Chapter 3 Finally Having Money

Before we'd gotten married, we'd made a deal. Calvin had wanted me, and I'd wanted money. He would give me 200 thousand dollars every month. If that wasn't enough, I could ask for more at any time. He always said he knew I only loved money, or I wouldn't have dumped him for that rich guy and gone to Melyria for two years. To this day, he still didn't know who that so-called rich guy was, and I was just a gold digger to him. After we'd gotten married, I'd rarely asked for money. The monthly 200 thousand dollars was barely enough. I needed to rely on expensive medication to prevent a relapse, and the cost of check-ups wasn't cheap either. Today was the second time I'd ever asked him for money. The first time had been when my mom had passed away. Back then, he hadn't hesitated to give me a million dollars without a word. But now, he simply lowered his head and gently stroked Emily's hair, comforting her softly as if he hadn't heard me at all. It wasn't until Emily stopped crying that he looked up at me with a cold sneer. "You want money? Fine, kneel and apologize. You hurt Emily. You must apologize to her." Emily looked shocked at first, but then a smug smile crept onto her face. She tugged coyly at Calvin's sleeve. "Calvin, it's fine. I'm not hurt that badly. Maybe she didn't mean to." "She owes you an apology regardless of whether it was on purpose or not. You're my precious." He picked Emily up and gently placed her on the couch. Then, he pulled out his checkbook, scribbled a number, and handed it to me. "Kneel and apologize, and this five million dollars is yours." I stared silently at the number on the check. My chest didn't seem to hurt as much anymore. In the past, he'd brought many women home just to humiliate me, but it had always been limited to our home. No matter how much he'd fooled around, I had always been his wife to the public. But this time, he was willing to humiliate me with money for Emily. All just so he could make me yield to him. He knew very well that if I hadn't needed the money urgently, I would've never asked him for it. He wanted to crush my pride and would feel satisfied only if I degraded myself. I stood still in a daze, fully aware of the stares from the colleagues. Some looked on with disdain, while others watched with a mix of suspicion and pity. Emily shot me a triumphant look. I remembered what she had said earlier. "The woman who isn't loved is the real third party." I pressed hard against my chest. Indeed, cancer's agony couldn't compare to emotional pain. "No need," I said as I turned to leave the office with long strides. I refused to humiliate myself any further. He hated me, so of course he wanted to torment me. I was sure that he would feel immense satisfaction if he found out that the money I'd asked for was to save my life, and he'd refused to give it to me. With the last bit of strength I had, I dragged myself home, completely drained. I was exhausted and sleepy, but the pain made it impossible to rest. The pain from cancer was bone-deep. It was a torment I had grown all too familiar with. Remembering how my mother had suffered before her death, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to take two melatonin capsules. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Ralph. "Ms. Jefferson, we can schedule the surgery for next Monday. Could you come by to pay in the next few days?" I read the message several times. There were no notifications from the bank. Closing my eyes, I already knew. Calvin wasn't going to give me the money. Perhaps Ralph didn't see my reply because another message came through a few minutes later. "You can just pay the deposit to secure the surgery slot." My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I ended up not responding. How was I supposed to have surgery with no money? I lay in bed and tried to empty my mind. I made up my mind. If worst came to worst, I'd smash the glass doors of my closet tomorrow and sell the bags inside. Right now, I needed to rest, or I wouldn't survive to get the surgery. While I was half-asleep, I had a long dream. I dreamed of the days back when my family hadn't fallen from grace, and I had still been the daughter of the prestigious Jefferson family. Calvin had still been an orphan. When my father had decided to sponsor a student, I'd set my eyes on him. Calvin had had a national scholarship and hadn't qualified for the sponsorship, but I'd begged and pleaded until my father had given the spot to him. Later, I'd tried to win him over. He'd always been cold to me and had even rejected me several times. Once, I'd gone to the bar where he'd worked. That day, some punks had started harassing me. He'd said to me, "Summer, don't be scared." It was the first time he'd called me by my name. He'd suffered a thorough beating that day, but he'd still protected me at all costs. In the hospital, I'd clung to his neck and refused to let go. I'd shamelessly hung onto him like he would disappear any second. "Calvin, you scared me to death. You have to take responsibility for that!" He'd given me a pained smile and said with slurred speech, "Okay." After that, we'd started dating. Everyone at school had believed that we wouldn't last long together. There had been rumors everywhere, but we'd stuck it out for three years. Before graduation, he sold one of his most prized softwares just to buy me a decent birthday gift. I'd cried the moment I'd seen the diamond necklace. I'd even punched him repeatedly and asked why he had sold his software. After all, it had been six months of his hard work. He grinned like a fool, saying, "My Sunny deserves the best in the world." Ding. The notification chime signaling a new message woke me up. Seeing the 100 thousand dollars in my account, my heart finally settled. I quickly wiped away my tears and texted Ralph back. "I'll go to the hospital tomorrow to arrange the surgery." I finally had money.