From Humiliated Son-In-Law to The World’s Greatest Doctor

3 - Emotional Outburst

“Mom, Dad. Dinner is ready.”

Derek knocked very carefully on his in-laws’ bedroom door.

Considering that neither of them had appeared at all while he was busy in the kitchen earlier, Derek thought that perhaps they were still too angry.

He knocked again. But there was still no answer at all.

Only after he stepped away to return to the kitchen did the bedroom door open and his father-in-law appear.

“Do you think we still have an appetite after losing that much money? One hundred thousand dollars is not a small amount of money…”

He didn't know what to say, let alone how to comfort him.

“I went to the police station earlier and filed a report. They said they would try to get your money back after they managed to catch him.”

His father-in-law snorted in annoyance.

“Are you naive or stupid, huh? Almost every fraud case never ends well. At best, they’ll only put the culprit in prison without being able to get the money back.”

“I’ll do my best to get your money back, Dad.”

Derek was sincere, even though he wasn’t sure. Even Martin himself didn't dare guarantee that he would succeed.

“Even the police can’t do it, how can you be so confident that you can? They must have already hidden the money through various means. What can the police do if that happens?”

This time, he stayed silent. He had no answer to that.

His father-in-law let out a miserable sigh. His face looked tired, with weary eyes.

“Just bring the food to the bedroom. Tris isn’t feeling very well.”

“Is Mom okay?” Derek asked instinctively.

His father-in-law looked at him with an disbelieving expression. “Just a normal migraine. Make some warm chamomile tea for her as well.”

“Okay, Dad.”

Derek immediately returned to the kitchen to prepare a two-serving meal set on two trays, along with two cups of warm chamomile tea, then carried them to his in-laws’ bedroom.

After that, he took off his apron and carried the steak dish he had made especially for his and Margo’s anniversary upstairs.

As dusk settled in, Derek hesitated, wondering whether he should still go ahead with the dinner he had been planning for so long as a surprise for Margo.

Despite the affair being revealed by accident, Derek felt that he might still have a chance to save his marriage, which had reached its fifth year today. That was why he decided to go ahead with his surprise for Margo.

He started arranging and decorating the room all the way to their private balcony.

Rose petals shaped like a heart on the bed, candles in several spots around the room, twinkling lights on the balcony railing, and a flower arrangement and a bottle of Margo’s favorite champagne were all ready on the round table on the balcony.

Then he placed two plates that were still covered with food domes in front of each chair.

Derek prepared everything while constantly forcing down the storm raging inside him.

He kept reminding himself that today was an important day for the two of them, and he had to make Margo happy so that he could win her back. That was his priority right now.

The sound of Margo’s car engine could be heard not long after.

He turned off the bedroom lights and prepared to stand behind the door while holding a bouquet of flowers to surprise her.

“Surprise!” Derek spread his arms while smiling widely.

But Margo stood still in place without saying anything. A rather strange silence fell over the two of them.

Because Derek couldn’t clearly see Margo’s face in the dim lighting, he moved to press the light switch.

Margo looked at the room behind Derek, then stared at him with a displeased expression and furrowed brows.

“What are you doing?”

Derek was still smiling. “Surprise. For you. I made special dinner to celebrate our anniversary.”

She let out a harsh sigh. “So it’s today…” she muttered under her breath.

“Come here. I set up a small table on the balcony. We can have dinner while looking at the sky.”

“Can we not do this right now? I’m so exhausted because I had so much work to deal with all day. As soon as I got home and reached the entrance, Mom and Dad immediately started crying to me about losing two hundred thousand dollars to a scam involving your friend. And now I still have to go along with this stupid little celebration of yours? Can’t you understand how I’m feeling right now, Derek?!”

Derek tried to reach for Margo’s hand, but she brushed his hand away.

““I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d had such a tough day…” Derek still apologized even though he knew what Margo had done with Evander earlier.

“Instead of doing this useless thing, you should be helping my parents get their money back!”

“I already went looking for Fred earlier. I also filed a report with the police.”

“And? Did you find him?”

Derek shook his head.

“Of course you couldn’t find him!” Margo snapped at him. “How could someone as useless as you ever be relied on?!”

“You should contact your friend. He was the one who introduced Fred to Mom and Dad. Maybe he knows something.”

Margo narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased by Derek’s words. “What do you mean? Fred is your friend, isn’t he?! You should be the one who knows more! Fred is your friend!”

“He’s not my friend, Margo…” Derek emphasized his words. “We only went to the same high school. I’ve never even met him. Fred was actually Evander’s business associate. He’s the one who should be responsible for all of this!”

SLAP!

Margo slapped Derek.

“How dare you blame Evander? He was only trying to do something good for us by offering that investment. He didn’t know that Fred was a scammer either!”

Derek’s entire body tensed as he held back his anger.

“Besides, Evander isn’t a member of this family. You can’t make him responsible for this. You’re the one who should be responsible, Derek. You’re my husband. You’re my family’s son-in-law. You should be the one who figures out how to solve all of this!”

He remained silent, looking at Margo with an expression filled with pain and fury. His mind was a chaotic storm, tossed by waves of conflicting emotions.

“You know, Derek? All this time, I’ve tried so hard to understand you.”

“I used to like you so much because you were charismatic, took good care of me, and seemed dependable. I thought you would become a successful doctor and make me proud. But look at you now. You only work at a small hospital, and even then, you only work for a few hours because no patients want to see you. The rest of the time, you just spend your days relaxing at home like an unemployed man. You can’t even make a decent amount of money, so you’ve been living entirely off my family’s money. You really are a failed doctor!”

“So that’s how you’ve seen me all this time, Margo…? You’ve misunderstood… I’ve never touched your parents’ money… I have my own savings—” Derek tried to explain.

Margo took a deep, harsh breath before cutting him off.

“What exactly did I misunderstand?! Are you too ashamed to admit that you don’t have enough money to support me? I’m tired of you, Derek. Have you ever even tried to do something useful? Never, right?”

Derek took a step forward when Margo began to sob, but she immediately stepped back.

“I always endured the embarrassment of not being able to be proud of you like my friends who showed off their husbands’ successful careers. But I never blamed you. I kept trying to convince myself that I was okay.”

Her sobs broke out.

“I did all of that for you, Margo!”

Once again, Derek stepped closer and tried to reach for her hand. But once again, Margo roughly brushed his hand away.

“I’ve sacrificed so many things for you, Margo.”

Margo scoffed mockingly.

“What exactly have you sacrificed? I’m the only one who sacrificed myself to live with a loser like you!” Her voice grew louder and more challenging. “Explain it, Derek. Tell me! What exactly did you sacrifice? What have I misunderstood about you?!”

Derek, who was losing patience with Margo’s words, ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“You want me to name them? Fine…”

This time, Derek clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

“I was willing to leave my job in Riverbrook and move here because you couldn’t be away from your parents. But you were always complaining about my long working hours, so I gave in and moved from a major hospital to a smaller one. I even limited the number of patients I saw and surgeries I performed because you wanted me to always be there for you. I also helped take care of and run our household. Who do you think has been cooking and cleaning this entire house all this time? I’m not just sitting around doing nothing, Margo…!”

Derek took a breath, while Margo stared at him in disbelief.

“Every day, I took care of all your needs. From preparing your clothes and everything you needed for work, to welcoming you home and giving you massages… even when I was exhausted myself. I never complained! Because you said you liked being pampered by me!”

“So you’re saying you regret doing all those things for me now, Derek? You’re blaming me for all the things you call sacrifices? As far as I remember, I never forced you to do any of them. You did all of those things of your own accord.”

Margo pushed a finger against Derek’s chest.

“You’re acting as if you’re the victim. You’re a man, Derek. Act like a gentleman. That’s what sets you apart from Evander. He would never blame me and make himself out to be the victim like you’re doing.”

“Evander, Evander, Evander! Why do you keep bringing him up?!” Derek could no longer contain his fury toward that man. “Do you know what I witnessed earlier today?!”

Derek almost told her that he had accidentally overheard the filthy conversation between Margo and Evander. But when he looked into Margo’s eyes, the words became difficult to get out. He couldn’t bring himself to humiliate his own wife.

“What? What exactly did you witness?!”

Derek’s eyes trembled as he stared at Margo. “I know you’re having an affair with Evander.”