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.]

"Thanks."

After about five minutes, my eyesight improved, and my sense of smell sharpened.

"Kenneth, this money... doesn't seem right?"

"Haha, Mr. Nelson, you're so meticulous! I added an extra 20,000 dollars to make it a round 400,000 dollars."

It was very noisy outside, so I pushed the door open and went out.

Then I saw Leila's father, Kevin, pour out the suitcase on the ground.

Inside was a whole box of white paper.

Kenneth exclaimed, "Wait a minute! I took the wrong box!"

He signaled to his mother, "Mom, go get the box of money from under my bed."

After a while, Maria dragged out another box.

"Mr. Nelson, don't worry, I made a mistake."

Kevin's expression relaxed slightly.

But when Kenneth opened the box, it was still filled with white paper.

"This can't be! Where's my money?"

Kenneth continued to flip through the boxes, and saw a whole box filled with white paper.

"Kenneth, it's no fun if you do this."

"Mr. Nelson, I swear I'm prepared!"

Leila's expression darkened.

"Kenneth, what's going on?"

"I... I don't know! I'll pay with my card!"

Kenneth pulled out his phone to transfer money. But after several attempts, it was still reminded of insufficient balance.

"Mr. Nelson, please let Leila and me get married first, and I'll give you the money in a few days."

"Do you think I'm a fool? This marriage is off!"

With that, Leila's parents turned to leave.

"Dad! Mom! Kenneth, do you really want to marry me?"

Leila rushed after them.

"Dad, Mom, can you give him another chance? He was on the news a few days ago when he won five million. You have to believe him."

Her pleas softened her parents' stance.

Kenneth searched from room to room until he reached my room.

He pushed me aside and rifled through the closet.

Several gold bars in the closet also turned into stone.

"Where are the gold bars?!" he demanded.

"What gold bars? I don't know," I replied innocently.

In frustration, Kenneth threw a stone at me, but luckily I was able to move nimbly.

Otherwise, these stones would have smashed my head.

Hearing the sound, people outside also squeezed in.

Leila glared at me. "Did you hide them?"

"It must be you!"

Kenneth also began to consider me, "Where's the money? You steal it."

"I haven't left the house; how could I have done that?" I defended myself.

Kenneth hesitated, realizing I hadn't gone out.

He resumed searching for the missing money.

I took my few belongings, preparing to leave when Jose stopped me.

"Are you leaving?" he asked.

I looked at him and said nothing.

He was just a child. And just when I was thinking about whether I should give him a chance, he suddenly shouted.

"Dad, Aunt Leila, come quickly! The thief is getting away!"

He clung to my suitcase, refusing to let go.

I couldn't help but sneer at his ingratitude.

"What's in your suitcase?" Kenneth asked.

"Just some clothes," I replied.

Leila laughed, "It must be gold bars!"

Hearing this, Kenneth immediately grabbed the suitcase to check.