He should earn more money and make his wife the richest woman in Wiltspoon.
With a black sedan pulled up far away, the person inside kept tabs on All You Can Eat diner.
“Do you see that fat woman? That’s her, Hank’s ex-wife, Liberty.”
Jessica said to her brother as she pointed at Liberty’s breakfast dinner. “She took a huge cut of Hank’s money after the divorce. That was why Hank couldn’t fork out the 777,777 dollars for Jack’s and your home fenovation and new cars.”
Oscar observed for a while before turning his attention to his sister. “Jessica, tell me what you want me to do about it.”
“My mother–in–law and sister–in–law regret burning the bridge with her. It’s a good thing that Hank’s still on my side, but he often drops by to see their son, or so he said. I’m not happy about it, but I’m not pregnant. I don’t have a kid of my own, so I don’t have a reason to stop Hank from seeing his son.
“Find a few hooligans to stir trouble at her diner in turns once it is open for business. Nothing too extreme or to the point of assault. I just want her reputation and business ruined is all.
Jessica reminded her brother, “Her aunt is the missus of the Stone family who owns Stone Group. Her sister is married into the wealthiest family in the city.
“Just look for something that will put her out of business. I’m just paying her back. the favor. Hank and I lost our jobs because of her.
Jessica could take things up a notch, but she did not have the guts to do so.
She was afraid of Zack and the Stones‘ payback.
“Why should she be enjoying life when I’m experiencing hell now? There can only be one winner between us, and it has to be me!”
The thought that her in–laws favored Liberty got under Jessica’s skin.
She was the victor, and yet she had it rougher than Liberty. Reality did not sit well with Jessica.
Jessica’s explanation only drove fear in Oscar. “Jessica, she’s well connected. It won’t go unnoticed if we hired a few hooligans to stir trouble. Her relatives are wealthy and powerful. They’re not people we can mess with.
“Did you say that her brother–in–law is the heir of the wealthiest York family? All the more reason to stay away from them. Don’t you know how the Yorks are? We’ve heard of the family even though we live in a rural area. Forget it. A hundred thousand dollars isn’t worth me taking the risk.”
Jessica winced her face. “I’m your sister, Oscar. So you’re going to let it go when someone is making my life a living hell?”
Oscar replied, “How is she making your life a living hell? I mean, you lied to us. Hank had a wife and a son when he was with you, but you became his mistress and wrecked his family apart. You kept that fact from us. Here we were, thinking you found yourself a good man.
“Do you think I don’t know you well? I bet you’re the one picking on the Liberty girl. If nothing else, you were the homewrecker. You should feel ashamed of yourself instead of trying to get even with her.
“It’s hard enough for a single mother to run a business, but you want to take away her only livelihood. I’ll stick up for you if she bullied you, but did she though?
“The huge settlement she got out of the divorce is between her and Hank. The Brown family isn’t to be blamed for Hank’s refusal to give us over seven hundred thousand dollars. You’re only looking out for Hank, so you don’t want to waste the money on me and Jack to fix our houses up and buy new cars.
“We doted on you for nothing. What did we get out of your marriage? Hank only gave a lot less than a hundred thousand dollars for Mom and Dad’s retirement. Jack and I got nothing. I would do anything you ask if you bought us a car and house.”
At the end of the day, Oscar believed his sister gave him crumbs. Whatever he got from his sister was not worth the risk of offending the York and Stone families.
At first, the Yateses were in the dark about Hank’s wife and son. It was only after Hank divorced and talked about marriage with Jessica that the Yates family found out Jessica became a homewrecker.
The Yateses were displeased about this as Hank was a divorcee while Jessica was young and had not been married before. Sure, Hank was only thirty–one years old, but he was getting the better deal out of the bargain.
Hank owned the house and car, and his house was worth millions. Since Hank was also on a million-dollar annual income, the Yateses made a huge demand, asking for 777,777 dollars as a wedding gift.
This was an astronomical amount to ask for in Wiltspoon, especially for a wedding that was not among the wealthy. Ordinary families would only ask for tens of thousands, if not thousands when it came to financial gifts. 777,777 dollars was enough to scare any family from marriage.
As Mrs. Brown put it to her daughter, Jessica was not made of gold.
Besides, the Yateses were not returning wedding gifts of the same value. All the family intended to give were things like bedding, and the money they would get from the Browns were intended for the Yates brothers instead of the newly married couple.
Of course, the Browns were unhappy with the gift exchange.
It also rubbed Jessica the wrong way as it seemed like her family was selling her to get a better life themselves.
Since her parents did not have her best interest at heart, Jessica went ahead and got married to Hank in secret. Now that everything was a done deal, her parents had no leverage to demand the money.
“It’s not like you’re incapable. You can earn the money to buy a house in the city. My husband and I are jobless now. We need money for the wedding, the reception, our home renovation, and whatnot. Money is an issue for us now.”
“Weren’t you and Jack the reason Mom and Dad asked for a lot of money? Ask any family, and none of them will tell you that they expect that much for a wedding gift. What would you think if your children’s in–laws demand that much for a wedding too?
“That kind of money will be good for me to start a family with Hank. How can I possibly allow Hank to give it away? It’s only for formalities‘ sake, but what did you tell Mom and Dad? 777,777 dollars is lucky for you. All I get is seven thousand dollars in return, and nothing more.
“Mom and Dad will get a hundred thousand dollars while you and Jack get three hundred thousand each. Why? Why are they selling their daughter to give their sons everything? What about the daughter?”
Faced with her sister’s questioning, Oscar turned red in the face and lashed out,” You’re favoring outsiders instead of family. We’re your brothers. You should get more out of the Browns since they’re wealthy, but you can’t get anything now because you’re married.
“You went behind our backs and got married to Hank. Look, the 777,777–dollar gift is now seventy thousand. What’s wrong with helping me and Jack out when you’re getting a nice life in the city? It’s normal for siblings to help one another.”
“Just because I’m your sister doesn’t mean I owe you. Why should I give you all the help when life is not even good for me? Why should I give you everything to renovate your houses? What about me? I don’t even know if I have a bedroom, let alone a home, with Hank. Why should I suffer while you live the life?
“We’re all Mom and Dad’s children. Sure, I owe Mom and Dad my life, and I’m not saying I won’t help them out financially. You can give a little something to our parents too. Like you, I can contribute to their medical bills if they fall sick.
“I don’t owe you and Jack anything!”
“You’re not really part of the family anymore since you’re taking Hank’s family name. Do whatever you want. I don’t have time for you.” Unable to win the argument, Oscar grimaced and opened the car door to walk away.
Jessica was fuming too.
With the five thousand dollars coming to mind, she opened the car door and shouted at her brother’s receding figure, “Give me back the five thousand dollars, Oscar!”
He better cough up the money since he was not doing her bidding.
Oscar took off running.
Fat chance of him ever returning the money!
He believed his sister would not cause a scene over five thousand dollars.
Jessica was not going to have a falling out with her brother over a small lump of cash. In fact, she wished she did not have a fight with her brother. How did the situation get out of hand?
Nevertheless, her family’s actions let her down every time she thought about it.
Jessica saw no wrong in asking for a bit more financial help. She believed Hank would not value her if she married into the family without getting anything out of it.
Liberty married into the Browns without asking for anything.
The wedding gift, be it material items or money, should be given according to the current going rate and local traditions. Nevertheless, Jessica’s parents demanded a lot to give to her brothers and left Jessica nothing to start her own family with.
Jessica was not going to say yes to that.
Now that Hank put her in control of the purse strings, Jessica was paying for everything their house needed. She felt the pinch every time she footed the bill.
The responsibility fell on her to manage the household finances and everything was not cheap.
As the head of the household, she started to get on top of their financial situation. Besides, she and Hank were still out of employment.
They were eating away what little savings they had, so they had to be budget conscious.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.