For the sake of my husband Kenneth and son Jose, I traded my life for a five-million-dollar jackpot with the system.

Gradually, I lost all sensory perception. In unbearable pain, I planned to go to the hospital for painkillers.

Instead, I overheard Kenneth speaking with his mother.

"Mom, you know she's blind and deaf, like a living dead. I have money now and want to marry Leila."

Jose also stopped me and said, "Mom, this is the last time I'll call you that. You make me too ashamed."

Alone in the night, I bitterly smiled at the system, saying, "Change everything back."

1

Tossing and turning, sleep eluded me due to pain.

I got up to find Kenneth in the next room, but my body had deteriorated since the transaction.

After dressing, I discovered his room was empty but noticed the light was still on in Maria's room.

As I approached, I heard Kenneth say, "Mom, she's a burden. We can't afford her medical treatment."

There was no cure for my illness, nor did I want to waste the money.

I wanted to explain, but he continued, "In our fifteen years of marriage, she eats our food and uses our things. Now the whole family cares for her. Mom, don't you think she's a burden?"

I gripped the wall, my breath quickening.

"At least Vanessa accompanied you for half your life and gave birth to a son for you..."

"But I've supported her for so many years. Everything she ate and wore was bought by me. If I hadn't won the jackpot, she would have been a burden to us."

His words chilled my heart.

Jose's words made me feel like I was falling into an icy cave.

"Grandma, don't you understand? My mom is a disaster. Dad, divorce her right away. She's old and blind, it's so embarrassing."

My legs trembled as I held onto the wall and slowly sat down on the ground.

Kenneth had once been unemployed and sighed all day at home.

He couldn't find a job and Jose was seriously ill.

We struggled to gather even three hundred dollars.

I made the deal with the system and got the big prize in exchange for my miserable life.

It was also me who forced him to buy the lottery ticket.

He had complained then, "We're broke, and you had to buy this useless thing. Our son is sick, and you're blind. If you don't win, we'll die!"

On the day of the lottery draw, Kenneth held me and spun me around three times.

"Honey, we're rich! I'll be your eyes. I will find the best doctor to treat your eyes!"

"You're our lucky star!"

At that time, I felt everything I did was worth it.

But it all changed in less than two years.

Kenneth suddenly dropped something, and my heart was in my throat.

"That's enough. No matter how she is, I am going to marry Leila."

"Grandma, I want Aunt Leila!"

Reason told me to return to my room, but my legs wouldn't obey.

I tried to stand three times, falling hard each time.

The last fall was particularly loud.

Their conversation stopped abruptly.

I knew they heard me.

Soon after, Jose's voice came from above my head.

"Why are you here?"

He waved his hand in front of my eyes.

Despite the gradual decline of my senses, I could still see faintly.

Kenneth's eyes reflected deep disgust when he looked at me.

"Now that you've heard everything, I'll be direct. You have a month to find someone else to take you in, or you can go begging, whatever you choose."

"Do you think it's fair to let me go out in my condition? You're forcing me to die."

"Vanessa, remember, our marriage is just a formality. Do you want to depend on me for the rest of your life?"

I didn't want to argue. I knew it was pointless.

I extended my hand. "Kenneth, you have to give me half of the lottery money."

He slapped my hand away.

"Vanessa, don't push it. What does winning the lottery have to do with you? I bought the ticket and cashed it. You're nearly terminally ill, and you're still thinking about money. Isn't that greedy?"

My hands were slapped and felt painful and stinging.

Jose held my hand.

I thought, "Is he looking at my wound?"

"Jose, Mom didn't..."

Before I could finish, Jose bit me hard.

The pain made my head spin, but I stayed still until he was tired of biting.

"Bad mom! If you take the money, what will Dad and I live? And Aunt Leila's wedding gift..."

Kenneth quickly covered Jose's mouth.

I was too exhausted to care.

"Vanessa, our Martin family has treated you well. If you have any conscience, get out of here as soon as possible. Jose will be in high school soon. Don't delay his future."

With that, he took Jose back to his room.

When they passed me, one of them kicked me.

"Dad, last time my classmates came over, they said I have a mom who looks like a 'zombie.' She scared them when she greeted them."

"It's okay, it will be gone soon."

I sat on the floor for the rest of the night.

The system's voice echoed in my mind.

[Host, it's not too late for you to regret now. ]

I didn't respond, staring blankly at the family photo in the living room.

I picked it up to see it clearly, only to find the woman in the photo had become Leila.

The next day, Kenneth took me to the court to file for divorce.

When he left, he was laughing, genuinely happy.

Seeing him so joyful made me realize how hard he had worked to pretend for all these years.

Back home, he embraced and kissed the divorce certificate.

That evening, Leila arrived.

"Is the money ready?"

"Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars, not a cent less!"

"Okay, my parents will come tomorrow for it."

Alone in my room, I laughed bitterly at my absurdity.

Three months ago, I was in agonizing pain and wanted painkillers.

Kenneth had told me it was unhealthy to take them.

He turned around and walked out, scolding me for not being worthy of spending a penny of his money.

I thought I had misheard him back then.

Now, I realized how foolish I had been.

That night, the room was filled with the sounds of Kenneth and Leila making love.

I controlled my emotions and knocked on the door, and after a long wait, Kenneth finally opened it.

"Can you be a bit quieter? Jose is in the next room and he is still a..."

Before I could finish, Jose darted out and slammed into my back.

"What do you know? Don't interfere with Daddy and Aunt Leila's relationship!"

"Jose, have you forgotten that if I hadn't cared for you at the hospital two years ago, you wouldn't be here."

Jose pounded my back in frustration.

"Nonsense. Dad is lucky and won the lottery, so he was able to pay the medical expenses. It had nothing to do with you, you wicked woman."

"Without me, your dad wouldn't have won the lottery."

Kenneth and Leila laughed out loud at the same time.

"With you being disabled? You can't even read the lottery ticket. How dare you take credit?"

"Looks like not only are you physically disabled, but your brain isn't working either. If I were you, I'd just run my head into a wall to stop being a nuisance."

"Kenneth, our bed has a broken leg. Her arm looks just right."

They exchanged smiles, each with their motives.

Then they shoved me against the broken leg of the bed.

Kenneth pressed my hand down hard, causing excruciating pain.

I was tied up and unable to move.

The two of them completely ignored me.

Until dawn, my palms felt crushed.

"Kenneth, is she okay? It looks serious."

"What could be wrong? What part of her isn't crippled? What's worse than this hand? After spending so much on her, what's a night as a bed foot?"

Leila, satisfied, got off the bed, stepping over me on purpose.

With my deteriorating bones, the pain was unbearable that night.

"Uh..."

"Ah, Kenneth!"

In the next moment, Kenneth covered my mouth.

He leaned in close and hissed, "You'd better keep quiet. If Leila is happy, I'll give you three thousand dollars."

Leila stepped on my back, bouncing twice.

Tears filled my eyes from the pain.

When Leila came down, I was soaked in sweat and couldn't straighten my back.

I was hunched over while Kenneth was counting money.

He handed me a wad of money.

"Take it."

I didn't reach for it.

"Are you completely deaf?"

Knowing I needed money to leave, I reluctantly reached out.

But Kenneth gripped my hand tightly.

His thumb pressed into the wound on my arm, increasing pressure until it sank into my festering flesh.

I gasped, trembling uncontrollably.

"Mom, Dad. You're here!"

Leila's voice rang from the living room, prompting Kenneth to release me instantly.

He pushed me away and walked out in a hurry.

"Mr. Nelson, Mrs. Nelson!"

I sat helplessly on the floor.

It hurt so much that I felt like retching.

It was very lively outside the door, and everyone was smiling brightly.

"Mr. Nelson, here's the three hundred and eighty thousand dollar betrothal gift I prepared."

"Okay, thank you, Kenneth."

After a long time, I managed to stand up.

I thought, "Today, you can't give out your betrothal gift."

"System, change it back."

[Okay, host. The exchange has been revoked. All bills will become waste paper, and your body will recover, though some trauma may remain.]