Grandma sighed. "Plenty of girls from the countryside start getting courted and married off at eighteen, but I hope you don’t rush into marriage so soon. You should study more and better yourself. I’m not against you being with Nathaniel Nathan, but the gap between our families is just too wide. I’m worried that if you’re treated unfairly, we—your family—won’t be able to do a thing to help."

Vera Xavier threw her arms around her grandmother and said sweetly, "I knew you dote on me the most, Grandma!"

Her grandmother laughed. "You little rascal! Alright, you’ve got a mind of your own, so I won’t nag you. Just be careful. But one thing is absolute: you cannot spend any money from the Nathan Family. If you do, you’ll always be beneath him after you get married."

Vera Xavier nodded, agreeing with her grandmother. ’Besides, I’m something of a rich woman myself now. I have enough money to handle this crisis.’

Grandma told Grandpa to look after Zachary Preston, then she and Vera headed back to the Preston home to get the money from Rona Langdon.

When Vera and her grandmother arrived back at the Preston home, Rona Langdon was in the middle of a mahjong game with Alden and a few others. Rona’s expression immediately soured the moment Grandma walked in.

And when Grandma thought of Zachary Preston lying motionless in bed while Rona Langdon was still here playing mahjong, her own expression darkened.

Seeing that things were about to get ugly, Alden and the others quickly found an excuse to leave.

But Vera stopped them. "Alden, no need to rush off," she said. "We’re just here to get money from my mother to pay for my father’s medical bills. We’ll be gone as soon as we have it. You can get right back to your mahjong then!"

’I have to hand it to Rona Langdon,’ Vera thought with disgust. ’She doesn’t even bother pretending to be upset. Playing mahjong so carefreely with a broken arm... Her callousness is just staggering!’

It was the weekend, so the neighbors were all at home. Vera had raised her voice, ensuring everyone next door could hear her loud and clear.

To Rona Langdon, being asked for money was like having her flesh carved off. Besides, she had already decided to wash her hands of Zachary Preston. She shrieked, "You came back for money? What money? There’s no money! Your father always doted on you, so you take care of him!"

Grandma instantly flew into a rage. "Rona Langdon, are you even human? Zachary is gravely ill, yet you have the gall to sit here and play mahjong! Vera is still just a girl, and you expect her to pay Zachary’s medical bills? Every cent in this house was earned by Zachary! Now that he’s sick, you’re just going to abandon him, is that right?"

Rona Langdon’s face twisted into a vicious scowl. "And what am I supposed to do if I don’t play mahjong? Last time I went to the hospital, you beat me up. I’m not stupid. You expect me to just show up every day to get another beating?"

Grandma was seething. Rona added, "And as for the medical bills, it’s not that I won’t pay. It’s that there’s simply no money!"

"How could there be no money?" Grandma demanded, her voice rising with panic. "Zachary earns several thousand a month! How could there be nothing saved after all these years?"

Rona shouted back, "Do you think living is free? Don’t we have to pay for food, water, electricity, and gas? Let me tell you, that measly salary your son brings home is barely enough to feed our family. Then you brought that money-losing daughter of his, Vera, back into the house, and we’ve been wiped out every single month! I even had to dip into my own dowry to make ends meet!"

With that, she plopped down on the floor and started wailing. "Why is my life so bitter! I married a good-for-nothing husband, and my mother-in-law is a tiger who torments me daily! This is no way to live! I want a divorce!"