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Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Marriage Money Can't Save: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

9 Kabanata

Chapter 1

I heard a heavy sigh. "That little shit. Who would've thought he'd be the end of me…"Her voice faltered, then disappeared. Instead, I heard paramedics shouting, "The patient isn't breathing! Resuscitate her, now!"I withdrew every cent I had in savings and rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. My mother-in-law had lost too much blood.My fingers tightened around what little cash I had managed to scrape together, and my throat constricted with tears. In the end, all I could do was authorize her transfer to a funeral home.…I went home. I had to tell Adam. He was her son, so he would want to take charge of her funeral.I opened the door and found strangers in our living room.A bloody-faced Zack Sharpe sat on the couch with one leg crossed over the other, grimacing. "Next time, he's dead. He thought he could beat me just by bringing a bunch of grunts into our fight. Who the hell did he think I was? I'm Rockwell City's Sharp King of Brawling!"A concerned Yolanda dabbed m

Chapter 2

Zack snatched the paper before Adam could read it."What death certificate? She probably forged one and printed it at some public library!" He snickered. "Allow me to take care of this piece of trash for you."He ripped the certificate to pieces and tossed them into the trash, and Adam never once tried to stop him.A chill swept through my body despite the summer heat.Holy shit, this man was a monster. His own mother had called him on her deathbed, and he hadn't even bothered to pick up. He'd been too preoccupied with Zack's problems.I was nearing hysteria, but I fought to keep myself under control and glared coldly at him. "That's it. Let's get a divorce. Ron is coming with me."The room fell into a chilling silence, broken only by their audible gasps.Adam slowly looked up and met my gaze. "Oh, so that's your next trick, Stephanie? Faking a death didn't work, so now you're waving divorce around like a threat! You're out of your mind, woman."Can't you at least notice that w

Chapter 3

Adam's eyes were cold.I met his glare with one of my own, filled with equal parts disappointment, rage, and hurt.He turned toward the door and slammed it shut behind him.I thought about a lot of things that night.I had tolerated so much bullshit for the sake of this family. I had believed that if I kept agreeing to whatever he wanted, he would finally notice how good and understanding I was.However, that was a delusion. He simply took my compliance as permission to keep up his crap and do even worse.Tomorrow was Ron's birthday. The day after that was my mother-in-law's funeral.Once that was over, I would leave this house with my son.…Ron wanted to visit the amusement park for his birthday. I was in no mood for it, but it was his big day, so I took him.Neither of us expected to run into Adam and Yolanda at a nearby shopping mall. He did not even remember that it was his son's birthday.Ron hesitantly spoke up. "H-Hi, Dad. It's, um, my birthday today... Will I be get

Chapter 4

I thought I'd be happy after I finally let myself indulge in a shopping spree, but I was wrong. If anything, I felt a little dejected.Ron hugged his new Spider-Man plushie tightly and rubbed his cheek against the back of my hand in gratitude."I'm never gonna ask Dad for a present ever again," he declared. "I don't care what he might give me!"I couldn't bear to tell him that his father would never buy him anything again because we were getting a divorce.…Adam didn't return home until late that night."How could I have forgotten my own son's birthday?" he announced with a rare show of cordiality.He probably thought that was enough to make up for what had happened earlier that day."I even bought him a present," he added.I eyed the bootleg, shoddily made Transformers figurine he placed on the table. It looked like something he could have pulled from a dumpster, yet he somehow thought it was good enough.Ron was already fast asleep after having his cake. Lucky for him, too

Chapter 5

Adam was so anxious to leave that he even forgot his car keys. By then, at least an hour had passed since Stephanie had texted him. Had the funeral already ended?He ran toward the funeral home and braced himself for the worst.As an employee checked the guest list for his name, Adam tried calling Stephanie. Despite repeated attempts, none of his calls went through.For the first time, he understood the despair she must have felt whenever she couldn't reach him.A few minutes later, the employee returned. "We have a recently deceased woman by the name of Mrs. Susan Locke. She was 55."Adam's knees went weak. He grabbed the man's arm to steady himself."M-Maybe it's someone else with the same name. It can't really be my mom!" he protested. "How did she die?!"The man maintained his professional composure. "She was killed in a car accident three days ago. We also have a photograph of her. Would you like to verify her identity?"Adam straightened as much as he could. But the momen

Chapter 6

Yolanda felt hurt. She sniffled. "If it's about something I've done, Mr. Locke, please just tell me directly instead of being so passive-aggressive toward me!"In the past, Yolanda's tears would have immediately softened Adam's attitude. He would have become the nicest boss imaginable and tried to comfort her. Now, though, hearing her cry only irritated him to no end.Before Yolanda could say another word, Adam hung up.How the hell was he supposed to help her? He was already at the lowest point he could possibly reach! He had only helped Yolanda because he pitied her, yet now she was the reason his family was in shambles!Adam's eyes remained fixed on the divorce agreement for a long time before he tossed it into the trash. There was no need for this miserable piece of paper. All he had to do was apologize sincerely, and he was sure that his wife and son would come rushing back to forgive him.Besides, Stephanie couldn't possibly have enough money to fly out of the city. She hadn

Chapter 7

Adam knew the only place I could have gone was Scarlett's, so he showed up at her door.Scarlett refused to let him inside. "Just leave already, damn it! You're wasting your time if you think you can get her back! She's never going back to you!"Adam tried to peer past her into the house. His hands were full of things he'd bought for me. It was the first time he'd ever spent so much money on me."I just wanna talk to her. How can you be so sure she won't come home with me if she isn't even given a chance to see me?" he claimed.Scarlett was already furious over everything I'd been through. When the man responsible for my misery showed up on her doorstep, she seized the chance to unload on him."What kind of narcissist thinks a woman's gonna go back to a prick like you?!" she snapped."Do you even realize how much of a jackass you've been? You knew she was unemployed and had no income of her own, but you still controlled every cent she spent and gave her only 300 dollars a month t

Chapter 8

Adam was inside. He was breathing hard from emotion and exertion, his chest heaving.Scarlett stood outside my room, visibly upset that she had been unable to keep him away."I'm so sorry, Steph. He basically forced his way in," she said.I did not blame her. She had already done so much for me. My best friend took one look at my face and knew she should leave us alone, so she excused herself.Adam placed the gifts he had brought on the table."Look. I bought you these," he began.I was nonplussed."Come on. I think we need to talk. We can't just jump straight to divorce because we're angry with each other," he continued, his tone softening further.I took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the bed. He was dead wrong. I had not decided to divorce him on impulse. I had reached that conclusion after thinking everything through.Adam was the kind of man who could withhold money when his own mother needed it, all because he would rather spend it on someone else. One day, he w

Chapter 9

Ron pursed his lips and came over to me, wrapping his arms around my neck."No! I don't want your presents. My mom can buy them for me!" he declared. "You don't even love me or Mom. You love that girl more!"Adam looked bewildered. He had never expected such words from a four-year-old. He had underestimated the depth of his son's emotions and failed to realize how badly Ron's impression of him had deteriorated."W-What do you mean? Daddy loves you and Mommy. I promise I'll change! Please, give Daddy another chance."Ron sneered. Once a toddler decided he didn't like something, nothing in the world could change his mind. "No way! You lie all the time!"Adam inhaled sharply, then turned to me. "Stephanie... Please give me another chance. If you come home with me, I promise I'll rip that ledger to shreds. We'll never talk about budgeting or saving money or any of that again."And if you don't believe me, I'll give you my card! You can spend as much as you want! I won't ever stop you

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