The Underestimated Son-in-Law

Regret

"Why don't you tell your family who I really am, Clara? If it's like this, I'll think I lied to your family."

In the room, Daniel tried to ask Clara for an explanation.

"I thought you didn't judge people based on material things, but you still do," Clara replied as she applied night cream to her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Mum has always looked at the social status of someone who wants to come into our family. It's not uncommon for all my sisters to have well-established and wealthy husbands."

"So?" Daniel looked at Clara with a sharp gaze, hoping to get an answer soon. He felt that not only Clara's family felt lied to, but he too.

"I didn't dare to tell them who you really are because if I did, they wouldn't approve of our marriage."

"Then, why did you ask me to marry you?" This was the first time Daniel spoke in such a high tone.

Clara then showed some photos of her lover. "I couldn't accept him betraying me and marrying another woman first, so I wrote a letter to the man I thought was right for me to marry."

"What? Crazy! This is really crazy."

***

Two days later, Clara's family had a social gathering at her house, which was attended by rich people. Merry asked Daniel to help, from organizing the room to preparing the food.

"Because Clara is having an event outside and some of the people who help in this house are on leave, so you prepare everything for my event later," Merry said while giving Daniel some lists of what he had to do.

Daniel could only sigh and didn't dare argue. Daniel walked over with some drinks for the lottery club guests.

"Isn't he your son-in-law who just got married yesterday?" asked one of the lottery club guests.

"No, he is the new helper in this house. It just so happens that some of the people who help here are on leave, so he is filling in," Merry replied while laughing and chatting with her friends.

Daniel's heart was torn apart again. He then hurried into the room. Since then, Daniel has always been ordered around like a maid. Starting from being the family driver to being asked to clean the whole house when everyone was away, it seems that Merry deliberately asked everyone who helped at home to take leave so that the housework could be done by Daniel.

***

At 9:00 p.m., Daniel sat in the attic of his room. staring at the sky filled with stars. Instantly, he remembered his mother.

"It's been 3 days since I saw my mom. How is she?" Daniel sighed while remembering his mother's expression every time he came.

Lina was always happy when Daniel visited her. Lina thought that her son was now living a comfortable and wealthy life because she was married to a wealthy woman. However, Lina was also suspicious why, every time she came, Daniel only brought bread and drinks like before.

That's what made Daniel feel heavy-hearted enough to visit his mother. He felt guilty. "I can't go on like this. I have to find a job for sure."

While Daniel was scrolling through social media, he accidentally saw an advertisement for a job as a barista. Without thinking, the next day Daniel secretly went to apply for the job.

After going through the interview stage, Daniel was finally accepted. Although the salary is not too high, Daniel is very happy to finally be able to get a certain income for his mother.

"Daniel, there's someone looking for you," said one of his friends.

Daniel walked up to the man, wearing a white shirt and black trousers. Judging by his clothes, he was an office worker.

"Mr. Daniel, it's nice to finally meet you," the man said as he offered his hand for a handshake.

Daniel accepted the handshake while wondering why the man in the suit would recognize him.

"Mr. Daniel, I have something for you." The man handed Daniel a white envelope, similar to the one Clara had given him the previous day.

"What's this?"

"I'm only in charge of providing this. Even so, I'm happy to finally meet you."

After Daniel accepted the envelope, the man took his mobile phone from his pocket and walked away slightly.

"Mr. Daniel, I can't stay too long. I have to go. Thank you for your time." The man then walked away, leaving Daniel behind.

"Daniel, many customers are coming. Let's get back to work!" said his friend.

Daniel put the envelope in his trouser pocket and went back to work.

***

At 11 p.m., Daniel and his friends were cleaning the cafe.

"Daniel, I'm going home first," said Daniel's friend as he waved and walked out of the cafe.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." After all the tasks were completed, Daniel remembered the envelope given to him by the mysterious man who came to see him. With curiosity, Daniel opened the envelope, which turned out to contain a letter.

"Daniel, my son. I'm happy to finally find your whereabouts. All this time, Papa has been looking for you. I am happy that you have finally grown into an independent and hardworking child. I am in need of someone to fill a vacant position in my company. If you wish, you can come to the company at the address below. I hope you don't resent me and still think of me as your father."

"Best regards, Robert."

Daniel was stunned to read the contents of the letter. "Papa? So this is from Papa?"

Growing up without a father figure, Daniel had no idea what his father looked like. Daniel's fingers trembled. His eyes did not blink at the neat handwriting.

Daniel locked the cafe door and headed for the hospital. It had been almost a week since he left Clara's house for work, but there was no message from Clara to just ask where Daniel had been. "Do they really not want me anymore?"

Not infrequently, Daniel occasionally checked his mobile phone, hoping Clara would find his whereabouts, but instead of Clara's message, he could play the notification of electricity and water bills at his mother's house. It wasn't long before Daniel's mobile rang.

"Hello, Sister?"

"Hello, Mr. Daniel? Can you come to the hospital now? Ms. Lina's condition is deteriorating, and we are currently taking her to the ICU."

"What? Okay, I'll be right there." Daniel hung up the phone and rushed to the hospital.

Arriving at the hospital, Daniel ran to the front of the ICU room. "This feeling is exactly the same as the feeling back then. Why is it that every time I receive a letter from someone I don't know the truth about, Mom's condition always drops?"

As Daniel ran, he accidentally bumped into the man who met him at the cafe. He was sitting in front of one of the hospital rooms, looking down at his mobile phone.

"He? Isn't that the man who met me? Why is he here?"