All Chapters of Abandoned Hope: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

My mom's illness wasn't serious.She had early-stage pneumonia. The doctor said that as long as she stayed in the hospital and focused on recovering, she had a 90% chance of making a full recovery.The only inconvenience was that she had to remain hospitalized.So I told my husband, Blaine Ramsey, "It's Christmas Eve, and my mom's all alone at the hospital. After I finish making dinner, I'd like to go spend the evening with her."Blaine was in the middle of a video game. Without even looking up, he replied, "Sure. Up to you."So I went grocery shopping, cooked, cleaned, and bustled around the house. By the time everyone had finished eating and was happily enjoying themselves, I finally had a chance to leave.I packed up the meal I'd set aside for my mom and headed for the door, ready to spend Christmas Eve with her at the hospital.Just as I was about to walk out, I heard the words that stopped me cold."Stop her treatment? What do you mean?" I turned to stare at Blaine.He lo

Chapter 2

After we got married, I became pregnant and gave birth. Once I stopped working, my mom worried I'd feel pressured without an income, so she secretly slipped me money every month.When Blaine hit a rough patch at work and wanted to start his own business, my mom didn't hesitate to hand over the savings she'd set aside for retirement. She gave everything she possibly could so that the little family Blaine and I had built, as well as I, could have a better life.Even after she fell ill, she quietly told me, "Nathalie, I'll be fine. Just take care of your own family."But now, Blaine and his family were telling me to let her die.I clenched my fists and looked at them one last time. Without another word, I picked up the lunch box and left for the hospital.Had they forgotten that the house they were living in—the one owned by the "useless woman" they looked down on—had been paid for in full by my mother?Were they so worried I'd use their family's money to pay for my mom's treatment?

Chapter 3

"That's fine," I said. "I don't care about the price. I just want to sell it as quickly as possible. Even if I have to take 10% below market value."I only have one condition. Cash purchase, with the closing completed within the next two days."The agent, Lilianna Foster, paused for a moment before her voice turned businesslike. "Understood. I'll bring a buyer to see the house tomorrow morning at eight."After we settled on the time and place, I hung up.Meanwhile, Blaine's extended family group chat had turned into a full-blown session of tearing me apart."Just look at this. What kind of daughter-in-law skips out on joining her in-laws on Christmas Eve to stay at the hospital with her own mother?""Isn't she just inviting bad luck?"Rosalia, whose profile picture read "Blessed and Grateful", posted several photos of the half-eaten dinner and began playing the victim."Tell me, Diane, how did I end up so unlucky? I got stuck with a daughter-in-law like this."Blaine's aunt, D

Chapter 4

Lilianna and the couple quickly understood what I was trying to do."We've seen enough. We're interested."Rosalia was still completely lost. "What do you mean you've seen enough? What are you talking about? Nathalie! Answer me!"I ignored her and walked out first.Even after the elevator doors closed, I could still hear her shouting after me. I knew she was panicking.Looking at the satisfied expressions on the couple's faces, I finally felt a weight lift from my shoulders.That afternoon, I signed the paperwork with Lilianna. The sale closed, and the full payment was transferred directly into my mother's bank account.Throughout the day, Blaine's family bombarded me with messages.Rather than asking me to come home, they demanded to know what I'd been doing that morning and who those people were.I never replied. Instead, I sent them a single reminder: "Don't forget to pick up your parents' health screening reports at the hospital."Seeing the endless stream of question mar

Chapter 5

The moment the words left my mouth, Blaine froze. He blinked in disbelief. "What did you just say?""I said," I repeated calmly, "I already sold the house. Maybe your mom should stop treatment. It's a waste of money.""Nathalie!" Blaine shot to his feet. "Have you lost your mind? Do you even hear yourself? That's my mother—your mother-in-law!"He stormed over and stopped right in front of me. "I can't believe you're this heartless. What gave you the right to sell our house behind my back? Have you lost your conscience?"The moment Aviana realized I wasn't willing to sell the house to pay for Rosalia's treatment, she exploded, too."Nathalie, what kind of person are you? I always thought you were a decent person, but you're this cruel! Stop treatment? How could you even say something like that? You're completely heartless. Karma's going to catch up with you."Listening to their outrage and insults, I couldn't help but smile."Heartless? Me?" I repeated softly.Then, under their

Chapter 6

I listened to them dredge up the past over and over again.I sneered. The two of them looked like clowns.Suddenly, there was movement from the hospital bed. Rosalia was awake. Her eyes were clouded with confusion."Where am I?" Her voice was hoarse. "Weren't we having dinner at the hotel?"Blaine moved closer and took her hand. "Mom, the doctors ran some tests. The results just came back."Rosalia frowned. "Tests? Why would they test me? I was just a little dizzy. It's nothing serious.""Liver cancer." Blaine cut her off, his eyes brimming with tears. "It's advanced. It has already spread."For several long seconds, Rosalia didn't react. She simply stared at him. Then her eyes slowly widened, and her lips began to tremble uncontrollably."W-What... what did you say?" She yanked her hand out of Blaine's grasp. "What did you say? Cancer? What kind of nonsense are you talking about? I don't believe you. I don't believe it!""Mom, it's true." Standing at the foot of the bed, Avia

Chapter 7

"You've got a much harder disease to treat than my mom did. You should give up treatment while you still can. I'll even buy you a nice carved casket."The moment I finished speaking, the room fell deathly silent."Nathalie! You're cursing me to die! You ungrateful, disrespectful little brat! I'm sick, and this is how you treat me? You can't wait for me to die, can you?" Rosalia's voice trembled with despair and fury.Aviana couldn't help herself. "Nathalie, that's enough."But Rosalia refused to let it go. "You have to have money left! Nathalie, where's your paycheck? And what about the dowry your family gave you? Bring it all out! Every cent! Use it to pay for my treatment! Otherwise, I'll make Blaine divorce you! You're an outsider. Don't think you can keep our Ramseys' money while you stand there and watch me die!""Divorce?" I raised an eyebrow and met Rosalia's vicious glare. "Gladly."The two words brought her tirade to an abrupt stop.Only Blaine shot to his feet. "Nathal

Chapter 8

The caregiver in the next bed handed me her phone."Nat, aren't those your in-laws?"I took it from her.A livestream filled the screen.Rosalia was at the center of the frame, propped weakly against her hospital bed. Her cheeks were sunken, and she couldn't stop coughing.Shawn sat beside her, wiping away tears as he faced the camera."Please, we're begging for your help. My wife is gravely ill and needs money for treatment. But our daughter-in-law took all the money and ran. She won't even show her face," he spoke through exaggerated sobs.The camera shifted to Blaine, who sat nearby with his head lowered."I'm afraid my mom doesn't have much time left." His voice quivered with carefully restrained emotion.The camera zoomed in, lingering on his tearful close-up. "We're willing to lose everything to save her, but some people are just heartless.""She took every penny my son worked so hard to save. She even sold our house behind our backs. We don't even know where the money

Chapter 9

Out in the corridor, the other patients' families pointed at me, their eyes full of contempt.I supported my mother, whose face was deathly pale, as I listened to their whispers."Serves her right.""Karma.""She got exactly what she deserved."My phone rang.It was an unfamiliar number.It was Blaine.The moment I answered, I was met with the noisy chatter of his family in the background, mixed with their undisguised laughter."Nathalie, seen what's been happening online? Pretty entertaining, isn't it?" His voice was light, almost gleeful."So, are you scared now? Too late. I'll tell you one last time—hand over the rest of the money. That was our family's money from selling the house."Rosalia snatched the phone from him and forced herself to speak, "You little witch. You and your sickly mother are both bad luck wherever you go! I told you to stop wasting money on your mom's treatment, but you wouldn't listen. Look where that got you. Even the hospital doesn't want you anym

Chapter 10

I started with the first piece of evidence: a scanned copy of the property deed.The purchase date clearly showed it had been bought three months before I got married."My mother paid for this house in full with her life's savings. It's titled in my name. The Ramseys have always claimed I married Blaine for his family's money, but the truth is, this house has always been my premarital property."Then I played another recording. It was taken from our family group chat.Rosalia's piercing voice rang out, "My daughter-in-law's mother is nothing but a bottomless money pit. Why bother treating her? She'd be better off dead!"Aviana chimed in, "Exactly, Nathalie. You should think about our family too. Stop wasting money on her."Then Blaine laughed. "See? I told you. Nobody thinks your mom should keep getting treatment."The recording captured my own trembling voice."That's my mother..."And then I'd been removed from the group chat.The mood in the livestream chat immediately beg

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