My husband was tall and handsome, but he had no money to pay his debts.

During the five years of our marriage, I sold my house and car for him.

We then moved to a dark and humid basement that was only 300 square feet in size.

When I got pregnant, I wanted to go for checkups, but he said that there was no need for it, as it was a waste of money.

So I gave birth to a baby with a congenital heart condition.

In order to get the money for his surgery, I worked three jobs every day.

At that time, I noticed that my husband bought a mansion worth 40 million dollars for an influencer, and I finally realized that my husband was no orphan, but the son of the richest man in the country.

“Mom, it’s Dad.”

My son, Nathan Lewis, pointed at something. I looked over and saw someone familiar.

I was stunned.

I saw my husband, Silas Lewis, get out of a Porsche. He wore high-end branded clothes, and every move he made exuded regality.

A beautifully dressed woman got down from the front passenger’s seat.

I had seen her before. Her name was Spring Taylor, and she had many fans simply because she was pretty.

Silas put an arm around Spring’s waist and walked past Nathan and me.

Nathan wanted to call out to him, but I covered his mouth.

Spring smiled and said sweetly, “Mr. Lewis, are you serious? Are you really going to give me that mansion even though it costs 40 million dollars?”

Silas ducked his head and said, “I’m not giving it to you for free. You’ll have to keep me company at night.”

Spring punched him lightly. “You’re incorrigible.”

When I saw this, I hurriedly covered Nathan’s eyes, but my heart clenched. It felt as if someone had torn into it.

Once Silas was far away, Nathan asked, “Mom, why didn’t you greet Dad? Who was the lady beside him?”

I held back my tears and said, “That’s not Dad.”

But I knew that the man was indeed my husband.

He did not even bat an eyelid when he spent 40 million dollars on that influencer.

Meanwhile, his own son had been diagnosed with a congenital heart condition, and his surgery cost 50 thousand dollars.

I had worked so hard for so long, and I still did not manage to get that 50 thousand dollars.

I felt as if a huge stone was weighing down on my heart, and I could not breathe.

I met Silas while traveling. I fell in love with him at first sight, and we married shotgun.

After we got married, I learned that his mother passed away when he was young, and his father had borrowed a lot of money in Silas’s name.

So, I sold my house and car to help clear some of his debt for him.

Even so, that hole was not completely filled.

Hence, over the past five years of our marriage, we have used our salary to continue clearing his debt.

After I got pregnant with Nathan, I went to get an abortion, but even after going through it twice, it did not work.

During my third attempt, Silas stopped me.

He said that the baby was innocent, and that he would take good care of his own child.

That was why I gave birth to Nathan.

But after I gave birth, no one took care of the baby, so I had to resign from my job to take care of him.

When Nathan was three months old, he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition.

I sank into despair, and it was Silas who motivated me.

He said, “Honey, we’ll eventually clear our debt. Don’t give up. Our future will get better.”

Then, he teared up. “I never thought that I would be married and have a son one day. All of those things were luxuries to me. Thank you for giving me all of these.”

His words touched me.

I always thought that if we worked together, the sky was the limit. So long as we were all united, we could get through all hardships.

When Nathan was a little older, I brought him to work.

During the day, I worked at construction sites. At night, I did handicrafts. At the crack of dawn, I went door to door to deliver milk.

However, I simply could not find the energy to work today, so I applied for leave from my boss and brought Nathan home.

At the moment I arrived home, I received a message from Nathan.

[Honey, I’m going to work overtime tonight. Go to bed earlier with Nathan.]

When I remembered what he said to Spring, I wept.

Nathan was around, so I could not cry too loudly.

After I made dinner and put Nathan to sleep, I found myself unable to fall asleep.

I could not understand. Why would Silas lie to me?

Just who was he?

Soon, I got the answers to the two questions.

When it was 2 a.m., my phone rang.

I answered it and heard Silas’s voice. He sounded drunk. “Honey, pick me up?”

In order to earn more money, Silas worked in sales.

He always kept his clients’ company until past midnight and near the crack of dawn. Whenever he got drunk, I rode my e-bike to pick him up.

Every time I saw his cheeks flushed due to alcohol, I found myself loving it, but I pitied him too.

I thought I was really fortunate to have met him, but that time around, when I went to pick him up, I felt a myriad of emotions.

I did not ride on my e-bike. Instead, I got a cab.

I arrived at the destination ten minutes later.

Silas sat in a room of the restaurant. The door was slightly open.

I looked through the gap and found a large group of people sitting inside.

They all looked rich and had high statuses. Silas sat in the middle of the group.

I saw a famous celebrity lighting a cigarette for Silas. Once he did, Silas flicked off the ash, and the celebrity used his hands as an ashtray.

Everyone laughed.

Someone said to Silas, “Mr. Lewis, when are you going to stop pretending to be poor? Your father has been asking me to tell you to return to the right path. Do you really like living as a poor person, or have you actually fallen for that poor woman?”

Silas scoffed and hissed, “No way. Honestly, I’m done with that sort of life. Every time I see that woman, I feel my skin itch. She’s just so dirty, even after she takes a shower.

“I’ve never seen someone as crude as she is. She works at the construction site every day. It’s so embarrassing.”

What he said gave the people the confidence to insult me.

They started laughing.

I looked down at my hands.

Due to the constant manual labor, my once-delicate hands had turned rough.

My skin was also so dark that it seemed to be a part of my natural skin tone.

I could not get rid of that dark skin tone no matter how much I washed myself.

It was no wonder why Silas refused to be intimate with me anymore after I gave birth to Nathan.

I thought it was because he was under a lot of stress, but it was because he found me dirty.

Those words were like knives that stabbed into my heart.

I thought we were in love, but to him, it was all a game.

After they finished insulting me, they talked about Nathan.

Someone said, “Mr. Lewis, you can dump that woman easily enough, but what about your son? He’s your flesh and blood. With a child binding you two, it won’t be so easy for you two to get separated.”

I thought Silas would show some tenderness toward Nathan, but what he said next shocked me.

“That kid has been sick from birth. How could I ever want that sort of kid as my son? I’ll give her some money and send her off. My son has to be healthy.”

My legs nearly gave out under me, and I almost fell.

So, that was what he thought about Nathan.

It was no wonder why he always ignored Nathan’s requests to hug him when he was home.

I always thought it was because he was jealous that Nathan was close to me, but it was because he did not want Nathan!

But if he did not want Nathan, why did he stop me when I tried to abort him?

He could treat my love like trash and consider the whole thing a game, but how could he do that to my son?

Nathan loved his father!

He longed for his father’s attention.

I slowly squatted down and bit down on the back of my hand.

My tears fell.

My heart hurt so much that it almost shattered to pieces.

Through their conversation, I learned that Silas was actually the son of the richest man in the country.

His family became a powerful family one hundred years ago and had been in the limelight over the past few years.

So, he was actually someone this rich?

And Spring was Silas’s first love and crush.

But when Silas tried to win her heart, Spring fell in love with a poor boy.

Silas could not understand it. How could there be anything fun in dating a poor person?

That was why he chose me. He wanted to try out this “true love” thing Spring talked about.

At present, Spring had come back after realizing the harsh truth of reality, and Silas began thinking about getting a divorce with me.

It was no wonder he could readily buy a mansion worth 40 million dollars for Spring but refused to pay for Nathan’s surgery.

If Nathan had received his surgery when he was younger, his condition would have been much better.

The last time we went to the hospital, the doctor told us that it would be too late for him if he did not get surgery soon.

At that time, Silas had said he would get another job.

How could he be so cruel?

Nathan was his son!

My chest hurt even more, and I did not want to hear what else he had to say.

When I wanted to leave, someone asked Silas, “What if that poor woman doesn’t want to get a divorce after learning about your status?”

Silas chuckled. “Even if she doesn’t want to, it’s useless. I’ve already written my will. After I die, she and her sick son won’t be getting a penny from me.”

I bit myself and tasted blood in my mouth.

I could not bear listening any further and ran.

But my emotions were a mess, and I tripped a few times.

My hands and legs bled, and I sat on the ground while I cried helplessly.

I thought that my love of five years was all for nothing. I sold my house and car for him!

At that time, my parents and friends had disagreed with my decision and thought that he was unworthy of me.

I cut ties with them. Despite the hardships over the years, I never once admitted defeat to them.

I sacrificed everything for Silas, but to him, Nathan and I were just burdens.

I had a cab send me home.

After I got back, Silas called me.

He asked sweetly, “Honey, why aren’t you here yet?”

I covered my mouth with the blanket so that I would not let the sounds of my crying leak out.

When I remained silent, Silas sounded anxious, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did something happen?”

I hung up.

I typed a few words on my phone despite my tears blurring my vision.

[It’s nothing. Nathan is feeling unwell. Why don’t you call a cab home?]

Silas asked, [Do you want to go to the hospital?]

I replied, [Don’t need to. He just had a nightmare.]

Silas felt at ease, and he called me. He laughed, “Honey, I’ve packed up some leftovers for you two. We had crab today!”

When I heard what he said, I just found it incredibly ironic and insulting.

Silas often ate outside, and whenever he did, he would pack up the leftovers for us.

Before this, I was never bothered by what he did.

After all, our financial situation was bad. Meat and fruits were luxuries for us.

Nathan might not have said anything, but I could see envy in his eyes whenever he saw other people eating in restaurants when I brought him to work.

So, every time Silas brought leftovers back, Nathan would be delighted, as if Christmas came early.

To him, it was because he could finally eat meat.

At that thought, I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms.

My poor son. His father was rich, but he lived a life that was harder than a normal child.

I started crying again.

To my surprise, Nathan woke up. When he saw my tears, he wiped them for me. “Mom, why are you crying? Did I make you mad?”

I shook my head, but I could not stop crying.

In the end, I hugged Nathan tightly, and all the sadness I felt exploded from within me.

I could no longer hold myself back.

I helped Nathan put on his clothes and held his hand. “Come, Nathan. I’ll bring you to visit your grandmother.”

When my mother opened the door, she saw both me and Nathan, and she was stunned for a few seconds.

I thought that she would chase us out, but my mother squatted down and patted Nathan’s head.

“You must be Nathan. I’m your grandmother.”

Nathan timidly greeted her, “Hello, Grandma.”

My mother let us in.

She did not ask why I came back nor did she chase us out. Instead, she asked us to go to bed.

I opened my bedroom door, and my eyes stung.

My room was clean. It was clear that someone cleaned it regularly.

The next day, my parents brought Nathan for a checkup at a hospital.

The doctor soon had Nathan hospitalized and got him scheduled for surgery.

During that time, Silas sent me a message and said that he had gone to work. He also said that he did not wake us up because we were deep asleep.

Lies.

Both Nathan and I were no longer in the house.

It was only at that moment that I realized how often Silas lied to me.

Was he ever truthful to me?

At night, Nathan said he wanted his elephant soft toy, so I returned home to get it for him.

Right after I stepped into our house, I smelled food.

It came from the table. When Silas heard the door opening, he ran over. “You’re finally back, Honey. I got my bonus today, so we can eat better food.”

He looked behind me. “Where’s our son?”

I said, “Nathan is in the hospital.”

Nathan looked nervous. “He’s hospitalized? Where? Why didn’t you tell me?”

That nervous expression almost made me believe that he cared about Nathan.

But what he said last night had already carved a deep mark in my heart. It was like a burn that would never heal.

I asked him, “Silas, do you love Nathan?”

Nathan patted my head. “You’re being really strange today, Honey. Nathan’s my son. How could I not love him? What’s wrong with you?”

I stared at his face and found his words disgusting.

He did not love Nathan.

I then remembered something. When I left the ward, Nathan had said, “I miss Dad. When is he coming?”

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Silas panicked and wiped away my tears. “What’s wrong? Honey, what happened? Tell me the truth. Did something happen to Nathan?”

I shook my head. “Nathan’s fine.”

Silas sighed in relief.

He held my hand and hugged me. “Are you worried about money? Don’t worry. I’m about to get a lot of money. By then, Nathan can have his surgery.”

I broke free from his embrace and stared at him for a long while. “Mr. Lewis, when do you intend to spare us?”

Silas was stunned, and his smile vanished, but he feigned ignorance. “What’re you saying, Honey? What do you mean, ‘spare us’?”

I wiped away my tears and took out my phone before playing the recording from last night.

Then, I asked, “Mr. Lewis, you bought a 40-million-dollar mansion without batting an eyelid, but you spent such a long time to get 50 thousand dollars for my son’s surgery?”