Chapter 1: The Penniless Loser
1400 Words
"Christopher, dump out our foot bath water."
Two women lounged on the sofa, having just finished soaking their feet. They reclined lazily, oozing elegance and unmatched beauty.
The two women were Christopher's wife, Mia, and her best friend.
Christopher bent down to empty the basins of foot bath water, not daring to utter a single complaint. After all, as a mere live-in husband with no status, what choice did he have?
Two years into the marriage, he held no position in the household.
His wife and mother-in-law often lashed out at him over trivial matters, and if he dared to talk back, he'd be thrown out in no time.
In this house, Christopher's status was beneath even the family dog.
In two years of marriage to Mia, he hadn't even held her hand! Every night, he slept on the floor because Mia not only disliked him but also looked down on him, thinking he wasn't man enough!
Cooking, cleaning, and tidying up were Christopher's daily chores. On top of that, he had to prepare three meals a day on time.
A few days ago, he accidentally added too much salt to a dish and was scolded by his wife for half an hour as if he were a child.
One night, Christopher's coughing woke Mia up.
Mia kicked him off the bed, telling him to get out of the room.
That day was their first wedding anniversary, with no candlelit dinner, no tender moments! That kick left Christopher's heart frozen.
Two years, a full two years, and Christopher had grown accustomed to this life.
What else could he expect as a mere live-in husband?
The most painful part was that after more than two years of living together, he had hopelessly fallen in love with Mia. Despite Mia never giving him a second glance and constantly calling him useless!
"Could this be Stockholm syndrome?" Christopher chuckled bitterly to himself.
As the eldest son of the Bennett Family, the most prestigious family in the Southern River District, it was a bitter irony that he had sunk so low as to grovel before a woman.
Two years ago, Christopher had invested 20 million to acquire a 15% stake in the Southern River Energy Group.
At that time, hundreds of members of the Bennett Family criticized Christopher. Some accused him of losing the family's money on a bad investment, claiming the 20 million was for cooking the books.
Others suggested he had ulterior motives, misappropriating family funds for personal gain.
The family unanimously agreed to expel Christopher, and even his parents were driven out and erased from the family records!
Over these two years, Christopher had experienced the fickleness of human relationships. Those who once called him brother now kept their distance.
Expelled from his home and penniless, Christopher had no choice but to become a live-in husband to survive!
Even his wife, Mia, was unaware of this.
"Mia, your husband is such a pushover!" Megan, her friend, remarked.
Mia let out a cold laugh, "Obedient, huh? Big deal. Just looking at him makes me sick. Everyone else marries into wealth or at least into the second or third generation of rich families, but I ended up with this good-for-nothing. Look at him, with that pitiful look—he's a complete country bumpkin. Tomorrow is the Walker family's annual gathering, and I can't even bring myself to take him along."
Megan glanced at Christopher, who indeed looked as shabby as Mia described, dressed in embarrassingly cheap market clothes.
Not wanting to continue on the awkward topic, Megan chuckled and changed the subject, "Mia, let's not air our dirty laundry in public. I heard your company has been facing some issues recently?"
Mia nodded, "In the past two months, we invested in two restaurants and lost millions. Now, the company's cash flow issues are serious. We need eight million, and if we can't find an investor within a week, we'll have to sell off other company assets."
Megan shot Mia a worried look, "Eight million, huh? That's no small sum. Who would be willing to fork out that much to help you?"
Mia didn't respond but instead turned to glare at Christopher, who was eavesdropping nearby, "Christopher, who told you to eavesdrop here? Go wash my clothes."
"And my dress too, it's in my safe box. Wash it for me," Megan added.
Hearing their demands, Christopher obediently put the clothes into the washing machine.
Thinking about tomorrow's high school reunion, he decided to wash his own clothes as well.
Just as he placed the clothes into the drum, his phone suddenly rang.
He opened it and found a text message.
138×××8888, he counted the digits, nine eights.
Isn't this the Bennett family's number?
Christopher opened the message and was stunned.
"Young Master, please help the Bennett family. Our financial chain has broken, and we need your support!"
This has to be a joke, right?
Two years ago, the family kicked me and my family out. Now I'm penniless, with pockets so empty mice could run through them. What can I possibly do for them?
Christopher furrowed his brows tightly as his phone rang again, this time not a text but a call.
Instinctively, Christopher answered the phone.
Before he could speak, the urgent voice of the butler came through, "Young Master, I beg you to help the family. The shares you bought in Southern River Energy two years ago have multiplied many times over. Please... if you don't help, the family will go bankrupt!"
"What the hell?"
Christopher almost dropped the phone. He hung up and rummaged through the storage room until he finally found a black bank card in a corner.
This card had been lying in the storage room since he married into the Carter family, now two years ago.
This card was issued when he was still the Bennett family's young master, a symbol of status, with each card having a 24-hour dedicated customer service. He quickly took out his phone and called the customer service line!
"Hello, Mr. Bennett. Welcome to the 24-hour personal assistant service. How may I assist you today?" a sweet female voice answered on the line.
"Hey, can you check my balance real quick?" Christopher urged.
"Sure thing, hold on a sec," the assistant replied smoothly.
In just a few seconds, the voice on the line returned, "Mr. Bennett, the balance on your card is so large, it's beyond what I can check here. Please bring your ID to the bank's VIP counter for a check."
Before the assistant could finish, Christopher hung up the phone!
His head was spinning, and his heart pounded like a drum, ready to burst out of his chest.
A balance too large to access!? Haha, two years, a full two years! Two years ago, he was expelled from the family for this investment, and now it had brought him such a huge surprise! Now, he was dying to know just how much money was in that card!
"Mia, look at Christopher, calling to check his balance!" Megan burst into laughter, unable to contain herself.
Mia shook her head, chuckling, "I give him two hundred bucks a day as pocket money. Over two years, he's saved quite a bit."
"Mia, you might as well treat him like a pet," Megan quipped, and the two women exchanged amused glances.
Christopher, buzzing with excitement, dashed over to his wife, "The company urgently needs that eight million. How about I try to figure something out for you?"
"Haha..." Megan laughed so hard her stomach hurt, looking at Christopher, "Do you even know how much eight million is? Mia gives you just two hundred a day. If you can pull out eight million, I'll call you daddy."
"Really?" Christopher grinned sheepishly, "Then remember you said that!"
At this point, Mia couldn't hold back any longer. It was one thing to look shabby all the time, but now he was boasting in front of her friend. He was like a lump of clay that couldn't be molded into anything worthwhile. She waved her hand impatiently, "Go tidy up the bedroom and stop being an eyesore."
Christopher nodded and turned to leave.
That night, Christopher was too excited to sleep. The unexpected good news felt like a dream.
No way, tomorrow he was definitely going to the bank to check that balance himself!
- Writer
