1

Angus hurries into the compound like a madman, he even knocks down a few flower pots.

He doesn't care to ask the taxi to wait for him, he slams the door shut as he barges into the house.

He is looking for his wife, she is filing her nails and supporting her phone between her neck and shoulder.

He angrily walks to her, she doesn't even notice him yet.

"Where is my money?!" He yells.

She looks up with a calm face, ends the call, and sets the phone down.

"Okay, Angus Knighton, what are you talking about this time around?" She scoffs.

"Don't act smart with me, Ashley!" He warns. "What have you done with my money?!"

It took three excruciating years to gather that money and it was just enough to pay for his mother's surgery, but now it was all gone.

Angus sighs, rubbing between his eyebrows. He is trying his best to remain calm.

"I went to the bank to withdraw the money for my mum's surgery and I found three dollars in my account. Three dollars!"

She goes back to filing her nails like it's not her problem.

"Then why don't you hold the bank responsible? Why am I getting the heat for this?" She asks.

"Because you are the only one who has access to my debit card!" He yells. "Now, I ask, what have you done with my money?!"

Ashley can see now how angry he is, so she stops filling her nails and gets up.

She slowly touches his collar and brushes off a few specks of dust.

"First of all, you have to stop shouting like a madman." She whispers to him "The housekeeper is here and I don't want her to think I married a psycho. Secondly, I have a surprise for you…."

She turns around and takes up a designer shopping bag and squeaks as she holds it up.

He is not as excited as she is, and that dents her spirit.

"It's the dress that I have been asking you for months now since you repeatedly refused to get it for me." She rolls her eyes.

"What has this got to do with anything?!" He sighs. "My mother is dying in the hospital."

She frowns as she drops the bag.

"This is the Eve Lora designer dress that I asked you to buy for me." She said. "But you refused over and over again, so an hour ago, I went out and got myself a threat."

No, no, no, Angus didn't hear that well, did he?!

She withdrew his mother's surgery money and used it to buy a fucking dress?!

He refuses to believe, he looks at her with disbelief.

"Hold on a second." He laughs. "Are you saying that you took my card and bought yourself a ridiculously expensive dress?!"

She pouts her mouth.

"Well, it's not my fault that you didn't have more in your accounts, every woman has got to treat herself."

Angus takes a few steps away from her, his hands pulling on his hair, his eyes almost popping out.

"What the fuck, Ashley!" He shouts. "That's my mother's surgery fee that took me three years to save! You knew this!"

She folds her hand and her eyebrows pull together in an angry expression.

"Now it's my fault that all you had in your accounts was a hundred thousand dollars?!" She yells. "Don't act like it's my fault that you are so broke, please!"

Angus can feel his hands forming fists, he wants to wreck something and Ashley is the only person in front of him.

Oh, if this isn't the woman that he fell in love with, the beautiful innocent girl that stole his heart, he would have Anguse something unwritable.

He exhales through his mouth and wipes over his face, he is thinking about what to do to salvage the situation.

"Okay, this is what's going to happen." He takes out his car key. "We are going back to that store and you will return that ridiculous dress!"

"Oh, hell, no!" She refuses.

"Ashley, I don't have time for this!–"

"That's too bad! I am not going back to the store to ask for a refund, that's embarrassing." She shakes her head. "Besides, it's a limited edition, there is no refund."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Angus digs his index and middle finger into his eyes.

He can visualize his mother dying because he can't pay her surgery fee, he can't believe that this is happening to him.

He falls against the sofa in a dejected manner. He would have cried, but tears can't help him or his dying mother.

"That's my mum's surgery fee." He calmly says. "You knew that, Ashley, you knew that."

Ashley goes back to her nonchalant behavior of filing her nails.

"If it's such a big deal, why didn't you make more money?" She taunts.

Angus jumps up to his feet, making Ashley startled to the extent that she drops the filer in shock.

He doesn't want to hit her, but he is boiling so much on the inside.

She is like the most inconsiderate person right now, the fact that she doesn't care for his mother, not even for a bit.

He is interrupted when his phone rings loudly. He walks away from her as he takes his phone out of his pocket.

It's the doctor, Angus's heart grows even heavier, he said he was going to bring the surgery fee in less than fifteen minutes, this is an hour.

He exhales through his mouth as he places the phone over his ear.

"Doctor Carlos, I know that I am late, just give me a few more hours to come up with the money–"

"It's like you Angus't understand the seriousness of this, Mister Knighton. You have to come with the surgery fee immediately or your mother is going to die."

"Got it, doctor. I will be there." He defeatedly drops the phone.

Angus clutches his phone even tighter, he feels a lump in his throat. He doesn't want to lose his mother.

He hears a sneer behind him and he turns to face his heartless wife.

"Well, we both know that she should have died three years ago." She rudely says. "She can't escape death forever, just let her die once and for all."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, why are you still wasting money on her when you are using it to make your wife even more beautiful?" She touches her face.

Angus's fists are clenched, but he frees them and shakes his head, he can't handle this right now.

His mother is in the hospital, she needs him, that's what's important to him.

Without another word to her, he rushes downstairs and takes a taxi to the hospital.