The Poor Son In Law Is A Billionaire

What do you want?

“The patient's life could be lost within the next hour if you don't pay the thirty-thousand-dollar surgical deposit right now!”

Dr. Harrison handed Adrian the bill with an uncompromising expression.

Adrian's shirt clung to his sweat-soaked back. Sweat trickled from his temples down to his jaw after he had sprinted through the emergency corridor, where the sharp smell of disinfectant filled the air. He was still gasping for breath, but he paid no attention to his own exhaustion. His thoughts were fixed entirely on his mother-in-law, who lay helpless behind the emergency room doors.

“Doctor, please proceed with the surgery first!” Adrian gripped the bill so tightly that he nearly crumpled it. “I promise I'll pay everything afterward. Please save her life!”

“Hospital regulations are nonnegotiable.” Dr. Harrison gave his shoulder a brief pat, showing not the slightest willingness to make an exception. “The thirty-thousand-dollar deposit must be paid before the surgery can begin. Otherwise, we cannot proceed with the procedure.”

With that, the doctor turned and walked away.

Adrian stood frozen for a moment. He understood that hospitals had their own regulations, but knowing that someone's life was hanging in the balance while he didn't have enough money to pay for the surgery made his chest feel as though it were being crushed.

Adrian drew a deep breath and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He had once promised himself that he would never touch his family's money again, much less become involved with the wealthy family he had deliberately left behind.

That promise suddenly seemed meaningless compared with the life of someone desperately fighting to survive.

Without wasting another second, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His fingers moved quickly as he searched for Chloe's name. She was the one person he could contact to get the money as quickly as possible without having to ask his family for help again.

The first call went unanswered. Adrian kept trying. The second, third, fourth, and even tenth calls yielded the same result. With every unanswered call, the anxiety in his chest grew more intense.

“Why isn't she answering my calls?”

Just as the final ring was about to end, the call connected.

“What is it now?” Chloe's voice sounded indifferent. She didn't even ask why her husband had called so many times. There wasn't the slightest trace of concern in her voice. She spoke as though Adrian's call were nothing more than a minor nuisance interrupting her time with Julian.

Before Adrian could respond, Julian's laughter drifted faintly through the phone.

“Chloe, wasn't it just a little while ago that your wonderful husband threatened to divorce you?” Julian chuckled, deliberately speaking loudly enough for Adrian to hear. “Why is he suddenly calling you a dozen times now? Could it be that he's already regretting his threat and wants to beg you not to leave him?”

Chloe giggled.

A faint smile spread across her beautiful face. She didn't even bother to stop Julian from mocking her husband.

Apparently, the divorce papers Adrian had shown her earlier had been nothing more than a bluff born out of jealousy after seeing her come home with Julian. Chloe was certain that Adrian would never truly leave her.

After all, Adrian had depended on her for three years. He had neither the status nor the wealth or ability to live comfortably without her.

Sooner or later, Adrian would come crawling back, just as he always did.

“What do you want?” Chloe asked, her coldness unmistakable.

Adrian took a deep breath. He had no time to think about Julian's mockery or Chloe's attitude. Every passing second felt like another threat to the patient's life.

“Like I told you earlier, your mother was involved in a serious car accident!” he said quickly. His voice trembled as his anxiety became increasingly difficult to control. “She needs emergency surgery right now. We need a thirty-thousand-dollar deposit. Transfer the money to my account immediately, Chloe! I'm begging you!”

“You just told me your mother was in an accident, and now you're asking me for thirty thousand dollars to cover her surgery?” Chloe responded in a cuttingly cold voice. “If you need money for yourself, just be honest about it. There's no need to stoop so low as to use your mother as an excuse and lie about something like this!”

Adrian froze. For a moment, he wasn't even sure he had heard his wife correctly.

“Chloe, I'm not lying. Her condition is critical. The doctor said...”

“Enough!” Chloe's sharp shout cut him off.

“Listen, Adrian! I've been more than generous to you for the past three years. Is that still not enough? Now you're even using an accident as an excuse to force me to send you money?”

“I'm not trying to force you. I'm only asking for help because...”

“Besides, why should I pay for your mother's medical expenses?” Chloe interrupted before he could finish. “She's not my responsibility. I also have important matters to take care of with Julian. So deal with your own problems!”

Adrian fell silent for two seconds. His tongue suddenly felt numb, as though all the air had been sucked out of his lungs.

What had that woman just said? Generous?

Chloe’s treatment of him was even worse and more humiliating than the treatment meted out to a stranger. The woman refused to pay a single penny simply because she thought the person lying in a critical condition in the department was Adrian's mother.

“You've misunderstood, Chloe.” Adrian's voice was lower when he finally spoke again. “The person lying in the operating room is...”

The call ended abruptly.

Adrian stood motionless amid the steady stream of nurses passing through the corridor. His phone remained pressed against his ear, the disconnected tone ringing sharply in his ears.

He lowered his head and stared at the black screen reflecting his pale face. He could barely recognize the man staring back at him.

The man who had spent three years trying to be a good husband. The man who had swallowed his pride time and again to keep his marriage together.

Now, it all felt like one sickening joke.

He had no other choice. He would not let his pride become the reason someone lost their life.

His fingers brushed across the screen as he dialed a number that wasn't saved under a name. The call connected on the first ring.

“Young Master, are you finally willing to come home?” The same question always greeted him from the other end of the line.

Adrian stared unblinkingly at the emergency room doors.

“Transfer thirty thousand dollars to my account right now. It's for an urgent hospital expense.”

The man on the other end fell silent for a moment, sensing the gravity in his young master's voice.

“Understood, Young Master. The money will be in your account within five seconds.”

“One more thing,” Adrian added coldly. “Don't tell the my father about this.”

“Understood. I won't say a word.”

Adrian immediately headed for the payment counter. A moment later, his phone vibrated. A banking notification appeared on the screen, confirming that thirty thousand dollars had been deposited into his account.

After settling the bill, Adrian signed the medical consent form and handed the necessary documents to the hospital staff. Once everything was complete, the patient was immediately taken into surgery.

Adrian remained outside the operating room until the red light above the door came on.

The red light above the operating room glowed brightly. Adrian leaned his back against the cold concrete wall and stared straight ahead.

Two hours later, Adrian was still waiting for the results of the surgery when his phone vibrated softly in his pocket.

“Young Master, the secret financial support for Mrs. Chloe's company that you previously ordered us to discontinue has now been completely and officially withdrawn,” the voice on the other end reported.

Adrian kept his eyes on the red light glowing above the operating room. His expression remained impassive.

“Fine. Understood.”

“When will you return to the main residence?”

“We'll see,” Adrian replied curtly before ending the call.

He rested his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

Chloe's words continued to echo in his ears.

He had once believed that patience would gradually help Chloe understand his sincerity. He had also believed that one day, she would stop comparing him to Julian.

As it turned out, he had been the only one who believed in their marriage all along.

He had done everything he could as a husband. If none of it was enough to make Chloe respect him, he had no reason to keep forcing himself to make the marriage work.

Chloe had never cared about him. The only things she had ever cared about were her pride and herself.

Adrian opened his eyes just as the operating room doors finally swung open. Dr. Harrison stepped out, removing his surgical mask and letting out a relieved sigh.

“The surgery went smoothly,” Dr. Harrison said as he approached Adrian. “The patient is now out of critical danger.”

Adrian released a long breath, only then realizing he had been holding it for hours.

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for saving her.”

Dr. Harrison nodded. “Please prepare some light, easily digestible food for her this afternoon. It will help with your mother-in-law's recovery.”

Adrian managed a faint smile.

“Thank you, Doctor. I'll make sure it's ready.”