I dragged myself home, exhausted. I had barely opened the door when I saw Hannah lying in Wyatt's arms on the couch, the two of them laughing as they watched the television.

Hannah quickly pulled away from Wyatt when she heard the sound.

She looked at me with an annoyed look on her face. "So, you actually remembered to come home? Do you know Wyatt had to carry all the luggage because you didn't pick us up? He was exhausted. Can't you have a little more compassion?!"

I ignored her and calmly took off my shoes by the door, but that only made Hannah more irritated. She got up and walked toward me, but Wyatt quickly tried to calm her down. "Nathan was probably busy with work. He didn't mean it. Don't be mad, Hannah. I'm not tired. Oh, right. Nathan, Hannah and I brought you a gift."

He then walked over as if he was presenting me with a treasure and handed me a box. Inside was a scarf printed with some landmarks. It was made of cheap synthetic fabric, with rough threads sticking out along the edges.

The moment I saw it, my throat physically tightened. I was severely allergic to that kind of fabric. The last time I had accidentally touched it, I had been rushed straight to the emergency room. I yelled, "Take it away!"

When Wyatt heard that, he pushed the scarf even closer. "Nathan, I picked this out especially for you. Don't you like it?"

"I said take it away!" My breathing was already turning ragged.

"Nathan, what kind of attitude is that?!" Hannah snatched the box and shoved it into my arms. "Wyatt was kind enough to bring you a present. Who are you making that face for?!"

The synthetic fabric brushed my wrist, and a red rash broke out instantly. I immediately threw the box onto the floor.

Wyatt put on a hurt expression and said, "Even if you don't like it, you don't have to throw it away."

Hannah stared at me, barely holding back her anger. "Nathan! What gives you the right to throw Wyatt's gift away?! Apologize to him right now!"

But by then, I could not speak anymore. My throat had swollen to the point of being blocked as my vision began to blur. I staggered toward the living room, where I kept my allergy medicine. But after only two steps, Hannah grabbed my arm. "You're not walking away from this. Apologize to Wyatt."

"Medicine. Get my medicine..." I pointed at the drawer as it grew harder to breathe, and my chest was so tight it felt ready to collapse.

Hannah slapped my hand away. "Stop the act! I let it go last time when you faked being sick to lie to me, and now you're doing it again? I'm telling you, this trick won't work. Apologize to Wyatt right now!"

My vision had already started going black, and Hannah's scolding grew farther away.

Before I hit the floor, I saw Hannah rush toward me in a panic…

-

When I finally regained consciousness, Hannah was lying beside my bed, shadows under her eyes.

When she heard me move, she took my hand and said in a guilty tone, "I'm sorry, Nathan. I forgot you were allergic to the material that was used to make that fabric. I thought you were pretending to be sick again."

I found it so laughable.

During all our years of marriage, Hannah had always chosen my clothes carefully, worried she might accidentally buy something made from that material and trigger my allergy. But after Wyatt had lived in our home for only half a year, she was now telling me she had forgotten.

I sneered and pulled my hand back.

Hannah froze, then quickly frowned. "Do you have to act like this? Wyatt didn't do it on purpose. He never went to school. How was he supposed to know anything about allergies? How about this? To keep Wyatt from hurting you in the future, why don't you send him to school using that money? How does that sound?"

For a second, I wondered if I had heard her wrong. Wyatt had sent me into an allergic shock, yet I was supposed to pay for his tuition?

I refused without even thinking. "No. I need that paycheck to buy my cemetery plot."

Hannah's eyes widened. "Nathan, are you really going to curse yourself like that just so Wyatt can't use the money? He's still so young... What's wrong with letting him learn something? Can't you have a little compassion?"

Compassion again.

Because of her compassion, I had less than two more weeks left to live.

I sneered as I said, "That's right. I have no compassion."

When Hannah saw that I would not give in, she stormed out and slammed the door. I then heard her say to Wyatt in the living room, "Wyatt, don't worry. I'll find a way to send you to school."

I did not care. After I recovered from the allergy, I immediately returned to my original schedule and went to work during the day while washing dishes at the restaurant at night.

To spite me, Hannah cooked all kinds of good food for Wyatt every day. The smell drifted out of the kitchen, making me realize how empty my stomach was.

Wyatt would always sit across from me with his plate, eating smugly as he said, "Nathan, you should have some too. Hannah said these ribs were expensive. She bought them with your paycheck."

I shoved the plain dinner rolls into my mouth and ignored him, but I had a bad feeling about all of this.

Three days before payday, I went to finance and asked, "Martha, can you please change the account for my direct deposit? Don't put this month's paycheck in the old account."

I used to think a husband and wife shared everything, so both the apartment and car were in Hannah's name. Meanwhile, my paychecks had always gone into her account.

It was not until I could not afford my own surgery while I was in the hospital that I realized if I had no money of my own, I could not even afford to die.

Martha typed on her computer a few times. When she looked up, her expression was awkward. "Well, didn't your wife come in last week and get an advance on your paycheck? Why are you asking for it again?"

"What?!" I shot to my feet, my voice tight. "When did she come in?"

"The day you took leave for your allergy. She said you were in the hospital and needed money urgently. She was crying pretty hard, and she had a copy of your ID, so I processed it for her."

I almost froze as I gripped the table to keep myself from falling.

She had taken my paycheck in advance?

That was the money I needed for my cemetery plot!

I staggered out of the company. When I found Hannah, she was just going to buy a gold watch with Wyatt.

I rushed over, my voice trembling with rage. "Hannah! Where's my paycheck?"

She started. When she saw it was me, the smile vanished from her face and was replaced by a self-righteous look. "I spent it on Wyatt's tutoring class. You have no idea how expensive tutoring is these days."

"That money was for my cemetery plot!" I grabbed her arm, my fingers trembling. "Give it back to me!"

She shook me off, anger rising in her eyes, too. "Nathan, what is wrong with you? Why do you keep talking about cemetery plots every day? Are you that eager to die? I'm telling you right now that Wyatt's education is what actually matters!

"That being said, what perfect timing. I'm worried people will look down on Wyatt when he starts school, so I want to buy him a gold watch. We're short on money now, so give me your wedding ring. I'll pawn it for cash first, then get it back for you once I have the money."

As she spoke, she grabbed my hand.

Then, she froze when she saw my bare ring finger. "Nathan, where is your wedding ring?"

Wyatt was still beside Hannah, and he quietly reminded her, "Hannah, the watch..."

"Shut up!" Hannah shoved him away and stared at me, her voice tight with panic. "Where is the ring?! Say something!"

Her earlier smugness was gone, and she had even forgotten about the watch. Only panic remained in her eyes.

I looked at her and suddenly found it a little laughable.

She did not care whether I lived or died, but she cared a lot about a ring. "I sold it..."

Before I could finish, the sales associate screamed. "The watch is missing!"

The store instantly fell into chaos. Before I could react, Wyatt bumped into me with a panicked look on his face. Then, something heavy dropped into my arms.

Wyatt pointed at me and said, "He has the watch. He stole it!"

My eyes widened in disbelief, and I quickly denied it. "It wasn't me. Wyatt shoved it into my arms. Check the security cameras if you don't believe me!"

Wyatt's eyes instantly reddened. "Nathan, how could you accuse me like that? Everyone saw you rush over just now to ask Hannah for money, and you even sold your wedding ring because you were short on cash! But no matter how badly you need money, you can't steal!"

As soon as he finished, the people around us began whispering. I know that they had already decided I was the thief from the way they looked at me.

Hannah's expression cooled little by little. "Nathan, you have disappointed me so much."

She snatched the watch from my arms and handed it back to the sales associate, then pulled Wyatt away. "Wyatt wouldn't lie! Nathan, you should admit it when you've done something wrong. Don't make me look down on you even more!"

She turned to the security guards and said, "Call the police. Someone like him needs to learn a lesson."

Right then, it felt like a piece of me was ripped out. The pain was so sharp that I almost forgot to breathe. Hannah knew me better than anyone after so many years of marriage. She knew that no matter what happened, I would never steal.

But she still believed in Wyatt without a second thought.

The pain in my chest soon spread through my whole body, but I clenched my teeth and barely managed to stay upright.

The police arrived quickly and took me to the station.

As I lay on the cold floor of the holding cell, the pain in my chest grew worse, and my mind started to blur.

In the end, I even thought that dying here might not be so bad. At least then I would not have to think about the cemetery plot anymore.

Early the next morning, I was released. Only when I saw Hannah did I realize she had gotten me out.

"You..." Hannah looked surprised at how haggard I looked, and her expression softened with pity.

Just as she was about to speak, I cut her off numbly. "Why was I released?"

Hannah looked a little uncomfortable. After a while, she said quietly, "The police checked the security footage. Wyatt really did steal the watch."

I kept asking, "Then why wasn't Wyatt brought in?"

"I paid the store back and bailed him out." Hannah's voice dropped even lower. "Wyatt had never seen anything nice before, and he only made one stupid mistake. We should give him a chance to correct himself. We can't ruin his life over this..."

Looking at the way she defended Wyatt, I suddenly found everything so pointless. When I was falsely accused, she wanted the police to teach me a lesson right away. Now that it was Wyatt, she wanted to give him a chance.

Once I stopped laughing at my own mistake, I realized something was wrong. "Where did you get the money to pay his bail?"