“Just looking at her shortens your life. Living every day with such an ugly woman would drive any man crazy. You wouldn’t even dare take her out to eat. At the kindergarten, people always mistake her for the child’s grandmother.”

Stella’s eyes turned red. “Mike, are you even human?”

“Why doesn’t she dress up? Does she even have time? She wakes up early and works late every day, taking care of the child and me. Whenever she has a bit of free time, she goes out to do odd jobs to earn money. Look at her hands—do they look like the hands of a normal woman? They’re all calloused. She’s your wife and you don’t even feel sorry for her. Instead, you insult her. Where’s your conscience?”

Stella was truly angry now. She went on, “You say she doesn’t buy clothes—do you know why? Because she’s trying to save money!”

“You heartless bastard! After work, you either go out drinking or lie at home playing games. You buy cigarettes that cost four or five a pack, expensive wine worth hundreds of dollars just to ‘try,’ and you spent over ten thousand on a motorcycle just to ride it on weekends.”

“And who saved that 40 thousand dollars that Zerra asked you to withdraw today? It’s the money Zerra saved bit by bit over the years. You say she doesn’t earn money? How can you even say that with a straight face? You earn one and spend two. You’ve already wasted all of Zerra’s dowry and everything she had saved before. Mike, tell me—are you even human?”

“I’m not afraid to tell you the truth — Zerra has been putting up with not divorcing you because of me. You ask for a divorce, who do you think you are?”

Stella understood me. Her words hit deep inside me and I couldn’t stop crying.

Losing my parents when I was young made me value family more than most people. I didn’t want my child to grow up in a single-parent home and I couldn’t bear to leave Stella behind, so I kept enduring.

In fact, my marriage to Mike had been dead for a long time. He only stayed to make the family look whole and to give the child a father.

After hearing what Stella said, an idea formed in my mind.

Mike listened and stayed cold. “You say I have no heart, do you? She’s like this and you’re also to blame. If you care so much about her, why didn’t you die earlier? You’re a sick burden; whoever gets stuck with you is unlucky.”

“Enough.” I shouted angrily. “Stella, don’t cry. I’ll divorce him.”

I looked at Mike. “Mike, give me back that 40 thousand right now. Even if half of the divorce money is mine, the house and car must be split equally. I also want half of the demolition money from the old house.”

“Split the property?” Mike glanced at me. “Fine, sue me then. There’s a one-month cooling-off period. Let’s see who can hold out. And if you try to fight me for the money, I will fight for custody of the child.”

I looked at Mike calmly. “I’m giving you a chance to split the property now. If you want to wait for my divorce lawsuit, I will give the court proof of your cheating. Then you’ll have to leave with nothing.”

Mike’s face darkened. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“You think I don’t know you cheated?” My face got much colder. “I have the records of every time you booked a room. That bitch even sent me a video of you two sleeping around to taunt me. If my sister hadn’t been sick, I wouldn’t have wasted time on someone so heartless. I would have left long ago. Now go change the divorce papers so the property is split. Go get that 40 thousand back from that bitch. If you stall, I will make sure you walk away with nothing.”

“Zerra, you finally stopped pretending and started fighting for money, huh? After I heard about the demolition, I was already watching out for this. I’ve already put the old house in Melly’s name.”

Mike dropped all pretense and went on, “Oh, and by the way, I’ve already taken out loans with the house and car as collateral. After the divorce, you won’t get a single penny, but you’ll still have to pay half the debt. Didn’t you want to play the saint? Fine, I’ll let you — you can help me pay off that loan.”

His words hit me like thunder in June. I stared at him, stunned, never imagining the man beside me in bed could be this scheming.

Stella gripped my hand tightly. I could feel her trembling, just like I was trembling with rage.

Mike looked at the two of us with a careless expression.

After a moment, I came back to my senses and knelt in front of him. “I don’t want anything else. I only want that 40 thousand. Give me that money and I’ll leave with nothing.”

Mike sneered. “You don’t want to take anything? Wow, such a saint. You still have to help pay the loan back.”

“She’s your real sister, I need that money to save her life,” I said.

“She’s just my half-sister, not my real sister. I have no duty or responsibility to support her. I’m not wasting my money on this. Besides, how is a half-sister from the same mother but a different father— even a ‘real sister’?”

He looked at Stella coldly and said, “Don’t think I don’t know—Mom was already pregnant when she married Dad. You’re the bastard she was carrying.”

Mike spoke coldly again and threw the divorce papers at me. “For the sake of our marriage, I’ll let you off the loan repayment. But you leave with nothing. Sign it. If you don’t, you’ll have to help pay the loan.”

Outside the door, a crowd had gathered. Many people were scolding Mike.

He glanced toward them and said, “Stop pretending to be kind. If you pity these two cheap women so much, why don’t you pay for the surgery yourselves?”

People were angry, but in a hospital, who wasn’t short on money?

Seeing that no one spoke up, Mike looked back at me. “You have three minutes to think. If you still want a divorce after that, then be ready to help pay off the loan.”

“Sign it,” Stella said to me, wiping away my tears. “Spending 40 thousand to see someone’s true face is worth it.”

I picked up the divorce papers and read them carefully.

After working so hard for this family all these years, now I was being kicked out with nothing.

The bitterness hit me so hard that tears fell uncontrollably again.

I wiped them away fiercely, then picked up the pen and signed my name.

“Go on being her holy saint. When she dies, you can bury her yourself. I’m starting a new life,” Mike said before walking away without looking back.

Inside the ward, Stella stayed silent. She had tried to hold herself together in front of him, but now her tears kept falling.

Her heart was broken—and I could see the fear of death in her eyes.

She had never truly realized that her illness could be fatal. I believed that too—until today, when Mike said it so bluntly.

I didn’t try to comfort her. Quietly, I walked out of the ward.

A few hours later, I arrived at the payment counter.

My credit score had always been good, so I took out various online loans totaling 17 thousand dollars.

And when I called the friends I’d helped over the years—people who knew my character—l one by one, they all did what they could.

After dozens of calls, I finally managed to gather the remaining 25 thousand dollars.

In the past, when my world collapsed, Stella was the one who held it up for me.

Now that her world was falling apart, it was my turn to hold it up for her.

Just as I was about to pay the hospital fees, Stella stopped me. She looked at me and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Come on, Stella, what are you apologizing for? It’s just 40 thousand. I’ve got it covered.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, her eyes complicated and heavy. “I lied to you.”

She handed me a medical report.