To take care of my paralyzed mother-in-law, I quit my job and spent three years as a full-time househusband.

That day, after cleaning up her waste, I hid in the bathroom with a cigarette between my fingers and came across a post on my wife’s boss’ Instagram.

[You’re meant to be with me in the end. Since that freeloader can’t give you happiness, let me take you to the paradise of Maldev.]

Above the caption were two plane tickets.

Someone commented below. [That homemaker husband of hers is definitely clinging onto her. After all, she’s his meal ticket.]

The boss replied. [Don’t worry. Tonight she’ll go home and come clean. She’ll say the company was caught falsifying accounts and is facing massive fines, and that she might need to serve jail time.

[To keep that guy from getting dragged into it, the only option is divorce. He’s as timid as a mouse and will take any chance to flee.]

I stared at the screen, stunned, until the cigarette burned my fingers.

Ten minutes later, my wife rushed home, panic written all over her face. She dropped her bag on the floor.

“Honey, something’s gone wrong with the company’s finances. They’re accusing us of falsifying accounts. I was solely responsible for the accounts. I might need to serve 10 years in prison, plus fines of more than ten thousand dollars.

“We need to sign the papers before they seize our house. I don’t want to drag you and mom into this.”

Lisa Hamston was trembling all over, tears streaming down her face.

She grabbed my hand so tightly that her nails dug into my flesh.

The expression of utter devastation on her was astonishingly real. Lisa would easily win the Oscar Awards if she were an actress.

As I looked at her tear-streaked face, all I could think about was Kevin Zauc’s “Maldev travel guide” post.

Of course, along with the two first-class tickets to Maldev.

Nausea nearly overcame me, but I acted completely panicked on the surface.

The cigarette slipped off my fingers, ash scattering all over my pants.

“How could this happen? Lisa, didn’t you say the company was doing great? Why did you need to fake its accounts?”

Seeing the fear on my face, a faint trace of contempt flickered in her eyes.

She was probably thinking that Kevin was right about me being a useless coward, and that I was scared out of my wits at the prospect of prison.

She wiped her tears and took out a divorce agreement she had clearly prepared in advance.

“Honey, there’s no time to explain. The police could show up any minute now.

“This is the divorce agreement. As for the assets… The apartment will be transferred to my mom, and the savings will go to you.”

I glanced over it.

The apartment was old and run-down, but at least it was a place to live. Leaving it to her mother was no doubt leaving a lifeline for herself.

As for the savings, we had only five thousand dollars in our account.

Before I could speak, she added through tears.

“My mom is paralyzed. I can’t take her with me. If I go to prison, I won’t be able to take care of her either.

“Honey, I’m begging you. Please take care of her for a few days. You can send her to a welfare home once I’m ‘sentenced’.”

Hearing that, disappointment sunk in.

For the sake of running off with her lover, she was willing to say she needed to go to prison and was even ready to abandon her mother.

Her mother had been paralyzed for three years, and I was the one who had taken care of everything. I cleaned and fed her all day. In contrast, Lisa rarely came back home.

Every time she was back, she would complain about the smell of medicine, cover her nose, and leave after just a few minutes.

Now, she was going to dump her mother in a welfare home to elope with another man.

I pretended to hesitate, frowning deeply. “Lisa, is there no other way? We could figure out something together and pay the fine.”

Her expression changed instantly, and she snapped at me impatiently. “Come up with something? Do you even have money? Have you earned a single cent in the past three years?

“The fine’s more than ten thousand dollars! It wouldn’t be enough even if we sold you!

“Just sign it! Hurry up!”

I looked at the twisted expression of anger on her face, and the rage inside me surged to its peak.

However, a thought flashed across my mind. Since she was so eager to run into a fiery pit, why should I stop her?

I could play along if she wanted to.

I took a deep breath, putting on a helpless, frightened expression as I picked up the pen with trembling hands.

“Fine. I’ll agree to the divorce for the sake of our family.”

The pen touched the paper, and I signed my name, Ethan Johansen.

I could see Lisa let out a sigh of relief. She snatched the divorce agreement and stuffed it into her bag.

“Honey, don’t blame me. I’m doing this for you.”

Lisa said she was sorry, but her body language spoke differently. She rushed into the bedroom to pack.

She claimed she needed to lie low to avoid being caught at home by the police.

However, I caught a glimpse inside her open suitcase. It was stuffed with bikinis, sunscreen, and several sets of sexy lingerie.

Once she finished packing, she dragged her suitcase towards the door.

She did not even spare a glance when she passed her mother’s room.

All she left behind were a few cold words. “Don’t tell Mom the truth. Just say that I’m going on a business trip.”

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Silence filled the house.

…

Early the next morning, Lisa called to urge me to go to the courthouse.

Since it was a mutual divorce with no real disputes over property, the process was quick.

The moment she got the divorce papers, the joy in her eyes overflowed.

Lisa did not even bother to say goodbye. She turned around and got straight into a taxi, heading for the airport.

I stood at the entrance of the courthouse, looking at the divorce papers in my hands, and felt nothing.

As soon as Lisa left, Kevin updated his Instagram post.

A photo of two people with fingers tightly intertwined at the airport, with the international departure’s security gate in the background.

The caption below the photo was: [Let’s flee to the ends of the earth and never part again.]

In the photo, Lisa was smiling brightly. On her finger was a diamond ring I had never seen before.

I went back to that old house, which was soaked with the smell of medicine.

My mother-in-law, though paralyzed and slurring her words, was still mentally sharp.

She lay on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling.

When she saw me come back, she struggled to turn her head and asked in a slurred voice, “Is Lisa… abandoning me?”

So, she knew.

With all the noise Lisa made packing last night, there was no way she had not heard a thing.

Feeling sad for her, I walked over and tucked the blanket around her.

I picked up the bowl of millet porridge from the table, blowing on each spoonful before feeding her.

“Mom, she’s on a business trip. Somewhere far away.

“From now on, it’s just the two of us. I’ll take care of you.”

Cloudy tears slid from the corners of her eyes, tracing the lines of her wrinkles and into her ears.

She gripped my hand tightly, with surprising strength, letting out muffled sobs as if trying to speak.

At noon, I wheeled her outside to get some sunlight.

Suddenly, the sound of brakes came from outside.

A black sedan pulled up at the gate of our shabby courtyard.

Several people in uniforms stepped out, carrying briefcases and surveying equipment.

A middle-aged man in the lead walked over politely.

“Excuse me, who is the owner of this old house?”

I paused, then pointed to my mother-in-law in the wheelchair. “She is. I’m her… son-in-law.”

Ex-son-in-law, now technically, but I did not correct myself.

The man nodded, his face breaking into a wide smile.

“Congratulations. This area has just been included in a key municipal development plan. The official document was just issued.

“There will be demolition soon, and a subway station will be built here. It’s a major project.”

My mind buzzed.

This house had been passed down through my mother-in-law’s family for generations. It was so run-down it leaked when it rained, and the walls were peeling everywhere.

All around us were high-rise buildings. This area was the only remaining part of the old neighborhood that had remained untouched.

I never expected that it would finally be demolished at a moment like this.

I gulped and probed. “So… how much compensation are we talking about?”

The staff member tapped on a calculator and gave a number.

“According to the latest policy, it’ll be a combination of property and cash compensation.

“About two million in cash, plus two apartment units of around 1,200 square feet each as compensation.”

Two million.

Two apartments.

In a suburban city, that was an enormous amount, and enough to make someone rich overnight.

My emotions felt like a roller coaster.

First, the suffocating weight of being abandoned by Lisa struck me, and I felt bad seeing my mother-in-law in tears.

Now, I was overwhelmed with shock, followed by an indescribable surge of joy.

Lisa had just dumped the house onto her mother to avoid the so-called “debt.”

Right after that, this rundown place had suddenly turned into a goldmine.

If she found out, she would probably regret it so badly.

The staff member took out a letter of intent. “If the homeowner agrees to everything, she can sign here, and we’ll start the process.”

I looked at my mother-in-law.

She was the legal owner. The signature had to be hers, and the money would be hers too.

Even though Lisa had left the house to her, as her only daughter, the money would eventually go to her.

At that thought, disappointment stifled the joy deep down in me.

I was just an ex-son-in-law. What did any of this have to do with me?

At that moment, my mother-in-law slowly raised her thin, frail hand.

She pointed at me, her gaze unusually firm.

In a slurred but forceful voice, she said to the staff, “Give all… to… Ethan.”

The staff froze, pen hovering midair. “Ma’am, who did you say you want to give it to?”

I was stunned too. “Mom, what are you saying?”

With all her might, she reached beneath the wheelchair cushion with her trembling hand.

After fumbling for a while, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

On it were a few crooked lines of writing, stamped with a red fingerprint.

She handed it to the staff, breathing heavily.

“My… will… was written… long ago.

“He… will be my… son… from now on.”

…

The demolition office staff left, and silence returned to the room.

I held the letter of intent in one hand, and my mother-in-law’s shaky, handwritten will in the other.

It all felt like a dream.

My mother-in-law looked at me, her eyes full of kindness and a trace of relief.

“Ethan… you’ve endured…a lot…for the past…three years.

“I know… who’s been kind…to me.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I almost could not hold them back.

For three years, I had carried the title of a “freeloader”, enduring scorn from Lisa and her relatives.

Only my mother-in-law had never looked down on me.

I carried her back to bed and tucked her in.

My phone buzzed.

A notification from my pinned follower.

Kevin had posted again on Instagram.

The location tag displayed an overwater villa in Maldev. The photo was of Lisa in a revealing bikini, holding a glass of champagne.

Behind her, a turquoise sea and a blue sky stretched. It was a scene depicting pure luxury.

The caption was dripping with mockery.

[Some people spend their whole lives in rooms that smell like piss, while my woman deserves the stars and the ocean.]

The comments were full of flattery.

[What a generous man, Mr. Zauc.]

[Your girlfriend is gorgeous. She did the right thing, leaving that loser.]

Lisa replied with a “shy” emoji and added.

[Don’t mention that man. It ruins my mood. I want to enjoy life now.]

I looked at the screen and scoffed.

A room that smells like piss?

Very soon, that smell would be replaced by the scent of money.

I could not resist responding to Kevin’s post.