My Husband Called Me A “Money-printing Machine” While Dining With His Mistress. I Canceled His Credit Cards And His Mother’s Life-saving Surgery In One Hour. Was I Too Cruel?

A Family of Ingrates

With that said, I turned around and walked away, not deigning to look at the stunned faces I left behind. But just as I reached the door, I saw two familiar figures rushing in. It was Eleanor and Jessica, the complete in-law family. The play, it seemed, was not over but had just begun its most exciting act.

Eleanor and Jessica appeared at the door, impeccably dressed and perfumed. They had probably also come to attend the supposed anniversary party I had so carefully prepared. But instead of a congratulatory smile, what they found was the scene of me confronting Ethan and Laura in a powder keg atmosphere.

Seeing Laura hidden behind her son, Eleanor’s gaze wavered slightly. I knew very well that Laura was no stranger to her; I had once seen a message from Laura asking my mother-in-law about her health in a very familiar way. It turned out they had been seeing each other behind my back. The only fool who had been kept in the dark was me.

I looked directly at Eleanor and greeted her with biting irony.

“Mom, Jessica, you’re just in time. Come in and see the wonderful play your dear son and brother is putting on.”

Before Eleanor could say anything, Ethan stepped forward, completely changing his tone, adopting the attitude of an aggrieved victim.

“Mom, look at her. She came here to make a scene, to insult me and Laura. She thinks that because she has money she can trample all over this family. I can’t take it anymore.”

Jessica, my sister-in-law with her garishly bleached blonde hair, shot me a sideways glance and rushed to her brother’s side.

“Elizabeth, what’s all the fuss about? My brother is a university professor, a person with status. Have some respect for his image. If there’s a problem, we talk about it at home behind closed doors. Why air our dirty laundry in public?”

I laughed a cold laugh that echoed throughout the room.

“Respect for his image? Ask your brother if he cares about his image when he brings his mistress to this very pub to fool around. Look closely, this is Laura, the student I sponsor with a scholarship. Your brother is messing around with the very person who is indebted to his wife. Does that seem very honorable to you?”

Eleanor finally entered slowly. She showed neither surprise nor anger towards her son. On the contrary, she looked at me with a reproachful expression, the same look I had received for 10 years whenever I didn’t meet her demands.

“Elizabeth, as a woman you have to know how to be patient. It’s only natural for a man to have a wandering eye. If Ethan goes out to have a little fun, it’s just to release work stress. If as a wife you don’t know how to keep your husband and let him seek happiness elsewhere, the fault is yours. You can’t blame anyone else.”

I was petrified. My ears were ringing at my mother-in-law’s sick logic. I, the devoted daughter-in-law who had sold my own mother’s jewelry to pay for her medical treatment, now in her eyes I was just a woman who didn’t know how to keep her husband.

“How can you say that, Mom?” I retorted in a restrained voice. “I have sacrificed everything for this family and in return I receive this blatant betrayal. Who took care of you when you were sick? Who paid Jessica’s debts? Where did the money for the big beautiful house you live in come from?”

Eleanor pouted and waved her hand as if shooing an insect.

“Come on, come on. Don’t bring up the money to throw it in our faces. As if your money is so important. My family, although poor, has principles and values. We value affection, not money like yours. Ethan is a genius, one of a kind. He needs a wife who understands him, with whom he has a connection, who supports him. Not a merchant who only knows how to do calculations.”

Laura, seeing that she had allies, came out from behind Ethan with her eyes full of tears.

“Mrs. Grant is right. I love Professor Grant very much. He feels lonely in his own home. Elizabeth, please let him go. We truly love each other. Please give us your blessing.”

I looked at the three shameless faces before me: a cheating husband, an ungrateful mother-in-law, and a brazen mistress. They had united against me, using arguments of false morality to attack me. I suddenly realized my mistake. The biggest mistake of my life was not marrying a poor man, but marrying into a family of ingrates.

Ethan, encouraged by the support of his mother and mistress, grew even bolder. He pointed his finger at me.

“Did you hear that? Everyone sees how irrational you are, only you don’t realize it. You always think you’re the best, that you’re doing my family a favor. I’m sick of your condescending attitude. Laura is the one who understands me, who values my worth as a person. She loves me for being an ordinary man regardless of fame or fortune. That is true love.”

True love regardless of fame or fortune. I wanted to laugh in his face. Let’s see how long that true love would last if I cut off all financial aid.