His Rise After the Mocking

In the throes of a chilling nightmare, I jolted awake. Everything remained unchanged.

Yet, the memory seared into my mind remained vivid: Jason had extravagantly splurged fifty thousand dollars to secure a Lamborni car, a gesture of support for Jacob Short, who was the creator of Lamborni.

To our dismay, Lamborni Group refused to refund the deposit.

Jason's fiery tirade against Lamborni exploded across social platforms, turning him into the epicenter of digital amusement.

Jacob, with a heart kinder than most, extended an olive branch by offering Jason the chance to reclaim his deposit.

Yet, driven by the need to assert his masculinity and with a desire to showcase his affluence to the watchful eyes of the internet, Jason was convinced that purchasing this car was not just an option but a necessity for his dignity.

He badgered me for the money.

My resolve was ironclad; the money I had saved was a bastion for our daughter's future, not a resource for him to squander in an attempt to puff up his egos or inflate his social standing!

I never imagined that a man so defeated could be so dangerous.

Driven by desperation, Jason lured me to that cliff and pushed me into the abyss.

Mercifully, I was granted a second chance to prevent the fall from grace that had consumed my previous existence.

However, not a single penny would Jason wring from me.

When I awakened and stepped out of my room, I saw Jason lounging on the sofa with an air of nonchalance. His legs were crossed in a pose of relaxed defiance.

He remained cloaked in the same shroud of cowardice that had shadowed him in the life before.

The roots of my union with Jason can be traced back to a blind date.

Prior to our wedding vows, Jason had portrayed himself as the perfect gentleman, attentive and kind, almost too good to be true.

Alas, the veil was lifted once we were wed, revealing him as a man of laziness and gluttony, a stark contrast to the persona he had crafted.

He spent his days idly, shirking responsibility. His greatest pastime was arguing online.

Divorce had crossed my mind.

But for the sake of our daughter, I endured.

I convinced myself that I would be content if he were a good caretaker, a loving father, and a capable homemaker.

However, Jason saw himself as less capable than me, a notion reinforced by those around him.

His masculinity, or what he perceived as such, compelled him to assert dominance within our home.

I chose to ignore his hollow display of authority because of the knowledge that I held the purse strings.

Yet, his desire to save face, to appease the mocking voices online, drove him to commit the unthinkable. He sought my life in exchange for the funds to purchase that Lamborni car.

As I stirred, he called out, "Lamb, turn on the light." He was summoning the AI assistant, much like one would Siri, with a casual command.

I couldn't help but scoff. That loser had filled our home with Lamborni gadgets, a testament to his misplaced loyalty.

"What on earth are you doing?" I approached with displeasure.

I settled onto the sofa, watching as he eagerly grabbed the remote and switched on the TV.

"Mr. Short's Lamborni car is about to be unveiled; I've got to show my support!" he exclaimed.

I was utterly exasperated and cursed inwardly, "Support? It was merely an excuse for another show-off post."

"And what if you can't withdraw the deposit later?" I questioned, arms folded.

Jason seemed unfazed. "Then I'll give him a piece of my mind! I'll scold him until he has no choice but to return my deposit!"

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

As Jacob announced the price, Jason's excitement knew no bounds.

"Mr. Short is so down-to-earth! The prices are unbelievably cheap! Even I can afford this!"

I knew he would insist on paying once more.

Yet, I chose not to intervene.

There was something in his desire to flaunt, so I would graciously allow him that indulgence.

Sure enough, minutes later, he flashed the order on his phone. A deposit of 50,000 dollars had been paid.

"See? I'm awesome, right?"

"Where did you get the money for the deposit?" I eyed him suspiciously.

He waved dismissively. "I got it covered. It's just 50,000 dollars. No biggie."

I looked at him with disdain.

I was well aware he had used a credit card for the deposit, all for the sake of showing off.

I couldn't fathom the source of his pride. "Are you really able to settle the balance?" I asked.

He turned a deaf ear to my question and immersed himself in the digital world. With frenetic energy, he updated every social platform available.

His posts screamed for attention, each one a desperate broadcast to the world that he had sacrificed his all for Jacob.

He made the payment as a testament to his unwavering support for Jacob.

But I had more pressing matters at hand.

I needed to pick up my daughter, Mia, and Jason's mother, Rose Smith, from the railway station.

The thought of Rose sent a sneer through my heart.

In my past life, my demise had been intricately tied to Rose.

Rose had always resented me for giving birth to a daughter.

I had clearly shown my firm stance against having another child.

However, Rose saw it as an affront to their family lineage. She had pressured Jason to cast me out.

Jason, ever the coward and financially dependent on me, couldn't muster the courage for a divorce.

So, Rose had decided to take drastic measures.

If she couldn't drive me away, she would have me killed. What a brutal solution to her perceived problem!