Chapter 1

On his way home from collecting recyclables after school, my son was bitten by a rabid dog. To save money, he painfully came home and asked me to staple the wound shut.

With tears in my eyes, I took him to a small clinic for basic treatment.

Tommy blamed himself, "Mom, I'm sorry. Ten dollars is our food budget for the day."

But as we turned to leave, we stumbled upon my husband at the high-end pet store next door, swiping his card to buy a premium grooming package for his ex-girlfriend's dog.

"James is so good to Sophia, coming every week to get little Bella the deluxe treatment!"

"Yeah, it costs six figures each time. James really spares no expense."

Tommy and I stood there in shock, staring at James in disbelief.

He didn't notice us as he left with the dog and Sophia, getting into their car.

Tommy tugged at my sleeve, "Didn't Dad say he lost everything in a bad investment and owed hundreds of thousands? Why is he spending so much on a dog?"

I forced myself to calm down and went to the pet store to confirm, not wanting to believe it.

But the staff's words sent another chill through us.

"You're asking about James? He's one of our black card members. Six figures is nothing for him."

"Even that dog Sophia was holding is worth over a million on the market."

I left with Tommy, laughing bitterly and silent the whole way home.

Once we arrived, I finally broke down in tears looking at his crudely bandaged wound.

Tommy realized James had been lying and asked in confusion, "Mom, if Dad is so rich, why did he lie to us?"

"Does he not want us anymore?"

James had never revealed his true financial situation to me, even after marriage he only said he was doing some investments.

Shortly after we wed, he claimed his investments had failed, leaving him millions in debt.

For our ordinary family, it was an astronomical sum.

But not only did I not abandon him, I took on three jobs to support us.

Tommy has been sensible since he was young, helping me collect recyclables after school every day.

Even when his classmates mocked and ostracized him, he never regretted it.

"As long as we save up quickly, we can help Dad pay off his debts!"

But now I'm told James has been pretending to be poor all along.

Our mother and son live worse than his ex-girlfriend's dog!

Coming back to my senses, I choked out to Tommy, "If that's the case, would you rather stay with Mom or Dad in the future?"

His eyes dimmed, his voice trembling with hurt.

"Mom, please don't abandon us. I promise I'll be good. I don't want to be separated from you two."

"Mom, can we give Dad one more week? I'll convince him!"

Afraid of hurting Tommy further, I reluctantly agreed.

Just then, James walked in the door.

Seeing us both standing in the living room, he frowned slightly, "What's wrong? You both look upset."

Tommy spoke up first, "Dad, I got bitten by a dog today. It hurts..."

He held up his small hand, but James' first reaction to the gruesome wound was disgust.

"How could you be so careless? Spent a lot of money again, right? Your mom and I don't earn easily, can't you stop causing trouble?"

"No dinner for you tonight, learn your lesson."

I clenched my fists, "Our son is hurt. If you don't care, fine, but you're punishing him with no food? Do you even care about this family at all?!"

James had never seen me so angry before. After realizing, he started arguing back.

We went back and forth, with Tommy quickly coming to pull me away.

"Mom, it's okay. I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Dad's right, I did cause trouble. I'll go do my homework now."