REBORN RICH WITH A SYSTEM

Chapter 7

Laila pulled her hand away, taking Raven by surprise.

"Why? Don't you like it?" Raven asked.

"Where did you get this money?" Laila asked flatly, her gaze full of suspicion.

"I took an advance on my salary from my workplace."

"Raven, don't lie. There's no way anyone would give you an advance when you've just been hired and haven't even started working yet," Mrs. Aisyah said.

Raven let out a heavy sigh. He didn't blame Mrs. Aisyah or Laila for not believing him, because what Mrs. Aisyah said made complete sense.

Who would give a salary advance to someone who had just started working?

It sounded absurd. Something like that just couldn't happen.

Yet, if Raven told them the money came from the system that appeared on his ring, it would sound even more ridiculous, and there was no way Mrs. Aisyah and Laila would believe it.

"Mom, I'm not lying. The money I used to buy all of this is clean and honest. Starting today, I promise I'll be the one to become the breadwinner of this family," Raven replied.

Raven looked back and forth between his mother and his wife, trying his best to convince them.

"And starting from today, Mom and Laila don't need to go look for firewood in the forest anymore. Here is five hundred dollars. Next week when I come back home, I'll bring even more money for our needs."

Raven handed the remaining cash from his pocket to Mrs. Aisyah and Laila. He figured that money would be enough until he returned next week.

He knew that even though he had been accepted at a company, he wouldn't receive money right away. But Raven would do whatever it took to bring home money so his wife and mother wouldn't have to keep going in and out of the forest to gather firewood.

"Raven, where on earth did you get this much money?" Mrs. Aisyah asked.

To them, five hundred dollars was a huge sum. Usually, they only earned twenty a day, and even that required shedding sweat gathering firewood and doing odd jobs.

"Just rest easy, Mom. This is honest money."

Perhaps because she had been hurt and lied to by Raven far too many times, Laila showed no enthusiasm at all seeing Raven give them that much money.

Maybe her love for Raven had truly died, so Laila no longer pinned any high hopes on him.

She didn't want to be disappointed again.

That night...

Raven pushed open the bedroom door. He saw Laila already fast asleep. The ring he had given her earlier had simply been left sitting on the table.

His heart felt carved open, aching with pain.

Yet Raven knew that what he had done to Laila all this time was far more painful. He had never treated Laila the way a wife deserved to be treated.

He would snap at her whenever she asked for money.

And he would take her roughly, never once caring whether Laila enjoyed it or felt satisfied. The only thing that mattered to him was satisfying his own desires.

Raven stepped closer. His hand reached out, wanting to stroke Laila's face, but the next second he pulled it back.

"Laila, I'm so sorry," Raven whispered softly.

As it turned out, Laila wasn't actually asleep yet. She heard what Raven said, but remembering Raven's past behavior made Laila reluctant to even open her eyes.

It wasn't just reluctance; there was a deep sense of dread every time Raven came into the room, because Raven used to take her so roughly and brutally.

Especially with Raven's breath reeking of alcohol. It made Laila feel deeply uncomfortable and sick to her stomach.

"Please, never leave me, Laila," Raven continued.

He closed his eyes, recalling memories of the past he had lived through.

Back then, the festive atmosphere of the presidential election was everywhere, and people in his village were busy combing the riverbanks searching for Laila.

Until, right in the middle of the vote counting, Laila was found lifeless. The clothes Laila wore at the time were tattered and torn, but because Laila had committed suicide by jumping into the river, no legal action could be taken against Ratno, who had raped her.

Back then, rumors about the cause of Laila's suicide were still conflicting, but as it happened, Leo had followed Laila to the orchard and witnessed the rape committed by Ratno.

However, Leo's testimony carried little weight with others because he was still a child, and Ratno stubbornly insisted he had never met Laila.

Laila was buried that very day.

After Laila's death, their village became a place of dread. According to the villagers, Laila haunted the area as a wandering ghost.

What hurt even more was when the orphanage caught fire. His mother and younger siblings couldn't be saved and perished in the flames, while Raven at that time was completely absorbed in the gambling tables.

Laila's death didn't bring him to his senses; instead, it drove him even further off the deep end. Frustrated by the loss of his wife, he poured all his despair into gambling. That vulnerability was exploited by loan sharks who kept feeding him loans.

Raven jolted awake. He shook his head and quickly pulled Laila into an embrace.

"I promise I will never take you for granted ever again," Raven whispered into Laila's ear.

Far from feeling happy hearing Raven's promise, Laila instead felt a cold shiver down her spine because Raven had never kept a single promise in the past.

The stale, musty odor on Laila's head made Raven realize just how neglected his wife truly was. Let alone using shampoo, they rarely even had bar soap.

Raven's heart felt crushed. All this time, he had truly squandered his life away.

Raven turned Laila over to face him. He kissed Laila's forehead for a long moment, then shifted his kisses down to Laila's lips. Those thin lips turned out to be so plump and tender.

Laila didn't resist. She was used to serving Raven out of coercion, so she simply let Raven do whatever he wanted with her body without opening her eyes, continuing to pretend to be asleep.

Raven stared at Laila's face—a face of breathtaking beauty, far prettier than Elisa's, and he was only realizing it now.

Laila remained completely passive. She parted her lips, letting Raven kiss her, without returning the gesture even a little bit.

"Laila, I love you," Raven whispered, continuing to kiss his wife's lips before his kisses drifted lower, down the curve of Laila's slender neck.

Raven's desire began to flare up intensely. His hands started exploring Laila's body. It was then that he realized how terribly thin Laila had become; her bones were jutting out.

Raven lifted the tattered housedress Laila was wearing, and the movement unexpectedly produced a ripping sound. The worn-out dress tore apart with a single pull.

"I'll buy you plenty of new clothes soon," Raven said, filled with a crushing sense of guilt.

It took no time at all for Laila's tattered housedress to come completely off. Raven froze.

That smooth, flawless, and beautiful body was wearing worn-out undergarments. Her bra was stretched out with straps tied together in knots, and even featured several patches of visible stitching. The same went for Laila's panties, which were riddled with holes here and there.

That sight was far less painful, however, than what Raven's eyes fell upon next—a sight that plunged him into absolute guilt and agony.

Laila's entire body was covered in scars. They were the handiwork of his own abuse. In the early days of their marriage, Laila had often refused to submit to him.

Back then, Raven would tie Laila up and whip her body with a leather belt until she bled, and those scars had remained permanently etched into Laila's fair skin.

Instantly, Raven's desire evaporated completely. He pulled Laila tightly into his arms, sobbing with stifled tears.

"Forgive me, Laila... Please forgive me...."