A POWERFUL SON-IN-LAW

“Auntie, how much is this blue shirt, pair of shoes, and black trousers? I want to buy it.”

“Are you going to work somewhere new, Daren? Why do you want to buy several things at one time? Or did you just receive a bonus from Mr. Bob?” guessed a woman with curly hair with a mole on her left cheek.

 Yes, that woman was the owner of a grocery store at a flea market, which a handsome man named Daren usually visited when he wanted to buy his personal items. For example was today.

Daren seemed to be smiling stiffly, while stroking the back of his neck which didn’t itch. It was about five months ago that he last came here.

“No, Auntie. I’m just taking out the money I’ve saved these past few months, even though it’s not much. Some parts of my shirt were torn, even my shoes. So I think I have to buy them even though they are all used, they’re still suitable for use.”

The old woman smiled as she looked at Daren, then she nodded her head in understanding.

“Okay, now tell me, how much money do you have, Daren?”

Daren then reached into his trouser pocket, there were several bills in his hand, then he handed all the money to the old woman.

“I think I only have this much money, Auntie.”

There were only forty five dollar bills. The old woman took a deep breath seeing this.

“Actually, to get all the items you asked about, you need approximately seventy-five dollars, Daren. It’s just that we already know each other and I know how your financial situation is. Alright …” the woman said, trailing off. “I’ll wrap it all up for you, and bring the five dollars for you I'm sure you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“Are you sure, Auntie?” Daren was so happy to hear this, he immediately took all the things from the old woman.

But when Daren turned around, his happy smile suddenly disappeared just as he saw the figure standing in front of him, leaning against the side of his shiny black luxury car.

“Is this dirty place where you buy all your necessities now, Daren?” the man took off his sunglasses, still acting so arrogantly as if he didn’t feel like he belonged there. “Come on. Daren Wiles, who usually wears luxury goods, has now fallen into poverty huh?”

Daren tried to ignore the man’s words, he continued walking away. However, the man continued to follow him.

“Stop following me, I don’t want my wife to know see you!” Daren pouted.

The man chuckled, still folding his arms in front of his chest. Then he looked at Daren again.

“Aren’t you tired of being a poor man like this, Daren?”

“Of course not, I really like my life now. The life I really like, I can be free and be myself.”

“Come on, what’s so good about living in difficulty? Go back home, don’t you know that our family company is in trouble? All the children from our family are competing to become CEO of our company. You have to go home to sort all this out, Daren.”

“Why me?” Daren said, he looked at the man with a look that was much more annoyed than before. “Didn’t Father always entrust everything to Erdward? Just tell him to handle this whole mess.”

“Daren, you—”

“Remember, Uncle. Stop bothering me from now on, because I will never care and don’t want to be involved in anything with the Wiles family.”

“Daren—”

Daren immediately left, entering a small alley until he entered a small house at the end of the road. When he closed the door, he was greeted by a beautiful woman who looked at him with an annoyed look.

“You’re home?” asked the woman. She stretched out her hand and looked at Daren with an annoyed expression. “Where’s your income this time?” she asked. The woman glanced again at Daren's shopping bag. "Has all that money been spent on buying second-hand goods, Daren?"

 “I’m sorry, Serena. I only have five dollars today. I’m shopping for these things because my shirt is torn, my shoes are broken, and—”

“Okay, Mr. Wiles. Stop all your chatter. Because I don’t care. Isn’t it normal that you are always like this? Since when do you have enough money for us? You incompetent man!”

Daren couldn’t say anything, he could only take a deep breath seeing Serena walk quickly into the room and slam the door very roughly.

Indeed, being a worker in a restaurant and being tasked with delivering orders to several customers was a job with a very low salary. But Daren didn’t know what to do to make Serena happy. He knew that Serena only married him because she had to. Because the match was arranged by Mr. Hoodie. And the late old man was the only person from the Hoodie family who knew who Daren really was.

Daren looked up again, just as Serena reopened the door to the room. However, the look on Serena’s face was much scarier than before.

“Tomorrow, dress appropriately. If necessary, work harder than usual. And buy something nice for Grandma. You didn’t forget that tomorrow is Grandma’s birthday, did you? Don’t bring rubbish to Grandma!”

Serena slammed the door roughly, again. Daren just remembered that tomorrow was Serena’s grandmother’s birthday. Mrs. Hoodie, who was the head of the most respected family in this region, had a successful business empire and was quite respected in this country, and yes… this had made Daren become a stupid person again, because his wife’s family considered him a useless stupid man, a good-for-nothing man who didn’t really have a decent income, far from being compared to Hoodie’s family.

“Oh my God, I forgot that tomorrow is Grandma’s birthday. I’ve run out of money to buy these items, so what should I buy as a gift for Grandma? Oh God, don’t let my gift become a laughing stock for the entire Hoodie family, especially … Miles. Because I know that Serena’s cousin will really laugh at me tomorrow.”

Daren immediately got up from his seat, then he looked carefully to see whether Serena had come out of the room again or not. Until then Daren opened a box that he had hidden for a long time from an old drawer under the chair. Daren smiled sweetly as he looked at the golden object.

“At least I still have this!” He exclaimed excitedly.