." I stared at her in confusion. "What does that have to do with you? You're here to take care of me." The moment I finished speaking, she yelled at me. "You're just a cripple with no parents now! No one but me would ever take you as a daughter-in-law! You're already throwing money around like it grows on trees! Once you marry my son, you'll run our family dry! "Now to mention how are you supposed to give me a healthy grandson if all you eat all day is junk food? My family only had one male heir after three generations!" I gritted my teeth. I wanted to call the home care agency and ask for a replacement. But thinking that I was going to get discharged in two days, I decided to put up with her. I never expected her to kidnap me so that her mentally ill son could sleep with me and make me his wife.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Even as I glared at Linda, she still acted as if she were already my mother-in-law.

She said, "From now on, I'll hold on to your phone. You'll need my permission to spend on anything. Otherwise, you'll never save a dime for your wedding gift. How do you expect to marry my son if you don't have any?"

I looked into her narrow, cloudy eyes and wondered if she was sick in the head. "Who said I wanted to marry your son? I hired you to be my caregiver and nothing more. Remember who you are."

Linda slammed the towel onto the table. "You still think you can afford to be picky with your condition? I'm a good woman, and I can overlook your crippled leg. As long as you can still have children, I'll take you as my daughter-in-law."

I was not going to waste any more time arguing with her, so I pulled the blanket over myself and tried to sleep.

However, she yanked the blanket away. "Watch your attitude when your mother-in-law is talking to you. I'll let it slide because of your leg. Now hand over your phone. Let's see how much money you've got left."

When she reached for my phone, I blocked her. "Are you crazy? For the last time, I don't want to be your daughter-in-law! Touch my things, and I'll call the agency and have you fired."

Linda froze just as the doctor came in on rounds. "Bed six… Ellen Johanson. How are you feeling today? I've scheduled a month of physical therapy, which should help you recover."

Before I could thank the doctor, Linda started scolding him. "What kind of useless therapy is that? If you're trying to make money off her, just say so! Broken bones take months to heal. She can recover at home by staying in bed."

The doctor stared at her, baffled.

Meanwhile, Linda straightened her back. "What are you staring at? I'm her mother-in-law! She broke her leg, so she can't work or bring in a paycheck. My son is paying for everything!

"Why waste money on some useless rehab? I could have spent that money on groceries and fed the whole family!"

The doctor was about to explain it to her, but I waved at him. "Just go ahead with it. I'll do the physical therapy."

The doctor gave Linda a worried glance. "But can you afford it…?"

"I can afford it. Don't listen to her. She's not my mother-in-law. She's just the caregiver I hired."

The moment I finished speaking, Linda began to wail.

"How can you be so ungrateful? You're not bringing in any money right now! I'm only trying to save you money! Is that so wrong? Now I'm just your caregiver? You won't even call me Mom? I might as well die!"

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9 Chapters
Chapter 1
Even as I glared at Linda, she still acted as if she were already my mother-in-law. She said, "From now on, I'll hold on to your phone. You'll need my permission to spend on anything. Otherwise, you'll never save a dime for your wedding gift. How do you expect to marry my son if you don't have any?" I looked into her narrow, cloudy eyes and wondered if she was sick in the head. "Who said I wanted to marry your son? I hired you to be my caregiver and nothing more. Remember who you are." Linda slammed the towel onto the table. "You still think you can afford to be picky with your condition? I'm a good woman, and I can overlook your crippled leg. As long as you can still have children, I'll take you as my daughter-in-law." I was not going to waste any more time arguing with her, so I pulled the blanket over myself and tried to sleep. However, she yanked the blanket away. "Watch your attitude when your mother-in-law is talking to you. I'll let it slide because of your leg. Now ha
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Chapter 2
I had had enough of Linda. I gritted my teeth as I watched her hit her thigh and wail. "Keep this up, and I'm calling the police!" Linda fell silent.The doctor, who had been confused a moment earlier, finally seemed to understand. After noting down the medical order, he said to me, "You'll need a full month of physical therapy. Remember to come back for your sessions after you're discharged." Then he shot Linda a cold look. "The patient needs to rest. If you're not related to her, leave now or I'll call security." Linda did not say another word. She picked up a thermos and walked out, glaring at me as she left. Once everyone was gone, Wendy called to say she had ordered fried chicken for me. I told her everything Linda had just pulled and vented about it. Wendy started swearing as soon as she heard about it. "Ask the doctor if you can be discharged today. I'm worried that psycho won't stop bothering you. I'll come pick you up in a bit." I hung up and asked the doctor. H
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Chapter 3
The agency owner hung up in a fury after that conversation. When Linda came back carrying the thermos, I immediately questioned her. "Who gave you the right to say you're my mother?!" Linda frowned as she poured me a glass of water. "A mother-in-law is practically your mother. Don't you know that?" She was still lost in her own world and refused to listen to reason. I could not help but laugh in anger. Wendy was supposed to arrive soon, so I took my medicine with the water and stopped talking to Linda. But maybe it was the medication, I fell asleep not long after I lay down. When I was half-asleep, I felt someone lifting me out of bed. I opened my eyes just to see Linda's old face grinning at me. She was even holding my ID and health insurance card. "Come on, my new daughter-in-law. We're going home. I've already handled your discharge paperwork." "Impossible! The doctor hasn't cleared me to leave!" I cried out. Linda smiled smugly. "And you can't discharge just because
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Chapter 4
The nurses went quiet after hearing what Linda had to say. When Linda saw the nurses were too hesitant to act, she immediately pushed my wheelchair straight toward the elevator. I grabbed the nearest nurse. "I beg you! Please call my family! Please!" The young nurse stumbled when I grabbed her. She had just reached for her phone when someone beside her stopped her. "Are you stupid? Where there's smoke, there's fire. Even if this old woman isn't her mother-in-law, there has to be some connection. Why else would she go to all this trouble?" The young nurse hesitated, unsure what to do, while Linda leaned in close to my ear. "See? No one believes you." As the nurses started to leave, all I could do was shout. "Please, call the police! Please! She isn't my mother-in-law! Please believe me!" "Ellen!" Wendy's voice rang out from the elevator. I reached both hands toward her. "I'm right here!" To my shock, she took my hand and spoke. "Ellen, stop being so stubborn. Go home wit
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Chapter 5
Repeatedly, Caleb swung the folding chair at Wendy and Linda as if it weighed nothing. Every blow that landed on the two women made a sickening thud. They could only scream and cry as he hit them. "It's me! It's Wendy! I'm your cousin! Why are you hitting me? Stop!" Even Linda's voice no longer sounded the same because of the pain. "What are you doing?! Go to your new bride! Why are you hitting me? Ow!" The more they begged, the harder he hit them. A strange smile appeared on his face. He didn't throw the chair aside until neither of them had the strength to stand or even make a sound. I could see his eyes were filled with madness. I dragged my broken leg and scrambled backward. Seeing me retreat, he grabbed me by the back of my collar. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror, convinced I had finally run into a real psychopath and there was nothing else but to die. To my surprise, he did not do anything else. Instead, he held out one hand. Before I could open my eyes, he spoke. H
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Chapter 6
"Aunt Linda, help me! He's having another episode!" Wendy cried as she ran. Unfortunately, Linda seemed to know her son's condition well. She had already gotten out of sight before Wendy even called out. I took advantage of the distraction. While Caleb chased after Wendy, I limped out of the dark rental apartment with my phone in my hand, struggling through the pain in my leg. There were only a few dim streetlights lighting the dark alley. I kept telling myself that if I could just get out of there, I would be safe. I was lucky. I found a cab as soon as I reached the intersection. Only after I was finally safe did the stabbing pain in my leg hit me. It was so bad that the driver had to help me out of the car. The driver kindly offered to take me to the hospital, but I could not trust anyone by then. I only wanted to see my parents as soon as possible. When I finally got home, my parents were shocked by the sight of me. "What happened to your leg?!" My mom's knees nearly
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Chapter 7
I still remembered our teachers saying we were like twins. We even went to the bathroom together between classes. We had known each other for more than ten years. We went to the same university, interviewed for jobs together after graduation, spent weekends together, binge-watched dramas together, and even followed the same celebrities. What kind of grudge could she possibly have against me? The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. I went over every detail from that night and still could not figure out why Wendy had done it. I contacted our high school classmates and every friend we usually spent time with, trying to find some reason Wendy had treated me this way. When my dad came back to the hospital, a police officer came with him. Dad said the police had opened a case because they had security footage from the hospital and the parking garage. The officer looked at me in the hospital bed with a stern expression and said, "We've followed the leads you gave us
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Chapter 8
"Wendy? What are you doing?" I almost yelled at her. Wendy toyed with the duct tape in her hand. "Should I tie you up and leave you here until you're nothing but a mummy? Or rip off your cast and leave you to fend for yourself?" Seeing the madness in her eyes, I knew she was not joking. "Wendy, I don't understand why you're doing this. I don't know what I ever did to make you hate me. You've always been my best friend." "Enough!" Wendy screamed before I could finish. "Don't call me your best friend. You make me sick! I hate all that act about you the most! Best friend? You only kept me around to make yourself look better!" Her eyes grew wide with madness. She seemed to lose herself in the past. I remembered what my ex-classmate from high school had told me and explained. "I know what this is about. You're still angry about that school performance, aren't you? I wasn't trying to steal your spot. The teacher told me to go onstage." At that, Wendy's eyes flew wide, as if it
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Chapter 9
"Don't get cocky, Ellen! I still have a chance! As long as I'm still alive, I'll always have another one! Sooner or later, I'll make everyone see what you really are! Then we'll see who still buys your act!" As the police dragged her away, Wendy looked back at me with a vicious grin. "I had someone compare your horoscope with my cousin's. They said you're a perfect match. Just wait! My aunt will come for you sooner or later." Watching Wendy rant like a madwoman, I suddenly found her to be so pitiful. She had been part of my entire youth, my very best friend. I had never known that she found our friendship so ugly. Still, her warning proved useful. A few days later, the police spotted Linda sneaking around near my home. When they caught her, Linda screamed in panic. "The police are bullying an old woman! Is that all you're good for?!" When she saw me, she shouted even louder. "So it's you, you witch! I knew you were no good! You called the police on your own mother-in-law?
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