"This can't be happening," Kevin gasped as he held his cell phone to his ear.
An eager voice replied, "It is! You're rich again!"
"But how?"
Kevin's banker smiled, "Your investment in Orion Group paid off. You now have more money than your entire family combined. Your grandpa will be so proud of you for making such a smart move with your inheritance."
Kevin clicked his tongue, "I don't know about that. Don't you remember how my grandpa kicked me out of the family two years ago when I lost everything with this very same investment."
"That's the nice thing about stocks. It's a rollercoaster, if you stay on long enough, you can rise up even higher than you dropped. Within one day, you can have an insta-empire."
Looking at his lonely mattress on the floor, Kevin whispered, "Has this news been made public?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure that he'll welcome you back with open arms. You're officially the wealthiest man in Chicago." Kevin smiled, "We'll see about that. Also, out of curiosity - just how much money do I have?"
Just then, Kevin was interrupted by a cold voice screaming at him from down the hallway, "Kevin! Where are you? You said you would help me." "I'll be right there,"
Kevin replied. Looking at his cell phone, Kevin dropped his voice, "I have to go. But thank you for calling me with this great news. Just one last thing, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course, anything."
"Please don't tell anyone. I want to keep this a secret for now."
"Understood." With a confident grin, Kevin hung up the phone and adjusted his clothing as he walked down the hallway to the kitchen. Standing in front of the sink, Kevin saw his mother-in-law, Dorothy, washing her hands with a nasty look on her face. Hearing Kevin, Dorothy turned around and barked, "So glad that you could finally make it. These dishes aren't going to wash themselves."
Kevin forced a smile, "Sorry. I spilled on my shirt while I was doing the dishes earlier, so I quickly went to the room to change. I fully intended to come back and finish them."
Dorothy sarcastically replied, "Oh wo. Thank you. That would be so very helpful. I mean you've only been staying as a guest in our home for the past two years, but really doing the dishes more than makes up for that."
Kevin bit his tongue as he thought to himself, "I pay rent to live here, plus I do a lot more than the dishes. I have become my mother-in-law's very own handyman. I mean, I have literally renovated their entire house these past few years. But I could never tell them the truth because it would upset Lily and I'm already on thin ice with her. The last thing that our relationship needs is for her parents to hate me even more than they already do."
Silencing his thoughts, Kevin turned to his mother-in-law, "Yes, of course. You have been so generous to me and Lily. The very least I can do is the dishes. I'll finish them right now. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do."
"You could make some money. You know, our Lily could have married anyone, but for whatever reason, she chose you." Remembering his recent phone call, Kevin nodded, "I am going to work prove my love for her. I promise you, one day, I will be worthy of Lily."
Dorothy dried her hands and cackled, "I highly doubt that. The only reason why we haven't pushed Lily to divorce you is because she was stupid enough not to get a prenup. She is the chairman of a huge corporation; I don't want you taking half of her money."
Kevin paused, "I would never do that. Dorothy, I love your daughter. I know that it may not seem like it to you now, but I promise you that I am going to do right by her."
Dorothy's face softened, "My husband would kill me for saying this, but I really hope that you do."
"Thank you," Kevin nodded as he stepped around Dorothy and went to the sink. With a smile, Kevin picked up a dirty plate and continued, "Now, I've got some dishes to wash."
Fifteen minutes later, Kevin started the dishwasher and looked at his watch, "It's after 5, Lily should be home by now." Walking down the hallway, Kevin heard the sound of the tv coming from the living room. Taking a deep breath, Kevin adjusted his shirt and entered the living room.
"Welcome home babe," Kevin grinned at his wife, Lily. Sitting on the couch in front of him, Lily lifted her hand and politely waved. Staring at Lily's bright eyes and luscious lips, Kevin thought to himself, "I still get butterflies every time that I look at her. Lily's beauty is undeniable, but that's not why I love her. She is the most driven woman I have ever met. I mean, in the past few years alone, Lily has worked her way up from assistant to chairman at her company in record time. She's incredible."
"Hey Kevinnnn," a woman who could only be described as basic chimed. Kevin nodded to his wife's best friend, "Hi Rachel. It's good to see you." Sitting next to Lily on the couch, Rachel smirked, "Nice shirt."
Looking down, Kevin noticed that he had spilled on his shirt again. Feeling his cheeks blush, Kevin replied, "I was doing the dishes."
"That's so cute. At my house, we just pay someone to do that for us," Rachel cattily responded.
Lily turned to Rachel, "Well not everyone can be born into wealth like you were. Some of us have to work for it." Looking at Kevin, Lily continued, "And some of us have to try even harder. But when the hard work pays off, it will all be worth it." Lily secretly winked at Kevin.
Kevin winked back as he thought to himself, "I feel so guilty about hiding my past from her. Maybe she would understand if I just explained it to her. But at this point, it might be too late. I mean, we've been married for years now and Lily still has no idea that I was born into one of the wealthiest families in Chicago. I hid it from her because I didn't want her to marry me because of my money. But then as luck would have it, I literally lost everything the day that we got engaged."
Closing his eyes, Kevin took a deep breath as he remembered, "I'll never forget that day. I called my Grandpa to tell him the good news, but he interrupted me and instead, scolded me for investing my entire trust fund into Orion Corporation's stocks which unexpectedly dropped. I will never forget how my Grandpa told me, 'I am kicking you out of the family. It's for your own good – you need to learn the value of money'. And now, years later, that Orion investment has generated more money than my entire family could ever dream of. I'm the richest man in Chicago, but how do I tell my wife the truth? She still thinks that I'm just some unemployed schmuck. I need to show her that she can trust me before I reveal my secret."
Lily stood up from the couch and came over and softly kissed Kevin on the cheek, "Kevin, no offense, but Rachel's right, you look like a complete mess right now. Maybe you should go freshen up." Turning back to look at Rachel sitting on the couch, Lily continued, "Especially since we have a guest over."
Kevin nodded, "Of course. I'll go change right now." After changing his shirt for the second time that night, Kevin walked towards the living room, but stopped when he heard Rachel whispering to Lily, "I don't know how you do it. You're this badass boss bitch and he's honestly kind of pathetic. He feels like the 'before' picture in a commercial. Why do you stay with him?"
After a long pause, Lily whispered back, "He wasn't always like this. When we first met, he was charming and confident. I don't know what happened to him, but I keep thinking that if I stay with him long enough, maybe he'll find himself again. Because I really loved the man who he used to be."
"Do you love him now?"
Lily bit her bottom lip, "I don't know. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that sometimes, I just feel like a caretaker in our relationship. He's so closed off these days. It feels like the romance is completely gone. And I know that if I were to ever talk to him about it directly, I would lose him even more. I love him, but I don't know if I'm in love with him anymore." Rachel nodded,
"You could have any man. You are stunning, kind, and killing it at your job. Have you thought about getting a divorce? You shouldn't stay with someone because you pity them,"
"I don't pity him. I just wish that he could be the man who he used to be. Honestly, I don't want to talk about this right now. I spend my entire day putting out fires at work. The last thing in the world that I want to do is put them out at home." Rachel paused,
"Of course. That makes sense. But what's going on at work? You seem more stressed than usual."
Lily sighed, "My company received a new contract last month, and there was an error in the calculation of the data. Our products did not meet the requirements, so we need to compensate them with 7 million. My company's funds are not going to be able to turn around, which means that I need to get at least 4 million dollars of investment in a week. Otherwise, my company will most likely go bankrupt. I can't do that to my employees."
Rachel's eyes widened. "How are you supposed to find someone willing to invest four million dollars in less than a week?"
Just then, Lily turned around and saw Kevin standing in the hallway. With a tear falling down her soft cheek, Lily whispered, "Kevin, I'm sorry to say this, but Rachel and I need some privacy. Can you please give me some space?"
Feeling distraught over his wife's pain, Kevin slowly nodded, "Of course. I'll go back to the bedroom. It was good to see you, Rachel." Rushing back to his room, Kevin promised himself, "I have to help her. I will prove to Lily that I am the man who she married, not the shell of a human being who I have been these past two years. I am going to create my own empire."
Taking out his cell phone, Kevin gasped when he saw that he had over ten missed calls from his grandfather's estate. Looking at the screen, Kevin asked himself, "Why did my Grandpa call me so many times? He hasn't called me in over two years. The last time we spoke, he kicked me out of the family. I wonder if he knows about the money…"
Kevin saw his Grandpa's name flash on his screen. Taking a deep breath, he read the message: "Kevin, I was wrong about you. Your family needs you. I know all about your recent success with Orion Corporation and we need that money in order to save the family line. If you don't help us, the Williams Family will collapse completely!" Kevin looked at the message in a daze.
Just two years ago, his family had kicked him out because of his investment in Orion Corporation. They had left him with nothing, just days before his wedding. And now, because of the same investment, his grandpa was asking him to help Williams Family.
"This feels like a sick joke," Kevin sighed. As he was thinking, his phone vibrated again with a message from the same number, "Kevin, we've lost everything. After a few bad investments, we're going bankrupt. Please save us with your new money. If you do, I promise that I will find a way to make it up to you. You will be a member of the Williams family again. Don't you want to be the man who you used to be?"
Remembering his wife's desire for him to be his old self, Kevin nodded and texted back, "I'll meet you tomorrow. And Grandpa, we have a lot to discuss."