The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 6
Taking the money and going straight to the gambling hall—how typical of her father. Did he really intend to earn money for her mother’s treatment? Did he genuinely believe he could double 20,000 rubles?
Johanna let out a bitter laugh, her gaze drifting. Her father was a man who had lost his judgment due to alcohol and gambling. He likely believed in his absurd delusions as if they were true.
He spent his days drinking and gambling… and now he was in debt to their cousins. He hadn’t even been there for his wife’s final moments.
The resentment Johanna had accumulated towards her incompetent father since childhood was reaching its limit. Her anger towards her aunt, who could talk about money so casually at her sister’s funeral, was also nearing a breaking point.
Johanna fixed her gaze on her aunt and questioned her.
“You knew about the new medicine that could treat my mother’s illness, didn’t you?”
Her aunt showed a moment of discomfort before awkwardly laughing and speaking.
“Well, yes… I sometimes meet people from pharmaceutical companies at gatherings.”
“The medicine costs around 80,000 rubles. It was incredibly expensive… far beyond our means.”
If someone who could easily afford 80,000 rubles had helped, things might have been different. As Johanna pointed this out, her aunt, feeling guilty, got defensive and angry.
“That medicine wouldn’t have cured her. It would have only extended her life a little bit. And what would that change? It would just prolong your and your brother’s suffering. And do you think 80,000 rubles is a trivial amount? You really have no shame…”
Johanna rolled her eyes and gave a sharp smile. It was true what they said—when you’re extremely angry, you start to laugh. Just the things her aunt was wearing today added up to 60,000 rubles. And she had many such outfits, so that amount of money was nothing to her.
How could they… Johanna chuckled and shook her head. They were a kind that she could never understand.
“I didn’t realize your financial situation was so bad that you couldn’t even manage 80,000 rubles. If investors hear about how shaky things are behind the scenes, it could get pretty tense.”
“Now, wait just a minute… This is really…”
“Why did you come to the funeral? It can’t be because you’re genuinely grieving over your sister’s death, whom you barely acknowledged. Did you come to demand that I repay my father’s debt?”
“You insolent little…!”
“Don’t hit my sister!”
As her aunt raised her hand in a fit of anger, Daniel quickly stepped forward to block Johanna, spreading his arms wide and standing tall to protect her.
Johanna looked down at her much smaller brother, feeling something hot and fierce welling up inside her. She clenched her teeth to suppress it.
Her aunt, hand still raised, hesitated before slowly lowering it. She seemed surprised by her own loss of control and embarrassed at her outburst.
“Johanna… you were just being so disrespectful… I lost control…”
Watching her aunt stammer and clear her throat, Johanna placed her hands on her brother’s shoulders. She pulled his small body behind her, finally feeling a sense of relief.
Unlike her, who was born an ordinary Beta with no distinguishing traits, her brother was a dominant Alpha. Yet, to Johanna, he felt like a small, delicate child.
“Tell my father to repay the debt, not me. I didn’t borrow the money,”
Johanna said coldly, staring directly at her aunt. Her uncle, standing off to the side, showed no intention of getting involved in the commotion.
It was her younger cousin, surprisingly, who stepped forward, pushing past his stunned mother.
“That’s not right, Johanna.”
Despite being the same age as Daniel, he was tall and looked like he could pass for someone in his late teens, thanks to being well-fed and taken care of. Still, he was only fourteen, yet his eyes already held a malicious glint.
“Your father borrowed the money, not just anyone. Since he took the money and disappeared, you have to pay it back. It’s 20,000 rubles, not a small amount.”
“…..”
Johanna was at a loss for words, seeing the sadistic pleasure in his expression and hearing it in his voice. Did she really have to argue with a child of Daniel’s age about this? She sighed and was about to speak calmly, suppressing her anger, when another cousin jumped in.
“But Johanna, aren’t you really an Omega? You sure look like one.”
This cousin, standing slightly behind his aunt, was fifteen and just as mischievous as his siblings.
