Chapter 4

Listening to her shameless little speech, my anger hit its peak.

"You steal and sell my things to help cover your brother's wedding gift money, and you call that good financial sense?"

Marina sighed and started lecturing me in that earnest tone of hers:

"Adrian, you used to be so generous. What's gotten into you these past couple of days?"

"We're family. Do we really have to keep such careful count of everything?"

"Worst case, once my brother's doing well down the road, I'll have him buy you a few gold bars to make up for it."

"Think it over carefully. I have to stay and help out at my brother's engagement banquet tomorrow, so I won't be coming back for now."

"While you're at it, pack up the stuff at home. In a couple of days we're moving in with my parents."

"The bride's family requires that we have a house, so I've decided on my own to give ours to Nathaniel. As soon as the engagement banquet ends tomorrow, I'll take them over to see the place."

"Honey, don't make a fuss this time, or my parents really will make me divorce you."

With that, she hung up.

Listening to the busy signal on my phone, I suddenly laughed.

I used to think Marina was just too devoted, too family-minded.

Only now did I understand—she was nothing but a bloodsucker with no limits.

She thinks I have no financial sense?

Then I'll show her what real financial sense looks like.

I opened my phone and called my childhood friend directly.

"Hey, do me a favor."

After hanging up, I quickly started packing my things.

Clothes, laptop—anything that was mine went straight into the suitcase.

As for Marina's junk, I just used a local app to call an old guy who buys up secondhand stuff.

In less than half an hour, the old guy pulled up on his three-wheeler.

"Young man, all these clothes and shoes—you're selling all of them?"

He stared at the pile on the floor, like he could hardly believe it.

"Sell it all. Give me whatever you think is fair—the main thing is to haul it out of here fast."

The old guy was thrilled. In the end he transferred me five hundred bucks and cleared out every last piece of Marina's stuff.

Money in hand, I dragged my two big suitcases out and took a cab straight to my parents' place.

My mom got a shock when she saw me show up like that.

"Son, what's wrong? Did you and Marina have a fight?"

I pushed the suitcases aside, sat down on the couch, and poured myself a glass of water.

"Mom, I'm going to get a divorce."

I told her everything that had happened over the past two days, exactly as it went.

Including how Marina handed her whole salary to her mother, and how she'd secretly sold off the gold bars and gold jewelry I'd owned before the marriage.

When my parents heard it, they were so furious they slammed the table.

"That ungrateful snake!"

"I said from the start that her family couldn't be trusted, but you had to go and marry her!"

"Divorce her—we're doing it right now!"

The next day, my mom made a special trip to the market and bought the fattest lobster she could find to welcome me home.

I sat at the table, eating the rich, dripping roe, in an incredibly good mood.

Just then my phone rang.

Marina's name flashed on the screen.

I unhurriedly wiped my hands and pressed answer.

The second the call connected, Marina's frantic screaming came through.

"Adrian! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Why won't the front door open? The bride's whole family is out here waiting!"

"And why are there strangers talking inside?!"

Listening to her fall apart, I couldn't keep the corners of my mouth from lifting.

"Oh, I forgot to mention."

"I rented the place out. Not only does it cover the monthly mortgage, it even brings in a little extra spending money."

"And that pile of junk of yours—I sold it to the old guy who buys secondhand stuff. Got five hundred bucks for it."

"So, what do you think—don't I have great financial sense?"