Chapter 3
1217 Words
Wilheim wasn’t surprised. This was the exact reaction he expected out of strangers. This gave him a rough idea about her personality.
As for Rodrick, he wanted his wife to show a bit of respect for his brother. He knew very well she wasn’t a kind woman. However, he expected more of her.
Anger flashed through his eyes. He felt humiliated. He didn’t want to show Wilheim this sight.
“Karen!” he yelled. “Show some respect to Wilheim. Did you forget he’s my brother?”
Karen flinched at the sudden tone her husband used on her. But she didn’t back off. Instead, she sat down and crossed her arms, smirking.
“But it didn’t stop him from becoming a murderer. So what if I disrespect him? What will you do?”
Rodrick pressed his lips together in a straight line, debating whether to take it further or not. He felt the blood rushing to his face but he couldn’t dare retort.
Karen expected slightly more from her husband but was disappointed. She loved breaking his mind and showing him she was superior. She glanced at Wilheim briefly, who was preoccupied by watching his niece and sneered.
“Yes,” she nodded. “You can do nothing and yet, you want to fight with me and question my decision. Did you forget you’re just a matrilocal son-in-law in our prestigious Milton family?”
Rodrick clenched his teeth but it didn’t stop Karen from continuing.
“You’re just a worthless person who sold himself for some money,” she tilted her head and acted as if she was thinking aloud. “How much was it? Ah! Five million. It was five million. You’re not worth that much. My father was kind enough to give you that sum.”
Wilheim had his eyes on his niece the entire exchange. The child’s face was pale and was struggling with holding her pencils. Sweat buds formed on her forehead and it seemed she found it hard to focus on completing her drawing.
However, when Wilheim heard what his sister-in-law said, he broke his focus and looked at her, narrowing his eyes as his mind processed what happened.
Five million was the exact debt he left behind before going to the military.
From Karen’s words, he realized what had happened. His brother struggled to pay the debt and had no choice but to become a son-in-law.
Still, Wilheim didn’t expect his brother to stoop this low. Rodrick always taught him to keep integrity and never bow down his head to anyone. A man should have strong integrity.
In the end, Rodrick gave up his dignity and broke his own set of rules.
Wilheim felt odd about it. He thought nothing could go worse after he got released but it seemed his brother wasn’t good either. He regretted his earlier thoughts.
Wilheim felt a lump in his chest, unable to keep it down.
Rodrick felt hurt. He tried his best to pay back the money through his own way. Yet, no one seemed to acknowledge that.
“I’ve done a lot of work for your company these last few years. I’ve been working hard to help. No one gave me credits for my work and I accepted that but you can’t just brush it under the radar as if I did nothing. I didn’t ask for a lot. Is it too much for my brother to stay home for a few days?”
Karen couldn’t accept her husband’s words and exploded.
“How dare you spout lies? And how dare you yell at me? This is my property. It belongs to me, not you. How dare you question my words? If you keep at it, I will kick you out too. You’ll never see your daughter again.”
This didn’t stop here. The argument escalated, forcing Wilheim to interfere. He didn’t want his brother to suffer more than he did.
“Rod, I’ll find a place where to stay. You don’t have to quarrel over stupid things. I’m used to living outside. Such a nice place doesn’t suit me!”
Wilheim spent a lot of his days sleeping on hard grounds and experiencing harsh environments. This was nothing for him.
Rodrick lowered his head in shame. He couldn’t believe how much his brother changed. Wilheim was always the spoiled, arrogant child their parents favored. Naturally, he would never bow his head to anyone. But this was different.
The guilt intensified inside him.
“Don’t worry Wilheim. I’m sure Karen is nice. She’ll understand you’re not a bad person. She isn’t a bad person.”
The lies coming out of Rodrick’s mouth felt bitter.
Rodrick was about to change his tactics and use a soft approach but Karen slapped him hard.
“Look at the both of you. A coward protecting a murderer. What did I expect? Nobody is decent around here.”
“Karen, you can insult me but don’t touch my brother.”
Karen got angrier and was about to slap her husband once again but something happened.
The little girl who was drawing since earlier started coughing. Her nose started bleeding and she called for her mother in a soft voice.
“Mam…”
Karen’s face changed immediately. From anger to worry, she rushed to her daughter and started wiping her face.
“Kat… Katherine,” she whispered to her daughter.
Rod on the other hand hurried to get the medicine from a drawer near the sofa. He almost ran to his daughter’s side to give her the pill. But when he opened the bottle, he found it empty.
Wilheim quickly walked to the little girl and said in confidence. “Let me take a look at her!”
He knew there was something wrong with the child. Her body was extremely weak and somehow, she didn’t care about her parents’ arguments. It seemed she was used to that. The stress might have made her situation worse.
Karen scooped her daughter in her arms and stepped away from Wilheim, glaring at him.
“Don’t dare touch my daughter with your filthy hands!”
At least, Karen didn’t hate her daughter as much as she hated his brother.
“I’m a doctor and if I examine her, I’ll be able to help. Don’t be stubborn.”
Rodrick took out his phone and dialed their daughter’s doctor. But it seemed the doctor was unreachable at the moment. He called the hospital where the man worked instead and unfortunately, he learnt that the doctor was in surgery and no other doctor wanted to take care of her.
All doctors that his daughter visited, told them that there was no way she could be cured and they should just accept her death.
It was too harsh and cruel.
Katherine’s nosebleed didn’t stop so Karen had to put her down. Wilheim used the situation to his advantage and pressed several acupoints to stop the bleeding.
He wished he could use his abilities to help her better. But they were sealed.
However, as he put his hand on the little girl’s back, a soft light emanated from his hand and entered the small body. It eased Katherine’s complex immediately.
Wilheim stared at his hand, shocked. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Weren’t all of his abilities sealed?
- Writer
