Chapter 1 — A Paper That Tests People's Hearts

When I received the results of my mother's medical examination, I was completely dumbfounded. Late stage cancer! My fingers tightened on the results paper until they turned white. It took me a long time to calm down. My mother cried until her eyes turned red on the spot. I hastily consoled: "Mom, although it is an incurable disease, it can still be controlled with surgery." Even though I said that, my face was still full of worry. The surgery cost was two hundred thousand. While I was pregnant, I had no income. In the past few years, I have often helped with household expenses, and my dowry was almost spent. It was simply impossible to manage such a large amount of money. Reluctantly, I had to call my husband and ask for a loan. I remember he still had savings. However, as soon as he heard me say I wanted to borrow money, my husband's voice immediately rose: "What? You want me to give you two hundred thousand?! Tran Thien, haven't we agreed to split the expenses in half? How can you go back on your word like that?" After getting married, my husband listened to his mother-in-law and suggested applying a "financial split" system. Even though I didn't understand, because I couldn't shake him, I had to give in. Even if I used an extra sheet of tissue or turned on the heater a little longer, he would make me split the money in half. The amount of money he divided was always accurate to two digits after the decimal point, absolutely not letting me gain a penny. Even when I was pregnant, he forced me to divide it in half. "Tran Thien, while you were pregnant, I raised you and the child, so you had to give me two-thirds of the living expenses." I'm a little angry. Obviously because I'm pregnant, I have no income, yet he's so brazen as to ask me to pay? I looked at him coldly. "You should remember clearly, the pregnancy I'm carrying is also your child! If you split it in half like that, do you intend to carry five months of pregnancy for me?" My husband showed a very matter-of-fact expression: "Of course I want to, but I can't give birth!"

"Good, if you can't give birth, then pay! Don't forget, because I was pregnant, my body changed and I had to quit my job and stay home. If you split it in half, will you compensate me for these losses?"

He remained silent, did not mention asking for money anymore, then even soothed me, telling me to think about the baby. I don't want to be angry while I'm pregnant, so I'll hold back for now. Unexpectedly, my patience made him increasingly unreasonable. Now my mother is seriously ill, and he still counts every penny to save her life like that? Anger welled up in my chest, and my lower abdomen also had a dull pain, but thinking that my mother needed money urgently for surgery, I tried to suppress my anger, almost begging: "Husband, my mother urgently needs two hundred thousand for surgery, consider me borrowing this money from you, I will return it later when I go back to work."

"If you don't feel secure, I can write you a debt paper..." Before I could finish my sentence, Truong Tien's voice was as cold as ice, interrupting me: "This is two hundred thousand, not twenty thousand! How long are you going to pay?" "What's more, my mother has an incurable disease. It's like a bottomless pit, so why bother treating it?"

When I heard this, my anger seemed to rise straight to the top of my head. "Chuong Tien, are you still human? My mother hasn't mistreated you in any way! When you were unemployed, no Isn't it your mother who takes care of me at home? How can you be so cold-blooded!” Previously, when Truong Tien was unemployed, I took him to my house to live. At that time, I had to go out to work, and my mother stayed home to take care of him, cooking properly every day, making all the dishes he liked, especially sweet and sour fried ribs. I thought that when he mentioned the old story, he would feel more or less guilty. Unexpectedly, he calmly replied: "That was before agreeing to split the finances. Anyway, now we have applied AA, everyone has their own way, we have to implement it strictly to have rules!” “Besides, the sick person is your mother, not mine. I have no obligation to spend money, and I also don't have any extra money. You can manage it yourself!” I was about to say more, but Chuong Tien immediately hung up. I gently pulled out a bitter smile. What kind of man did I end up marrying... My mother saw that I was in a difficult situation and gently said: "Son, if you can't borrow, then that's fine. At worst, I won't treat you anymore."

“No, it must be cured! Even if I have to sell the house, I will still pay for your surgery, so don't worry!

My husband couldn't be trusted, so I had no choice but to call my best friend for help. As soon as she heard me tell her about the situation, she didn't say another word and immediately transferred me two hundred thousand. 【Thien Thien, every Tet holiday she sends me specialties, I'm always grateful to her. This money is considered a little bit of my heart, I don't need to pay it back.】 My nose was stinging, tears kept welling up in the corners of my eyes. Even my best friend who I haven't seen for a whole year is more trustworthy and grateful than my first husband. After receiving the money, I quickly thanked her and promised to repay her in the future. As soon as I exited the chat interface, I saw Chuong Tien update a post on social networks. He posted a photo of the new car, with the words: 【Just picked it up!】