Love's Vanishing Act After Bankruptcy

True love, or so it was claimed, disappeared as soon as my dad went bankrupt and ran away.

In my previous life, when my dad was hospitalized because of an injury, my mom and I hired a caregiver at a high wage to look after him.

However, the caregiver ended up having an affair with him.

After my dad recovered, he bluntly said that he had encountered true love that didn't care about money. On the contrary, he accused my mom and me of only knowing how to spend money and enjoy ourselves.

When the mistress and her daughter moved into our house and my dad forced us to get a divorce, my mom found out that all the assets had been transferred completely, leaving us with a debt of 200 million dollars.

Devastated, my mom jumped from a tall building.

As for me, having performed poorly in the college entrance examination and suffering from the pain of losing my mother one after another, I wanted to ask my dad for an explanation, only to be beaten to death by his family.

In this new life, I've come back to the day when my dad got injured.

This time, I wouldn't spend a single penny. I was curious to see how his so-called beautiful and kind-hearted true love who didn't care about money would take care of him.

1

"How is my husband? Is his condition serious?" Hearing the gentle female voice beside my ear, I realized that I had returned to the day when my dad was hospitalized because of his injury.

My kind and gentle mom hadn't yet seen through the true nature of the man beside her pillow and was still worried about her beloved husband.

Little did she know that her husband had already rekindled his old flame with his first love.

Thinking of this, I quickly comforted my mom, "Mom, don't worry. Dad just got injured in a fall, that's all. It's you that I'm worried about. With Dad's accident, your heart condition has relapsed. Go home and rest. I'll take care of things at the hospital."

Regardless of what my mom thought, I managed to persuade her to go home.

In my previous life, when my mom heard about Dad's injury, despite her poor health due to her heart condition, she rushed to the hospital to take care of him.

Eventually, she couldn't hold on any longer and went home to recover. But in Dad's eyes, she was still heartless, only knowing how to spend money at home and not caring about his well-being at all.

Since that's the case, I might as well let Mom go home and rest, which will reinforce Dad's perception.

After finally persuading my mother to go home, I then strolled leisurely to the ward to see my bastard father.

As I reached the door, I realized I was interrupting a tender moment between two lovebirds.

I saw my dad's first love, Luna Green, looking as if she had just lost her husband, saying, "Kevin, my dear, how did you end up like this? It must be so painful."

My dad played along quite well, immediately struggling to sit up to wipe Luna's tears and repeatedly insisting that he was okay.

With a mentality of watching the fun, I leaned against the door and watched this wonderful performance unfold.

I must say, even though Luna was over forty years old, she still had a certain allure.

But Luna's intentions were clearly more than just showing concern; she soon brought up my mom, "Kevin, where's your wife? You're so badly hurt, and she hasn't even come to see you? I heard your wife comes from a wealthy family and has always behaved like a pampered lady. No wonder she can't handle taking care of her husband."

Seeing my dad's face turn darker, she quickly covered her mouth, pretending to be horrified, and said, "Oh, did I say something wrong? Kevin, don't take it to heart."

My dad came from a rural background and was a typical ugly duckling. He had a strong sense of male chauvinism and was extremely self-conscious.

In the past, when my grandparents were alive, he could put on an act, but after they passed away, as the live-in son-in-law, he started to act arrogantly.

He always thought that my mom should regard him as the center of her world. Even the slightest thing could hurt his delicate self-esteem.

After getting injured, he expected my mom to do the caregiver's job, taking care of him around the clock.

"Does he deserve it?"

2

I didn't care if Luna wanted to flirt with men, but if she dared to make snide remarks about my mom, I would teach her a lesson on how to behave properly. "You're right. My mom comes from a well-off family and doesn't need to take care of her husband by herself. Unlike you, who are so eager to serve someone else's husband just for money."

With that, I walked up to Luna, looking her up and down as if she were a commodity. Then I said, "What, do caregivers nowadays provide such comprehensive services? Do they also offer emotional care? And are they even concerned about other people's husbands' family affairs?"

I admitted that birds of a feather flock together. People like my dad, with his kind of character, found a first love who was just like him. Both of them have egos as fragile as glass.

Luna flew into a rage out of shame because of my look before I even said anything.

"You, how dare you insult me with money!" Luna exclaimed as if I had insulted her with something dirty. "Let me tell you, my relationship with Kevin is not something that can be measured in terms of money. I'm here to take care of him, not for the money!"

Hearing this, I almost burst out laughing and couldn't help asking, "Aren't you a hired caregiver? Didn't you come here for the money?"

"Of course not. I'm not after money. I'm here because of Kevin, for the relationship we've had for over two decades." As Luna spoke, she looked at my dad affectionately, and my dad was as excited as a teenager. If he weren't confined to the bed and unable to move, I wouldn't have doubted that he would hold hands with his old flame right in front of me.

But this was exactly what I was waiting for Luna to say. As for the rest, I didn't give a damn.

I interrupted the flirting atmosphere between the two and said directly, "Alright, since you're not after money, then I won't pay you a salary. Take good care of my dad, after all, you two have a relationship built over two decades. How could money taint that?"

With that, I ignored Luna, who looked as if she'd been struck by lightning, and immediately got up to leave.

I was eager to see just how deep this so-called love was when they claimed that money wasn't an issue!

3

Leaving the hospital, I immediately got in touch with the company manager, asking him to take advantage of my dad's hospitalization to quickly get rid of those poor relatives of my dad who were freeloading in the company.

Over the years, after my dad took over the management of the company, he tried to build up an image of a successful listed company CEO in front of his relatives back in his hometown.

He hired all sorts of people, regardless of their abilities. And if it hadn't been for the senior staff left by my grandfather keeping a watchful eye on things, who knows what kind of chaos he would have created.

After handling these matters, I didn't forget to drive back home. I had to tell my mom everything. Otherwise, she might still be under the delusion of a happy family life.

As soon as I walked into the house, our housekeeper stopped me, telling me not to disturb my mom's rest. She said my mom had fainted after coming home and was now resting.

Hearing this, I couldn't pay attention to anything else, fearing that my mom might have another accident because of that scoundrel of a father.

I rushed straight to my mom's bedroom door, pushed it open, and barged in. The noise woke my mom, who looked at me in a daze.

Seeing her like this, the grievances that I had accumulated over two lifetimes burst out uncontrollably. I burst into tears in my mom's arms, "Mom, you have to believe me. I've been reincarnated. In my past life, Dad rekindled his old flame with his first love, forced you to divorce, and left you with a debt of two hundred million dollars..."

Before I could finish, my mom gently stroked my head and softly said, "I know."

Hearing her say that, I forgot all about crying and stared at her blankly.

My mom looked me straight in the eyes, nodded firmly, and told me that she had been reincarnated too.

However, what was different from what I knew was that in her previous life, my mom didn't jump off a building because she couldn't bear the blow. She was pushed downstairs by my dad and Luna and died from the fall because they wanted the trust fund that my grandparents had left for her.

After my mom's death, the money naturally went to me, which was why my dad wanted to get rid of me completely.

As my only direct relative, if I died, all that money would belong to Kevin.

"Then, Mom, we mustn't let those two scoundrels get away with it." I leaned against my mom, speaking softly.

4

With my mom's support, everything became a lot easier.

My mom wasn't naive. She chose my dad in the beginning because he was easy to control.

A self-made man from a rural background, with no solid foundation at all.

If it hadn't been for my mom's congenital heart disease, which made it difficult for her to handle the company affairs, the company would never have been handed over to my dad.

Just like now, as the largest shareholder, my mom directly called a board meeting and removed my dad, the acting director, from the company, and no one objected.

Meanwhile, my good-for-nothing dad was still blissfully unaware, completely captivated by the charm of his first love.

It wasn't until everything was settled, with my mom hiring a new CEO and the company's operations returning to normal, that my dad's call finally came through.

Over the past week or so, it seemed that his first love, Luna, had been taking good care of him. Otherwise, Kevin wouldn't have just remembered about the company then.

As soon as I picked up the phone, my dad's furious voice roared through the receiver, "Lyla, why can't I get through to your mom? Her husband has been in the hospital for nearly a week, and there's no sign of her. Where on earth is she?"

Oh, he remembered my mom then. Funny how he didn't think of her when he was wrapped up with Luna.

I had respected you as my father and had put up with things as much as I could, but then, who did you think you were?

Still wanted to hurl vulgar insults at my mom?

I had no tolerance for Kevin's rudeness, so I coldly retorted, "Didn't anyone teach you any manners? You've been out of the countryside for years, yet you can't shake off your crudeness."

Kevin has always hated when people bring up his background, and this time, I hit him where it hurts.

"Damn it! You bastard! What are you so smug about? Without me, you wouldn't even be here! Let me tell you..."

I had no patience for Kevin's filthy language, so I hung up the phone and blocked and deleted his number in one go.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last even three minutes before an unknown number called in.

As soon as I picked up the call, I heard the voice that I least wanted to hear in my life. It was Luna. "Lyla, dear, it's Luna. How could you talk to your father like that? He's your dad, your dad!"

Luna's affected voice grated on my ears as if I had committed some heinous crime.

Not wanting to beat around the bush with her, I got straight to the point and said, "Luna, is that you? What do you want?"

She seemed taken aback by my directness. After a pause, she laughed and said, "Oh, nothing much really. Your dad is eager to find your mom but can't get in touch with her, so he asked me to call you. And also, your dad wants me to ask you why the person in charge of the company has been changed. Why wasn't he notified? It's his company after all. Even though they're married, isn't it a bit too disrespectful of your mom to treat her husband like this?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sneer.

But Luna seemed completely oblivious to my sarcasm and went on, "Lyla, I'm just saying that we women should focus on being good wives and mothers. Business matters should be left to men. Otherwise, an overly assertive woman like your mom, even if she's a wealthy heiress, won't be liked by anyone."

Her last sentence was said in a low voice, clearly intended for my ears only.

I thought she'd keep up the act a bit longer, but she couldn't hold it together after just a few sentences.

I simply replied with a smile, "Luna, don't you know that our family's company is under the Davy Family's name? Your first love lying in the hospital bed is spending our family's money for his treatment right now. Guess what happens if I cut off his funds? But since you're not after money, it probably won't matter much to you, right?"

In an instant, I heard the sound of a glass smashing on the other end of the line, along with Kevin's angry shouts and curses.

I hung up the phone without a care and immediately called to have all of Kevin's cards canceled.

5

You saw, Kevin was staying in a high-end private hospital where a single night's stay cost more than ten thousand dollars.

Over the years, Kevin had become accustomed to a life of luxury and insisted on having only the best in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

Now that I'd cut off his funds, his relatives back home were a bunch of freeloaders who only took and never gave. The only person who could pay for him was Luna by his side.

After all, Luna claimed that she was only in it for love and not for money. I was just creating the right conditions for their true love to thrive!

They should have been grateful to me. True love wasn't just empty talk.

After taking care of all this, I made my way to the nursing home to visit my mom.

Ever since she decided to divorce my dad, she had been looking a lot better.

I originally wanted to send her abroad for treatment, but she thought that I was at a crucial moment in my college entrance examination. She had missed it once in her previous life, and this time, she was determined to be by my side.

However, learning from past lessons, my mom hired bodyguards at a high salary, fearing that Kevin might resort to underhanded means. And indeed, the bodyguards came in handy.

When my mom and I got back home, we found a group of uninvited guests. A bunch of men, their faces flushed red from drinking, were sitting on our leather sofa, and the woolen carpet that my mom had carefully chosen was smeared with stains from their feet. Amid the smoky room, these men spoke without any scruples, "Kevin, you're the pillar of the Smith family How can you let a woman be in charge of the company?"

"Exactly, we're relatives bound by blood. Who does Linda think she is, daring to kick us out of the company? She needs to be taught a lesson!"

My little uncle even patted my dad's shoulder and comforted him with an air of someone who's been through it all, "Kevin, women are meant to be kept in line. If they don't listen, just give them a beating. The same goes for your wife."

These words seemed to strike a chord with my dad, who nodded repeatedly with a grin.

Seeing their hideous faces, I realized more than ever how my mom and I had indulged them over the years, allowing their greed to grow out of control. They had become so swollen with pride that they couldn't recognize who the real master of this family was.

No wonder in my previous life, Kevin and Luna dared to have the idea of "taking over everything."

Turned out, they weren't the only ones with such thoughts.

I picked up a glass of water nearby and quickly splashed it onto my dad's face. Watching his shocked and angry expression, I calmly asked, "Are you awake now? Do you know whose house you're standing in? Do you know how much the wine you're drinking costs per bottle?"

I looked around the room. It was mostly filled with relatives from my dad's hometown.

It was obvious that, apart from in front of those relatives who had something to ask of him, my dad had to bear the title of the Lin family's son-in-law everywhere else.

I used to hold back for the sake of my dad's dignity, but today, I decided to break all pretense. "Do you remember that you're a live-in son-in-law of the Davy family? Kevin, none of this belongs to you."