Chapter 1

On his way home from collecting soda cans for recycling after school, my son was bitten by a stray dog.

To save money, he tried to patch up the nasty wound himself with super glue and duct tape before coming home.

With tears streaming down my face, I rushed him to a local urgent care clinic for a basic bandage.

Leo looked at me, his eyes filled with guilt. "I'm sorry, Mom. The co-pay was ten dollars. That’s our food budget for the day."

But as we walked out, we saw my husband, Austin, at the luxury pet boutique next door. He was swiping his black card for his ex-girlfriend’s dog.

"Mr. Miller is so sweet to his wife! He comes in every week to get the VIP spa package for Coco!"

"I know, right? It costs thousands of dollars each time. He really spoils her."

Leo and I froze, staring at Austin in disbelief.

He didn't notice us. Holding the dog, he turned and got into a luxury car with Hailey.

Leo pulled at my sleeve. "Didn't Dad say his investments failed and he owes millions? Why is he spending so much on a dog?"

I forced myself to calm down, desperately hoping there was some mistake. I walked into the pet shop to ask.

But the clerk's words threw us straight into an ice bath.

"Are you asking about Mr. Miller? He’s our black card VIP. A few thousand dollars is pocket change to him."

"Even the pedigree French bulldog Mrs. Miller is holding is worth over a hundred thousand dollars."

I let out a bitter laugh and led Leo away, remaining silent the entire way home.

Once inside, as I looked at his poorly bandaged wound, my tears finally spilled over.

Leo also realized Austin had been lying. He looked incredibly confused. "Mom, if Dad is so rich, why did he lie to us?"

"Does he not want us anymore?"

Austin had never revealed his true financial background to me. Even when we got married, he only said he was doing some investments.

Shortly after our wedding, he claimed his investments had crashed, leaving him with a seven-figure debt.

To an ordinary family like ours, that was an astronomical sum.

Yet, instead of leaving him, I took on three jobs to support us.

Leo had been sensible since he was a toddler. Every day after school, he would collect cans to help ease my burden.

Even when his classmates bullied and excluded him for it, he never regretted it.

"If we save money fast enough, Dad can pay off his debts, and we can finally have a good life!"

But now, I was being told that Austin had been playing broke all along.

My son and I lived a life that wasn't even as good as the dog owned by his ex-girlfriend!

Pulled back to reality, I choked out a question to Leo, "If things change, do you want to live with Dad or Mom?"

His eyes dimmed, and his voice trembled with fear.

"Can Dad please not abandon us? I promise I'll be good. I don't want us to split up."

"Mom, can we give Dad one more week? I'll talk to him!"

Seeing how heartbroken my son was, I had no choice but to agree.

Just then, the front door opened, and Austin walked in.

Seeing us standing in the living room, he frowned slightly. "What’s going on? Why do you both look so miserable?"

Leo spoke first. "Dad, I got bitten by a dog today. It hurts so bad..."

He held up his hand. But seeing how raw and ugly the wound looked, Austin’s immediate reaction was disgust.

"How could you be so careless? Did you waste more money at the clinic? Your mom and I work so hard. Can you stop being such a burden?"

"No dinner for you tonight. Let this be a lesson."

I clenched my fists. "Your son is injured! If you don't care, that's one thing, but how dare you ban him from eating? Do you even care about this family?!"

Austin had never seen me this angry. Once he recovered from his shock, he snapped back.

As we stood there glaring at each other, Leo quickly stepped between us, pulling at my hand.

"Mom, it's fine. I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Dad is right. I caused trouble. I'll go to my room and do my homework."