My Wife Let My Mother Die—Now I'm the Billionaire King

Chapter 1

The rain pelted down as Harry pedaled his delivery bike through the slick roads, his cheap rain jacket barely keeping him dry. 

His phone vibrated, reminding him of another order deadline. 

By the time he braked outside the white mansion, his chest was heaving with exhaustion. He glanced down and found the bright red timer showing 0:03, meaning he was exactly three seconds late in delivering the order. 

"You're late!" 

The customer opened his door, stepping out in a grey satin robe and ripping the bag from Harry’s grip. Before he could offer an apology, the man removed the lid of the cup and flipped his wrist, pouring the sticky, iced liquid directly over Harry’s head.

“Who the hell wants to drink hot iced tea, you trash!”

​The shock made Harry gasp, milk dripping from his hair and soaking into his faded jacket. 

Damn it, his only decent shirt was also ruined now. 

For a few seconds, rage flared hot in his chest, his fists clenching tight against the handles of his bike. But the next moment he thought of the piling stack of medical bills for his mother’s cancer treatments, most of which were way past due date…

​He swallowed his pride, forcing his lips into a desperate smile. 

"I'm so sorry, sir. I tried my best, but the traffic. I apologize for the delay, but please, I need a favour. Could you leave a five-star review on the app, sir? A good rating gives me an extra ten cents for the run. Please."

​The man laughed, tossing the empty plastic cup at Harry's chest. "Really? My dinner's ruined because of a stupid clown, and now you want 5 stars for it?! Get out of my sight, loser.”

The door slammed in his face. Harry wiped his face with his sleeve, swallowing the anger bubbling up in his throat. He couldn't snap back at the customer, not when one bad rating might cost him this gig. 

Already, the hospital bills were piling up like debts he could never outrun.

Hours later, drenched to the bone, Harry pushed open the door to their modest villa in the old district. The familiar scent of old takeout and lemon cleaner hit him first, followed by the sharp gaze of his mother-in-law, Rosalie, seated on the sofa like a queen on her throne.

Her face immediately reflected her disgust. 

"God, you stink! Eww, it looks like a wet dog has stepped in my house after rolling around in the garbage.”

She said, waving a hand in front of her nose. "Shower before you stink up the whole place! Aren't you ashamed, what kind of a man are you? Your wife is working hard to earn a living for us, while you're hopping around on your stupid bike…”

Harry forced a nod, shoulders slumping. "I'll shower after I cook, Mother. What would you like to eat tonight?"

"Whatever doesn't taste like dirt this time." she snapped. "My daughter at least deserves a decent meal after fulfilling all the responsibilities of this house.”

He bit back any reply and headed to the kitchen. The wok hissed as he stir-fried vegetables with the leftover rice. 

When he served the plates, Rosalie poked at the food with her fork. 

“Am I supposed to eat this? It tastes like bland cardboard! For God's sake, there must be something in this world you're good at, right? Or are you really a waste of oxygen?”

Harry stood with his eyes downcast, leaving his plate half-eaten. 

“Go! Earn the food you're eating first. Fetch the basin, my feet are hurting after shopping. I want them soaked and massaged properly.”

Harry filled a bucket with warm water, checking the temperature against his wrist, and carried it to the living room. 

“AHHHH!!”

The moment Rosalie dipped her toes in, she immediately shrieked loudly.

"Bloody hell! Are you trying to burn the hand that feeds you, you parasite?!"

She kicked the bucket over, splattering the hot water across Harry’s chest and all over the floor. 

He stood still for a few moments, trying to get over the burning sensation that was turning his skin red. 

“What are you doing, standing there like a useless lump? Clean it up! Every drop!" 

She barked, and almost robotically, Harry dropped to his knees, using a rag to soak up the water, his heart numb to the degradation. This was his daily existence.

He had just finished wringing out the cloth, when the front door clicked open. Julia walked in, dressed in designer clothes and accessories, clearly reflecting her status as a successful CEO. 

Her company, Apex Media, had just brought in fifty million dollars in revenue this fiscal year, making her a darling of the local business press. Behind her came several of her wealthy friends, laughing and chatting.

Rosalie instantly brightened up, ignoring the wet floor. "Oh, Julia, darling! You're back. Harry hurry up get some imported rain-muscat grapes from the organic market.”

Harry stood up, leaving the mop on the floor. He hesitated for a few moments before speaking in a low voice.

"I... I don't have any money left on my card, Mother. Could you give me twenty dollars? I'll pay you back after my next shift–”

Rosalie burst into a mocking laugh, turning to Julia’s friends. "Look at this! A grown man, married to a CEO, begging for twenty dollars to buy fruit… aren't you tired of playing the victim, Harry?”

Julia finally noticed her husband, and her eyes turned cold as she looked at Harry’s stained clothes. 

‘Why does he act so pathetic on purpose? He really wants to embarrass me everywhere and gather sympathy for himself…’

After all, he had always been a charity case. 

“You can't even handle a simple errand without begging? Do you have no shame, Harry? What do you actually do all day besides being a useless burden? It’s embarrassing.”

The words hit Harry like a slap. 

Years of holding himself back, enduring the taunts and doing all the chores without a single complaint; only to be insulted and questioned on his manhood again and again. 

This time, the comment finally cracked something inside him.

“Embarrassing? Julia, since the day we got married, I have personally prepared every single one of your meals to accommodate your stomach ulcers. Even the grocery money comes out of my own pocket from my part-time gigs. Have you ever spent a single cent on me, that would give you the right to question me today?"

His questions made her slightly uncomfortable, as if he had shown her the mirror when she least expected it. But the next moment, she looked at his stained shirt and pants, meeting his gaze with a smirk. 

"In normal families, the husband actually goes out to work and supports his family. You're living in my apartment, surviving on my earnings! Be grateful I'm not charging you for it. On top of that, you have the audacity to expect me to spend my hard-earned money on you? Stop dreaming!”

She turned and climbed the stairs, while Harry stood there, the guests' whispers and gossips burning his ears. 

His own family had never had much, but he had given everything for her dream. Before their marriage, when Julia was just a desperate girl with a dream and a failing startup, she had demanded an investment from him. 

Out of his mind with love, Harry had borrowed from loan sharks and sold the precious ancestral home his late father had left him, somehow managing to get one million dollars for her to start Apex Media House.

He had sacrificed his entire legacy for her, and now, he was treated worse than a dog, humiliated over a few dollars, just for fruit.

​Suddenly, his phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He answered it, his breath catching.

​"Mr. Kipling? This is the intensive care unit," the nurse’s voice was urgent. 

“Your mother’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. Because of acute organ failure, we need to perform emergency surgery immediately. But…”

"But? What is it?”

"The advanced medical equipment and imported drugs will require an additional upfront deposit of one million dollars before we can proceed."

​One million…? 

Harry's world spun in front of his eyes. 

At that instant, he forgot all the drama from before. Because deep in his heart, he believed that Julia loved him. 

‘We might be facing some differences because of our demanding lifestyle, but at the end of the day, she will definitely have my back.’

Panting out of desperation, he ran up the stairs and burst into Julia’s room. She was sitting on her bed, carefully folding some clothes and arranging them into a luxury suitcase.

​"Julia, I need your help!" 

"What is it now?”

Julia didn't even look up from her packing, her voice detached and cold. But Harry didn't mind, feeling absolutely sure that she would surely show concern towards him. 

He dropped to his knees by her side, tears finally spilling over. "My mother is dying. The hospital needs one million dollars for an emergency surgery. I'm begging you, please lend it to me. I'll sign any IOU. I'll work twenty hours a day to pay you back!"

Julia began to pack her make-up box carefully, not sparing a single glance at the man barking at her feet. 

“I've already covered more than enough of your mother's bills. Don't push your luck. If you want to request more, go schedule an appointment with my assistant next week. He'll check the records and decide what to do. My time is money—I don't have a single moment to waste on these sob stories.”

“Next week? Are you even listening to me! If we can't manage the money, she'll be dead by tomorrow!" 

Harry cried out, appealing to the last shred of humanity in her.  

"Julia, don't be so cruel. Remember the time when your company was struggling—  my mother sold every piece of jewelry she owned to help you. Her wedding band, my grandmother's heirlooms… everything. Is this really how you repay her kindness?"

Julia finally raised her head, her face turning red with anger. "She offered to do it, I didn't twist her arm. Got it?! Stop trying to guilt-trip me." 

She dragged her gaze at her so-called husband, who looked like a sculpture of helplessness and frustration. 

“By the way, I'm moving out for a few days. Derek is back from Europe, and I'll be busy

showing him around the city, so don't come crying to me again and spoil my mood, okay?”

Derek Jameson?

Just the name was enough to make Harry's blood boil. Usually, whenever he asked Julia to just take ten minutes out of her time to take a walk in the park with him, she always refused, saying she was too busy and had too much workload to manage. 

But now, she was perfectly capable and happily willing to set aside all her company matters just to go have fun with another man!? 

“Julia, this isn't okay. How can you move out of our home just to spend time with another man? That too, practically a stranger?”

“Stranger? Who said so?” Julia scoffed. “As of yesterday, Derek is the holder of 20% of our shares, and Apex Media’s new Chief Strategy Officer.”

"What! Why did you hand over the shares to that freeloader?”

"You don't have any self-respect, at least have some shame! Harry, Derek saved my life during that shipwreck! It's a life-saving debt." 

Julia said coldly. "And since we're married, you are also indebted to him. Show some gratitude! It's only fair to offer him some shares as compensation."

Harry's anger boiled over. The company he had provided the seed investment for, was now generating over 50 million in annual revenue. 

Even though they started small, every division was thriving today. And yet, he hadn't received a single cent from her, not even a simple ‘thank you’.

Of all the things he had sacrificed for Julia, none of it was done in the greed of getting something back. He gave everything without any doubts, simply because he loved her. 

But she couldn't even give him the loyalty a husband deserves, making him feel like a joke, compared to her lover. 

The sincerity he had offered Julia with an open heart had been trampled upon without a second thought… and worse, she was using his own blood-bought shares to curry favor with another man!

"He once saved you, and you remember that!" Harry shouted, his voice cracking. 

“But didn't my mother save your company too? What did you give her in return? You're doing absolutely nothing while she is gravely ill in the hospital!"

Julia shot back, her voice sharp and icy.

“Apex Media is my company! I built it! I can divide the shares however I see fit. It has absolutely nothing to do with you!”

Harry felt unable to breathe, drowning under an ocean of disappointment and frustration. 

But Julia knew the perfect button she had to push, to make him do as she wanted. 

“Do you want your mother to get that surgery or not? If you talk to me in this tone, I will halt every payment today. They'll toss her out of the hospital by tonight."

Harry's entire world stopped at the point of pure heartbreak. She was using his mother's life against him? 

They had spent many late nights building her business together, writing up pitches for approaching investors and revising presentations until they looked perfect.

As a recent graduate from one of the top MBA schools, Harry had a promising future in the corporate sector. But three years ago, he took a step back to support Julia's dream by managing the household and doing some odd jobs for cash, believing they were a team.

How could he know then, that this simple girl will turn out to be so selfish? 

"Julia... don't do this. Please!" 

"Your decision is in your own hands! A live-in son-in-law should know his place. Act like one, and maybe I'll consider covering the medical bills."