"Ever since you had the child, you’ve been sitting at home doing nothing--no income at all. You eat, sleep, and do nothing else, lazing around like a pig. It’s already unbearable enough that I have to support a freeloader like you! Now you want me to pay for your mother’s medical bills? I don’t have a single penny to give! Besides, your mother didn’t raise me or give birth to me; as her son-in-law, I have no obligation to pay for her treatment!" Quentin’s curses were relentless.

Elowen stepped off the elevator, facing a wall. Though she couldn’t see the man’s face, she could easily imagine his twisted expression.

She recognized the voice--her brother-in-law, Quentin Johnson.

The one crying was her two-and-a-half-year-old niece, and the woman sobbing quietly was her elder sister, Iris.

Elowen took a deep breath, clutching her handbag tightly. She forced herself to stay calm, resisting the urge to confront him. She decided to wait until her brother-in-law finished his outburst before stepping forward.

Hospitals often expose the true nature of people, so passersby had grown accustomed to such scenes.

Elowen leaned against the wall, waiting quietly. She didn’t want her sudden appearance to embarrass her sister.

Iris had married young and had no income, staying home to care for their child. Quentin, despite earning over 20,000 dollars a month, only gave her 2,000 for living expenses.

Iris saved every penny, barely making ends meet, and still managed to set aside 1,000 dollars a month for their mother’s surgery.

Elowen understood that Quentin wasn’t obligated to pay for their mother’s medical bills, but what else could Iris do?

The surgery had been a constant source of conflict between Iris and Quentin. Each time she brought up money, it led to a fierce argument, and their marriage had long since become a hollow shell.

Sometimes, Elowen thought that the vow Quentin made at their wedding to "share joys and sorrows" was the biggest joke in the world.

In real life, it was more like, "All ties break in times of crisis."

Finally, after five minutes, Quentin’s cursing quieted, and Iris’s sobbing stopped.

Elowen exhaled slowly, composing herself. She planned to walk over casually, as if she had just stepped off the elevator, and share the good news about the 300,000 dollars.

But then, she heard Iris take a deep breath, as if summoning all her courage. Her voice was gentle yet firm. "Quentin, I called you to the hospital to discuss things, not to argue. If you insist on communicating this way, I really have no choice. I know you’re upset, and you can blame me all you want, but please be respectful when you speak about my mother..."

"The hospital is urging us; my mother’s surgery is urgent. If we delay any longer, Elowen and I... we won’t have our mother anymore. I beg you... please, for the sake of our years together, help me save my mother..."

"... I know your parents want to build a house back home, and you just gave them 200,000 dollars last week. I beg you to get that money back. I’ll repay your family by any means necessary... Please, Quentin..."

Then came a dull "thud."

Boom...

Elowen’s head buzzed. It felt as though the world around her was retreating rapidly, and a surge of boiling blood rushed to her head!

She knew that the "thud" was the sound of her sister kneeling before Quentin.

Before marriage, Iris had been a proud woman--no one knew this better than Elowen.

Now, she was lowering her head and bending her knees to the man she once loved most.

She had abandoned her dignity...

How desperate and helpless must Iris be!

Elowen bit her lip so hard that her teeth cut into the skin. Her fists clenched tightly, nails digging into her flesh.

But Elowen felt no pain.

At that moment, it was her heart that ached, as if being torn apart by knives.

"... Mommy... Daddy... no... mommy, hold me..." Her young niece, just beginning to speak, used her limited vocabulary to express her fear and sadness.

"Forget about that 200,000! Let me be clear, Iris. My parents took it back to keep you from using it on your mother’s treatment and wasting it!" Quentin declared harshly.

Hearing these words, Elowen, who was leaning against the wall, finally reached her breaking point! She wanted nothing more than to rush over and slap Quentin hard!

With a creak, the door to the hospital room opened.

This was followed by her mother’s weak, labored voice. "...Stop arguing! I... I won’t get treated anymore..."

The doors of hospital rooms weren’t well soundproofed, so her mother must have heard most of the argument between Iris and Quentin.

Worried about her mother, Elowen no longer cared about her sister’s dignity. She rounded the corner and ran over, steadying her pale, trembling mother at the doorway.

Gritting her teeth, she used her other hand to lift her sister off the floor, who was still kneeling and clearly stunned by the situation. Elowen lifted her head, her eyes blazing with fury, and addressed Quentin in a cold, clear tone, "Brother-in-law, please tell your parents they don’t need to worry about my sister eyeing your 200,000 anymore. We have the surgery money sorted!"

With that, she handed her mother over to Iris and picked up her crying niece from the floor. Reaching into her handbag, she pulled out a bank card and pressed it into Iris’s hand.

Her words were meant for her sister, but her gaze was fixed menacingly on Quentin. "Sis! There’s 300,000 on this card. Let’s tell the doctor now and get Mom scheduled for surgery immediately! We will save our mom--by ourselves!"

Quentin was shocked to see his sister-in-law suddenly appear, quickly realizing that she had overheard everything he had just said to his wife. He felt a mix of shame, shock, and anger.

His nostrils flared as he retorted defensively, "Where... where did you get 300,000? Don’t tell me you and Iris borrowed it from a loan shark!"

He said this deliberately. He couldn’t believe that Elowen, a newly graduated young woman, could possibly have 300,000 dollars. If she did, the source had to be suspicious!

Elowen was waiting for this question.

She let out a cold laugh, raising her voice slightly, "It’s the bride price from my fiancé. I’d like to formally announce that I got married today! My fiancé knew my mother was seriously ill and urgently needed surgery, so he told me to use the bride price to save my mom--no questions asked!"

With those words, she pulled a bright red marriage certificate from her handbag and waved it in Quentin’s face, meeting the shocked expressions of Quentin, Iris, and her mother head-on.

"He also said that because he loves me, he’s willing to make sacrifices for me. My mother is his mother! He said that ‘sharing joys and sorrows’ isn’t just empty words--it’s proven through actions!"

Of course, Dylan had never said any of this. Elowen was just venting her frustration, standing up for her sister, and giving Quentin a well-deserved slap in the face!

If he couldn’t live up to grand promises, why make them so lightly in the first place?

The reason she claimed it was bride money was that when Iris married Quentin, the Johnson family hadn’t paid a single penny as a dowry. Iris had even used her own hard-earned savings from part-time jobs to help cover the costs of renovating their new home.

Elowen’s words not only stunned Quentin but also left Margaret deeply shocked.

Margaret knew that her daughter had just graduated from college and had been focused on work. When had she found the time to date someone, let alone receive a bride price of 300,000 dollars?

What kind of family would give away 300,000 without hesitation?