Fake Lottery Ticket Scandal

Suppressing the doubt in my heart, I said to Martha, "Mom, I still need to confirm with him just to avoid any misunderstandings."

As I took out my phone, I glanced at her from the corner of my eye.

Martha closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, looking impatient.

At the moment when I saw countless messages on my phone, my mind went blank.

And I was somewhat shocked.

Because of my last post, countless likes and comments filled my Instagram, leaving me at a loss.

[Oh my god! Girl, you've made a fortune!]

[Really? How much did you win?]

[You get rich now, huh? Why aren't you replying? Are you looking down on us now?]

[You must treat us to a feast, Loretta.] [Can you lend me some money to get by?]

Various messages and comments made me feel overwhelmed.

I realized that the post I made on Instagram yesterday had caused me some unnecessary trouble.

I quickly swiped to the chat interface with Maddox.

[Darling, I saw your post on Instagram. It's too showy. I'm coming back today. I'll decide how to use the money, okay? I didn't expect you to really win the first prize...]

[Back in the day when we were in school, you always had the best luck with scratch cards.]

Seeing Maddox's messages, I felt a bit speechless because I didn't expect him to believe it too. But this was somehow understandable. I told Maddox two days before that I bought a lottery ticket with my lucky numbers. I also told him I had a strong feeling that I would win this time.

But it was just a joke. I really didn't expect all of this to happen.

Word traveled fast. I guessed that Martha came for this too.

But this was really a big misunderstanding.

I started replying to those messages and comments, explaining that it was just a game, and that was not a real winning ticket.

But things seemed to be going out of control.

Some people didn't believe my explanation. They even thought I was deliberately hiding the fact that I won the lottery. Some even called me to ask about the details of my winning.

Being bothered, I immediately set up the Do Not Disturb mode.

My family group chat also got a lot of messages.

When I clicked into that chat interface, messages just kept popping up on my phone.

This group chat was filled with Martha's sisters and cousins. I was added to the group when I just got married. Except for that time, I didn't have much presence in this group. But now, it was like I was suddenly in the spotlight.

Martha: [We're really lucky! Have you all seen Loretta's Instagram? We brought luck to her! Thanks to our family, she won the lottery! It's a blessing!]

She also posted a screenshot in the family group chat, which caused a commotion.

Then, Martha began to give out money in the group chat. I also got some. But when I saw how much she had given out, I was furious. That was 10 thousand dollars, which was about the amount that I gave her at Christmas.

Maddox and I had to pay the mortgage and car loan, and we also had to give Martha some money to support her living every month. Thus, we usually lived frugally. But now, Martha didn't seem to be careful at all when spending money.

However, I knew that it was also my fault that I let Martha misunderstand, so I felt a little guilty.

Martha liked to show off, and that was part of her personality. She always talked about how good her son was and how lucky I was to marry her son.

Relatives were all complimenting Martha. But at the same time, they were also complaining about their own financial difficulties, saying that as a member of the Kuhn family, Martha should help them.

This really gave me a headache. Helplessly, I said to Martha on the sofa, "Mom, our company held a dinner party last night, and we had a game. That post was not real. I didn't win the lottery."

But Martha stared at me suspiciously and said, "Loretta, do you still see me as your family?" With that, she patted her chest with a frown, as if my words gave her a heartache.

Then, she continued, "I came all the way here to cook for you. But what did you do to me? If it weren't for our family's good luck, you wouldn't have won the lottery, okay? Or do you want to keep it all to yourself?"

Martha frowned and looked at me coldly, with dissatisfaction at me on her face.

I felt it was ridiculous.

Even if I really won the lottery, what made her think it was all thanks to her family? She had really overestimated herself and her family.

I responded coldly, "I have already clarified it. And you should also stop spreading rumors."

But I knew Martha would never listen to me.

She rested her feet on the coffee table and had a slightly annoyed expression on her face. It seemed that my clarification was insignificant to her, and she didn't want to listen anymore.

Feeling tired in my heart, I went back to my room, closed the door, and waited for Maddox to come back.