Chapter 08-The swallowed check

The hundred-thousand-dollar check was crumpled into a ball by Ethan, then he popped it into his mouth. He chewed the check until it was soft, then swallowed it without hesitation. Next, Ethan grabbed a glass of white wine from the banquet table and downed it in one gulp. Everyone who witnessed Ethan's act was speechless, finding it hard to believe what was happening, including Mona herself.

Albert, Mr. Martin, and Mrs. Sonya's faces burned crimson, their hearts seething with rage. Meanwhile, Mr. Willy and Mrs. Grace could only shake their heads in disbelief.

Albert, furious at Ethan's insulting act, immediately grabbed the collar of Ethan's jacket and bellowed at him, "You've insulted my gift this way! Who do you think you are, huh? Isn't one hundred thousand dollars enough for you? You're truly disgusting, young man!"

"Get your hands off my collar!" Ethan demanded, staring sharply at Albert.

"Or what? You're going to hit me? Do you think it's easy to earn that much money?" Albert retorted.

Ethan slapped Albert's hands off his jacket collar, then declared loudly, "Do you think you can buy my honor with your money? I may be poor, but I refuse to be demeaned. Can love and affection be measured with money? Believe me, no matter how much money you offer me as compensation, I won't accept it. All of you are too blinded by wealth, even though you won't take any of it with you when you die. It's better if your money is donated to those who deserve it: to people in need, to orphans."

"Wow! Your sermon is quite moving, are you a preacher, young man?" Megan interjected sarcastically.

"Shut up, Megan! You always interfere; you'd better just go home!" Mona snapped, moving closer to Ethan and standing beside him.

"As your cousin, I don't want you associating with a young man like him! Your own father and mother don't accept that young man in this house, yet you still insist on keeping him," Megan replied vehemently.

"Listen, young man, all your words don't make me sympathize with you. Haven't you looked in the mirror? You can't even take care of yourself properly, let alone others?" Mr. Willy scoffed, also furious with Ethan's attitude.

"That's right, Uncle Willy! Just look at how he's dressed; is that appropriate for coming to a birthday party?" Cemre also chimed in, sneering at Ethan.

Mason, who had been holding back his emotions all this time, immediately attacked Ethan, hitting him in the face and stomach. Mona tried to break up the frantic Mason, while Ethan did not retaliate against Mason's violence.

"Mason, stop it!" Mona yelled, pulling Mason away from Ethan.

"I've been patient enough with that young man's attitude, Mona! His behavior is already outrageous, swallowing Albert's gift check whole. What kind of man refuses another person's gift?" Mason fumed, intending to hit Ethan again. For a moment, Mason fell silent, then continued, "He came to ruin Mum's birthday party; tonight should have been full of happiness, but his presence messed everything up. Get out of my house, fast!"

"Mona, did you hear what Mason said? Take that young man out and never come to this house again," Mr. Willy demanded.

"But, Father...!" Before Mona could finish her sentence, her father immediately interrupted.

"No 'buts,' Mona! That young man has messed up your mother's birthday party; you shouldn't have invited him here."

"Yes! You've shamed the family, Mona! Are you truly so much in love with that trash?" Megan spat.

"Megan, can't you just shut up for a moment? All the words you've uttered are extremely painful. Are you truly so hateful towards Ethan? Yet you don't know him at all; you haven't truly gotten to know his real nature and personality," Mona retorted.

"I won't be silent until that trashy young man leaves this house," Megan insisted relentlessly.

Megan deliberately sought attention because she liked Albert, a rich man and a director. Unfortunately, Albert's parents preferred Mona and wished to arrange her marriage with their son.

Megan hadn't dared to express her feelings to Albert, while Albert himself preferred Mona over her.

Meanwhile, Ethan, who since his arrival had been continuously verbally assaulted by Mr. Willy's and Mr. Martin's families, remained calm and spoke little.

Just as Ethan was about to speak, someone suddenly arrived, greeting Mr. Willy's family.

"Happy birthday, Grace! I'm sorry if I'm late; I had a bit of trouble on the road earlier," a middle-aged woman greeted, embracing and kissing Mrs. Grace's cheeks.

"Where are your son and husband, Paula?" Mrs. Grace asked with a gloomy expression.

"Jerry and Kelvin are still outside; they'll be in shortly. Hey, why do you look so gloomy, Grace? Isn't this your birthday party? You should be having fun and cheerful tonight. What's wrong, Grace?" asked Mrs. Paula, Mr. Willy's sister-in-law.

Mrs. Grace did not answer Mrs. Paula's question. She merely gestured by pursing her lips towards Ethan.

Mrs. Paula furrowed her brow when Mrs. Grace only gestured.

When Mrs. Paula turned to look at Ethan, her eyes immediately widened, then she asked Mrs. Grace:

"My goodness! Who is that young man? Who invited him here?"

Before Mrs. Grace could answer, Ethan's phone suddenly rang, showing an incoming call.

Ethan took his phone out of his pants pocket and saw Ferdy's name displayed on its screen.

Ethan immediately pressed the decline call button, worried it would disturb the atmosphere of Mrs. Grace's birthday celebration.

Seeing Ethan holding his outdated phone, everyone burst into laughter. Once again, Ethan became the target of mockery and laughter for Mr. Willy's extended family.

"My goodness! That trash still keeps his ancient phone? If I were him, I would have thrown that phone in the trash," Megan blurted out.

"How embarrassing, he can't even afford a phone. He should have accepted Albert's check to buy a new one," Cemre piped up.

Hearing Megan and Cemre's mockery, everyone burst into laughter again.

As they were busily laughing at Ethan, Jerry came in, exclaiming, "Uncle Willy, whose old, beat-up motorcycle is that in front of the house?"

Upon realizing there was a rickety motorcycle in his front yard, Mr. Willy was immediately taken aback.

Then Mr. Willy turned back towards Ethan and boomed at him, "Young man, you've shamed my family. Go quickly and take your rickety motorcycle! Don't let people think that motorcycle belongs to me."

Seeing Ethan still silent, Mason was about to attack Ethan again. "Did you hear what my father said, pal? You have no shame, coming here only to create trouble and chaos. Look at my mother! We should be having fun, but everything is messed up because of your presence," Mason snapped, ready to strike Ethan.

Mona tried to stop Mason from hitting Ethan by standing in front of him. "What is wrong with all of you? What wrong has Ethan done to you? You don't know him at all, yet suddenly you hate and demean him," wailed Mona, who began to shed tears.

"I'm sorry, Mona! If my presence here has made the atmosphere of your mother's birthday descend into chaos. Perhaps, I really don't belong among your family; I should just leave," Ethan said, gently wiping away tears from Mona's cheek.

"No, Ethan! It's not you who caused this commotion; they are the ones who created it. You don't need to apologise, because you haven't made any mistakes to them, including my Father and Mother," Mona replied.

"Enough, Mona! Why are you still defending him? It's clear his presence is not accepted in this family; just forget about that trash!" Megan sneered, glaring at Albert.

"You have no right to control my life, Megan! Look at yourself; not a single man approaches you. How many times have you changed partners? Perhaps right now you are no longer a virgin," Mona retorted, unwilling to back down.

"Shut your mouth, Mona! What do you know about me?" Megan hissed, her face already red as copper.

"You think I don't know who you are? You can ask yourself that: Are you still a virgin?" Mona shot back.

Megan approached Mona and intended to slap her cheek, but before Megan's palm could touch Mona's cheek, Ethan stopped her.

"Enough! I said enough! Whoever you are, get out of my house, fast!" screamed Mrs. Grace.

After Mrs. Grace screamed hysterically, her body suddenly went limp and unconscious.