Dying Sister-in-Law, Husband Gives Money to Online Crush

In the hospital room, my older sister-in-law was lying in bed, still smiling and reassuring me that everything would be fine.

Even though she was the one sick, her words made me feel even worse.

Why would such a good person get this kind of illness? I wish I could take the pain for her.

"Don’t worry. The doctor said it’s just a small surgery. I sent Mike to get the money. Once we pay, the surgery will be done, and in a few days, you’ll be better."

“He’s wasting money for no reason. I know my own body. What’s meant to happen can’t be avoided.”

When she said this, I couldn’t hold back my tears. Just then, my husband, Mike, came back.

He glanced at me and said, “Why are you crying like this? People who don’t know might think you two are real sisters and I’m just the brother-in-law.”

His joke wasn’t funny at all. I glared at him. “Did you pay the money?”

“Pay what?”

“The surgery fee for her. I asked you to go get the money and pay for it.”

“I ran into a friend while getting the money. He said there’s a business investment with high returns, so I gave him the money for that.”

“Mike! Her life depends on that money!”

——

“It’s been two years already and she’s still alive. Why is it now that you need money to save her? My friend said the investment would return in at most three months, plus there’s profit.”

I noticed my older sister-in-law’s face change. I turned to Mike with a cold expression and pulled him out of the hospital room.

“Didn’t you hear the doctor? Her condition is getting worse. Without surgery, she might only last a month at most. That’s the most optimistic scenario. We have to arrange the surgery immediately. Go get the money back right now.”

“What money? We only have 40 thousand dollars in savings. Are we supposed to throw it away?” Mike glared at me. “You didn’t hear the doctor properly. He said the surgery’s success rate is less than ten percent. Even that number might be too low. With such a high risk of failure, do you think money grows on trees? I worked hard for every penny myself.”

The doctor also said the surgery might leave her permanently paralyzed. In that case, keeping her alive would cost thousands of dollars every day.

“You don’t earn money, you don’t know how hard it is to get it,” he said.

I couldn’t understand how a warm-hearted person could say something so cold.

Money was hard to earn, but what about life? Was money more important than a human life?

And what did he mean, “you don’t earn money”? I used to earn more than him at my job. But when my older sister-in-law fell ill, there was no one to take care of her or the child, so I had to quit.

Even so, I still did some part-time work in my spare time to help with the household expenses.

Even my older sister-in-law, though sick, would still push herself to do some handicrafts to help bring in extra money for the family.

I stared at Mike. “Your parents passed away early and it was your sister who raised you. Her school grades were better than yours, but she chose to drop out and work so she could support your studies. Your marriage, the house, the car, even the bride price she gave me—all of it, she saved every penny herself.”

“Just like you, I lost my parents when I was young. After having a child, there was no one to help take care of them, so she quit her job to help us with the child so I wouldn’t have to give up work.”

“You know, I always see her as my mother. Do you even have a conscience? You owe everything you have now to her.”

“Did I ask her to do that? She kept saying ‘an older sister is like a mother’ and she wanted to help. Do parents raise children to get something back? If it’s about payback, I don’t need her care. And if it were me with this kind of illness, I wouldn’t want you to take care of me either.”

I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore. I slapped him hard.

“You hit me?” Mike shouted, then kicked my stomach, knocking me to the floor. After that he kept punching and kicking me. “Who do you think you are, daring to hit me?”