So I left. Think about it.
She was a housewife for fifteen years.
She comes from an ordinary family. Where would she get the money to buy a villa?”
The stares from the onlookers turned toward me, now with a hint of doubt. I laughed.
This was the man I had loved for almost twenty years.
To clear his name, he was not only denying everything I had done for our family, but now he was openly slandering me. Too bad for him.
His plan was about to backfire. “What if I do have the money to buy it?”
Daniel sneered.
“If you can afford this house, I’ll eat dirt.”
I smiled.
“Don’t regret saying that.”
Daniel glared. “Stop wasting everyone’s time. If you’re rich, buy the house.”
Melanie added, “She’s just bluffing.
Daniel is about to be promoted to vice president, and even he can only afford a townhouse with a loan.
How could you, a housewife, pay for a villa in full? She’s just trying to save face.”
“No need to drag this out.
Just verify my funds.”
It took the real estate company almost two hours to complete the verification. The crowd, instead of dwindling, only grew larger.
People were whispering excitedly.
“Well, what’s the result?”
Daniel smiled smugly. “Do I even need to ask? Her account must be empty.
I told you she’s a scammer.”
I looked at him, waiting for reality to slap him across the face.
My silence to him was proof of my guilt. “What’s wrong?
Where is that arrogance from before?”
Dave, the sales agent, looked at Daniel as if he were an idiot. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“Excuse me, may I say something?”
Daniel was confident.
“Go ahead. Don’t hold back.”
Melanie chimed in. “Yes, expose her so no one else falls for her lies.”
Dave took a deep breath.
“Ms.
Mary has $30 million in liquid assets. Purchasing this villa is well within her means.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
Dave repeated himself. I smiled.
“And what about that promise you just made?”
Daniel glared at me, still in disbelief.
“It’s impossible for you to have that much money. Impossible. You must have bribed Dave to cover for you.
You have at most $500,000, nothing more.”
Daniel had no idea that the account I used for verification was the one with the least amount of money.
“Ms. Mary provided a valid account with verifiable funds.
Whether you believe it or not is your problem,” Dave said politely. “Ms.
Mary, would you like to rest in our VIP lounge while we finalize the paperwork?”
I followed my parents to the VIP lounge.
Behind us, the crowd was swarming Daniel. “Idiot. The wife you tossed aside turned out to be a multi-millionaire.
You must be regretting this so much.”
“If you hadn’t divorced her, you wouldn’t have to spend the next twenty years paying a house mortgage.
You could have lived in her mansion.”
“Well, that’s what a jerk like him deserves.”
Daniel’s face turned tomato red. “You don’t understand.
Mary must be scamming everyone.”
“Oh, please, keep making excuses. He simply doesn’t want to eat dirt.
What kind of man makes a bet and then refuses to acknowledge it?”
Unable to bear the public humiliation, Daniel and Melanie fled in disgrace without even buying a house.
A month later, my family and I officially moved into our new home. Olivia now had a spacious, beautifully decorated bedroom designed to her taste. Since she loved reading, there was also an expansive study next to her room filled with books she adored.
She was thrilled with the new house.
“Mom, I love you so much.”
Seeing my thoughtful daughter smile so radiantly, I gave her a loving pat on the head. “Mom loves you, too.” Then I added, “By the way, didn’t you say you wanted to study art and design at university?
The United Kingdom has some of the best programs for that. You’re an excellent student, so your grades won’t be a problem.
I’ve already hired the best tutors for you, and I’m preparing to send you abroad to study.”
“That’s amazing, Mom.” Olivia hugged me and gave me a soft, sweet kiss.
I sighed inwardly. Daughters truly are the best. A little bit of kindness from me, and she responded with the purest, most genuine love.
Moving into our new house wasn’t just exciting for Olivia; it was exciting for me, too.
I had finally begun a new chapter in my life. I no longer had to sleep in the same bed as Daniel, endure his snoring, wake up at five in the morning to cook breakfast for Robert, or tolerate Susan’s constant criticisms.
Since the divorce, even my parents commented that I looked noticeably healthier and more radiant. One day, as my parents and I were returning home, we happened to see Daniel and his family moving into the house right behind ours.
Susan spotted us and immediately swelled with pride.
“Mary, look at this. Our new house. Isn’t it gorgeous?
So jealous, right?”
I glanced at the house.
It was fine. But compared to mine, it was much smaller.
I shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”
Susan sneered.
“Okay?
Anyone hearing you would think you live in a grand mansion. The truth is you’re still stuck in some old run-down place.”
Melanie chimed in with a saccharine tone. “Mary, I know you must feel awful.
You were married to Daniel for so long and never got to live in a villa, but I’ve only been with him for a few months, and here I am.
It’s fate. You can’t blame anyone else for that.”
My mom scoffed.
“We don’t need it, and we don’t care.”
Susan put her hands on her hips. “Then why are you standing there watching us move in?
Clearly, you’re here out of jealousy.”
My mom rolled her eyes.
“We were just passing by.”
Susan smiled smugly. “Passing by? You live in the South Central and this is the West District.
What kind of route is that?”
My dad chuckled.
“Well, truth be told, we actually live in the house across the street. It has a much better view and is much bigger.
Frankly, we wouldn’t even consider a house as small as yours.”
Daniel scoffed. “The more you lie, the more you believe it.
With your financial situation, you think you can afford a house in this neighborhood?
You can fool the real estate agents, but not us.”
Robert, standing next to him, added, “Grandpa, Grandma, you should stop. You’re just going to embarrass yourselves later.”
My father narrowed his eyes. “You don’t believe us?
Then come check if we’re the real owners of this.”
Susan crossed her arms.
“Fine, this will be fun. Let’s see who ends up embarrassed.”
With the mindset of witnessing a joke, Susan and the others followed us to our house.
When we reached the door, she snickered. “Well, don’t just stand there.
Open it.
Or are you going to use the classic excuse that you forgot your keys?”
Before she could finish her sentence, my father casually placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner. With a beep, the door unlocked. He smirked.
“What century are you living in?
Who uses keys anymore? Everything’s fingerprint now.”
Susan was stunned.
“You really bought a house? A villa?”
My mom smiled proudly.
“That’s right.”
“Where did you get the money?” Susan asked.
“That’s none of your business,” my mom replied smugly. “You just need to know that Mary is living much better without you.”
We were about to walk in when Daniel suddenly spoke suspiciously. “This villa isn’t yours.
You’re just the maids, right?”
Susan’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she had just realized something.
“Daniel, how clever of you. I was wondering how they could afford a villa, but now it all makes sense.” She narrowed her eyes and added maliciously, “Just wait.
I’ll tell the real owner about your bad deeds and make sure you all lose even this job.”
How despicable. Daniel was the one who broke our marriage, yet Susan continued to do everything she could to make things difficult for my family.
My parents, however, laughed cheerfully.
“We’ll be waiting.”
A few moments later, Olivia’s art history tutor arrived. Susan glanced at the well-dressed, elegant woman and immediately assumed she was the villa’s owner. She rushed over and grabbed her arm, ready to start badmouthing us.
“Madam, you must be the owner of this villa.
I’m telling you, the people you hired—Mary and her family—are not good employees. They’re very nosy, you know.
They cannot be trusted.”
The tutor looked at Susan, completely bewildered. “What are you talking about?
They are the owners of this villa.
I’m just here to teach Olivia art history.”
“What?” Susan’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Daniel, equally frustrated, snapped, “I thought
