Chapter 13: 1.05 Million Dollars

Upon entering, I saw my dad in bed, covered in wounds. My expression changed as I said angrily, “What happened? Who did this to Dad?”

My mom kept crying without saying a word. I could only turn to my dad, but he wouldn’t tell me either; he just kept wailing in pain. Utterly anxious, I roared angrily, “Tell me! Who beat you up? An old enemy?” My eyes turned red.

Seeing this, my mom stammered while sobbing, “In fact, it’s his fault… He gambled.”

“What?” I looked at him in great disbelief. “You gambled? But you never gamble! You always said it ruined people! How could you?!”

“I wanna win some money so that I could start over,” he actually seemed aggrieved. “Who would have thought I was so unlucky? I bet someone played dirty.”

I was so furious that I didn’t know what to say. “Then who beat you up?” I asked after a few seconds.

He glanced at my mom uneasily, saying nothing. She kept crying out of anger. “He lost all our money and owed them hundreds of thousands of dollars. They beat him up because he didn’t have money to repay them.”

Taking a deep breath, I looked at him. “How much did you owe them?” He lowered his head further.

After a moment of hesitation, my mom said, “Combining the 1.5 million dollars Reynaldo gave us…”

“What? You went to ask him for money?”

“No,” my dad muttered. “After he cleared our debts, he gave an extra 1.5 million dollars to me. I thought I could multiply it by gambling so that I could rise again, but I lost it and owed them… 1.05 million dollars…”

“Dad!” I couldn’t help but cry. “No one wins in gambling, OK? How could you be so stupid? 2.55 million dollars? You lost 2.55 million dollars in no time?”

“Enough! I’m your father, and you have no excuse to disrespect me,” he interrupted me impatiently. “It’s just over 1.5 million dollars. You can always ask Reynaldo for more. Big whoop!”

I stared at him as if he were a stranger. He was no longer kind, steady, and patient. Right now, he was just a cranky, impatient old man.

Suddenly, someone at the door sneered. I turned around and saw Quentin. He stared at our dad coldly. “Just over 1.5 million dollars? You sound like a millionaire. Then how come you were beaten up so miserably? Why did you ask Mom to get Esmeralda back?”

“Shut up, you brat! How dare you speak to me like that!” our dad roared angrily at him.

He roared back, “Look at what you did! I told you not to gamble yesterday, and you just wouldn’t listen to me. And now you owe them 1.05 million dollars! You should take responsibility for what you did. Don’t count on Esmeralda to clean up your mess.”

“You…” Our dad was so pissed off that he wanted to sit up and slap Quentin, only to strain his waist and cry out in pain.

My mom quickly came forward to hold him and said to me through tears, “Ralda, the debtors said they’d chop off your dad’s hands if they don’t see the money within three days. Reynaldo is rich, and 1.05 million dollars is nothing to him. Go talk to him…”

“Enough!” Quentin cut her off angrily and continued, “So what if he’s rich? That’s his money, not ours! Stop asking Esmeralda to go to him and ask for money! She’s humiliated enough!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” our dad huffed. “Reynaldo is our son-in-law. His money is Ralda’s. If she wants 1.05 million dollars, he’ll give it to her.”

“Oh, really?” Quentin sneered. “In case you don’t know, they got a divorce long ago.”

“What?” Our parents exchanged glances in disbelief and then looked at me.

I dipped my head, not saying anything.

Since Quentin had known, I guessed the divorce was no longer a secret. Maybe everyone would know I was Reynaldo’s lover soon. I had once been the heiress of a rich family, but by then, I’d become the butt of the joke.

Our parents found it hard to believe and asked me repeatedly if it was true. I nodded, and our dad cursed Reynaldo harshly.

Quentin snorted, “Reynaldo has cleared our debts and gave you an extra 1.5 million dollars. What else do you want? Given how we treated him before, you should be grateful.”

“But he dumped Ralda as soon as he got rich? That’s not decent, is it?” our mom said angrily.

I sighed, “He had every right to do so. He didn’t love me or owe me anything.”

She was rendered speechless.

Panicking, our dad said to me anxiously, “Regardless, you can still ask him for 1.05 million dollars, right? Ralda, help me out here. The debtors will come here within three days asking me for the money. They’ll chop off my hands!”

Mom cried, tugging at my arm. “Ralda, help us, OK? Reynaldo is so rich. As long as you ask, I’m sure he’ll do you the favor for old time’s sake.”

For old time’s sake? I smiled bitterly, “What old time?”

They kept persuading me and even tried to guilt-trip me.

Quentin couldn’t stand it anymore and roared, “Shut up! Ralda is the apple of our eye. She used to be a pampered rich lady! How could you force her to beg Reynaldo for money again and again? You really have no idea how humiliating that is?”

Mom covered her mouth and cried. Dad parted his lips, wanting to say something.

Quentin beat him to it and said coldly, “Don’t push her anymore. I’ll do everything I can within these three days to get you the money and save your hands even at the cost of my life. Happy now?”

With that, he dragged me out. Tears streamed down my face as we went downstairs. Quentin held me in his arms and whispered, “Don’t help him. He brought this on himself.”

“But he’s our dad… He used to dote on us so much…” I sobbed. “Quentin, how did Dad become like this?”

“Beats me. Maybe the bankruptcy hit him too hard. He’s been dreaming of making a comeback and blind to reality. To put it bluntly, he doesn’t have what it takes to be a businessman at all. All this time, he’s been relying on the money left by Grandpa and Grandma. The business world is full of talented young people. He won’t stand a chance. Bouncing back? Yeah, right.”

I said nothing, overwhelmed by sadness.

He wiped away my tears and said, “Don’t worry about this. I’ve got a job now and will think of something to get that 1.05 million dollars.”

I knew he was just saying this to make me feel better. How could he possibly earn 1.05 million dollars in three days with an ordinary job?

Suddenly, he looked at me worriedly. “Are you… still living with Reynaldo?”

I nodded.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions. “Has he hurt you?”

I smiled briskly, “Not at all. He’s been nice to me.”

He asked, “Then why did he divorce you?”

Chuckling, I replied, “Why do you think? I didn’t have feelings for him, and vice versa. Divorce would do both of us good.”

He said nothing, staring at me deeply.

Worried that he might see through me, I pulled up an excuse, saying I needed to go back now. He offered to give me a lift, but I said no and asked him to go up to check on our parents.

On the way back, I didn’t spot any taxis, so I wandered aimlessly forward, worrying about the huge debt. All of a sudden, a flyer slid to a stop at my feet.