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Daniel kissed his mother’s forehead just like she used to kiss his when he was little. Then he went to his own room, but he could not sleep. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything Mama Ruth had told him.
Four years. Four years of suffering. Four years of hunger and loneliness. Four years while he sent money that Vanessa spent on herself.
Around midnight, Daniel picked up his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Vanessa’s number. His finger hovered over the call button, but then he stopped.
No.
He would not call her. He would not give her a chance to prepare lies or excuses.
Tomorrow he would go back to that house.
And tomorrow, Vanessa would face the truth.
Daniel woke up early the next morning. He had not slept much, maybe two or three hours. His mind was too full of anger and guilt and sadness.
He got dressed and walked quietly to Mama Ruth’s room. He knocked softly on the door.
“Mama, are you awake?”
“Yes, son. Come in.”
Daniel opened the door. Mama Ruth was sitting on the bed already dressed in one of her old dresses. She looked tiny in that big fancy room.
“How did you sleep?” Daniel asked.
“Like a baby,” Mama Ruth said with a small smile. “That bed was so soft. I forgot what it felt like to sleep on something soft.”
Daniel sat down next to her.
“Mama, today I want to take you to see a doctor, just to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Daniel. Really.”
“Please, just let me do this for my own peace of mind.”
Mama Ruth nodded. “Okay.”
They had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Daniel ordered pancakes, eggs, fruit, and juice. Mama Ruth ate slowly, still not used to having so much food. Other people in the restaurant stared at them. Daniel in his expensive suit. Mama Ruth in her worn dress. They looked like they did not belong together, but Daniel did not care. Let them stare.
After breakfast, they took a taxi to the best hospital in the city. Daniel had called ahead and made an appointment with the top doctor.
The doctor was a kind woman named Dr. Sarah. She examined Mama Ruth carefully, checking her heart, her blood pressure, and listening to her lungs. When she was done, she asked to speak to Daniel privately.
“Your mother is severely malnourished,” Dr. Sarah said, her voice serious. “Her body weight is dangerously low. She’s anemic, which means she doesn’t have enough iron in her blood. Her bones are weak. She’s dehydrated.”
Daniel felt his hands clenching into fists.
“Will she be okay?”
“Yes, but it will take time. She needs to eat regular, healthy meals. Small portions at first, then gradually more. She needs vitamins and supplements. She needs rest. And she needs to see me again in two weeks.”
“Whatever she needs, she’ll get it,” Daniel said firmly.
Dr. Sarah wrote out prescriptions and gave Daniel a list of foods Mama Ruth should eat. Then she turned to him with gentle eyes.
“Mr. Miller, may I ask, how did your mother get into this condition?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “That’s a long story, Doctor.”
“I see. Well, the important thing now is that she’s getting help. She’s lucky to have a son who cares so much.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Daniel said quietly.
After the hospital, Daniel took Mama Ruth to a store. A nice store with beautiful clothes and soft fabrics.
“Pick out anything you want, Mama,” he said.
“Daniel, I don’t need—”
“Please, let me do this.”
So Mama Ruth picked out a few simple dresses. Nothing too fancy, just comfortable, pretty dresses that fit her properly. Daniel also bought her new shoes, a warm jacket, and some other things she needed.
As they walked through the store, Daniel saw how people looked at his mother differently when she was with him. When she was alone in her old clothes, they had ignored her or looked at her with pity. But now that she was with a rich man in an expensive suit, they smiled at her. They treated her with respect.
It made Daniel angry.
People should not be treated differently based on how they look or how much money they have.
Back at the hotel, Mama Ruth tried on one of her new dresses. It was light blue with small white flowers.
When she looked at herself in the mirror, tears came to her eyes.
“I forgot what it felt like to wear something new,” she whispered.
Daniel hugged her from behind.
“You deserve new things, Mama. You deserve everything good.”
They had lunch together in the hotel room. Daniel had ordered chicken soup, rice, and vegetables, foods from the doctor’s list.
As they ate, Mama Ruth asked, “When are you going to see Vanessa?”
“This afternoon,” Daniel said.
“What will you say to her?”
“I don’t know yet. But she needs to hear the truth. She needs to know what she did.”
Mama Ruth put down her spoon.
“Daniel, I don’t want to be the reason your marriage ends.”
“You’re not the reason, Mama. Vanessa is the reason. She made her choices. She did terrible things. And now she has to face the consequences.”
“But Daniel, marriage is important. Maybe you can forgive her.”
“Mama,” Daniel interrupted gently, “would you forgive someone who treated your child the way Vanessa treated you?”
Mama Ruth was quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“Then don’t ask me to forgive her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”
At three o’clock that afternoon, Daniel stood in front of the house with the red roof. His hands were in his pockets. His face was calm, but inside he was burning with anger.
He walked up to the front door and used his key to open it.
The house was cool and quiet. Daniel could hear music playing softly from upstairs. Some pop song on the radio.
“Vanessa,” he called out.
The music stopped.
Footsteps on the stairs.
Then Vanessa appeared, wearing yoga pants and a sports bra. Her hair was in a ponytail. She had been exercising. When she saw Daniel, her face went pale.
“You came back?” she said.
“Of course I came back. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Vanessa came down the stairs slowly.
“Did you… did you find your mother?”
“Yes, I found her.”
“Is she okay?”
Daniel laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“Is she okay? No, Vanessa, she’s not okay. She’s sick. She’s starving. She’s been living in a hut with no electricity and no water for four years.”
Vanessa looked at the floor. “I can explain.”
“Explain?” Daniel’s voice rose. “Explain what? Explain how you kicked my mother out of the house I built for her. Explain how you took all the money I sent and spent it on yourself. Explain how you let her suffer while you lived like a queen.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Tell me, Vanessa. Tell me your side of the story. I’m listening.”
Vanessa wrapped her arms around herself.
“Your mother was difficult to live with. She was always in the way. She made my friends uncomfortable. I tried to be nice to her, but she was ungrateful.”
“Ungrateful?” Daniel could not believe what he was hearing. “My mother is the most grateful person I’ve ever known. She never complains about anything.”
“That’s because she never said anything to you. She never told you how she would criticize me, how she would make me feel bad about spending your money, how she acted like she was better than me because she suffered more.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying!” Vanessa’s voice got louder. “You weren’t here, Daniel. You have no idea what it was like living with her every day.”
“So you kicked her out. You sent a seventy-year-old woman to live in a shack.”
“I didn’t send her anywhere. She chose to leave.”
“Because you threatened her. You told her you would turn me against her.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. “She told you that?”
“Yes. She told me everything. And you believe her over me? Your own wife?”
Daniel stepped even closer. His voice became very quiet and very cold.
“Yes, I believe her. Because my mother has never lied to me in her entire life. But you? You’ve been lying to me for four years.”
Vanessa’s face crumpled. Tears started running down her cheeks.
“Daniel, please. I made mistakes. I know I did. But I love you. We can fix this. We can bring your mother back here. I’ll apologize. I’ll make it right.”
“You’ll apologize?” Daniel shook his head. “Do you think an apology fixes four years of cruelty? Four years of letting her go hungry? Four years of letting her sleep on a dirt floor?”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“You didn’t know because you didn’t care. You didn’t bother to check on her even once.”
Vanessa grabbed Daniel’s arm.
“Please, Daniel. Please don’t leave me. I’ll change. I promise I’ll change. Just give me another chance.”
Daniel looked down at her hand on his arm. Then he pulled away.
“I trusted you,” he said quietly. “When I left, I put the two most important people in my life in the same house because I thought you would take care of each other. I thought you would love my mother the way I love her.”
“I tried.”
“No, you didn’t try. You saw her as an inconvenience, as something in your way. You wanted the money and the status of being my wife, but you didn’t want the responsibility that came with it.”
“That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair,” Daniel said, his voice rising again, “is what you did to my mother. What’s not fair is that she suffered while you partied. What’s not fair is that I sent money to take care of her and you kept it all for yourself.”
“I kept this house running. I paid the bills. I maintained everything.”
“With my money. Money I sent for both of you.”
They stared at each other. Vanessa was crying hard now. Mascara ran down her face.
“What happens now?” she whispered.
Daniel took a deep breath.
“Now you need to leave this house.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Pack your things and leave.”
“This is my house too.”
“No. This house belongs to me. I built it. I paid for it. And I built it for my mother, not for you.”
“You can’t just kick me out. I’m your wife.”
“Are you?” Daniel asked coldly. “Because a wife is supposed to be a partner. A wife is supposed to care about the people her husband loves. A wife is supposed to be trustworthy. You are none of those things.”
Vanessa fell to her knees.
“Please, Daniel. Please don’t do this. Where will I go? I have nothing without you.”
“You should have thought about that before you mistreated my mother.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll do anything. Anything you want.”
Daniel looked down at the woman he had married five years ago, the woman he thought he loved. She looked small and desperate on the floor, but he felt nothing. No love. No pity. Nothing.
“I’ll give you one week,” he said. “One week to pack your things and find somewhere else to live. After that, my lawyers will contact you about the divorce.”
“Divorce?” Vanessa looked up, her eyes wide with horror. “No. No, please. You can’t divorce me.”
“I can and I will. You made your choice when you hurt my mother. Now I’m making mine.”
Daniel turned and walked toward the door.
“Daniel!” Vanessa screamed. “Daniel, please don’t leave! We can work this out! I love you!”
But Daniel kept walking. He opened the door and stepped outside into the sunshine. Behind him, he could hear Vanessa crying, screaming, begging, but he did not turn around.
He got into his car and drove away from the house with the red roof.
And he did not look back.
When Daniel got back to the hotel, Mama Ruth was sitting in the living room reading her Bible. She looked up when he came in.
“How did it go?” she asked quietly.
Daniel sat down next to her.
“I told her to leave. I told her I want a divorce.”
Mama Ruth closed her Bible and put her hand on her son’s arm.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yes, Mama. I’m sure. What she did to you, I can’t forgive that. And even if I could, I don’t think I could ever trust her again.”
“I’m sorry, son.”
“Don’t be sorry. You did nothing wrong. This is all on Vanessa.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Daniel said, “Mama, I want you to come live with me.”
“Live with you? Where?”
“I have a big house abroad. Five bedrooms, a garden. It’s beautiful. You would love it.”
Mama Ruth shook her head.
“Daniel, I can’t leave. This is my home. My church is here. My friends are here.”
“Then I’ll move back here. I’ll run my businesses from home. I’ll build you a new house anywhere you want with everything you need. And I’ll live nearby so I can see you every day.”
“Daniel, you don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I missed five years of your life, Mama. Five years I can never get back. I’m not missing any more.”
Tears filled Mama Ruth’s eyes.
“You really mean that?”
“I really mean it. From now on, you’re my priority. Not work. Not money. You.”
Mama Ruth hugged her son tight.
“I love you, Daniel.”
“I love you too, Mama.”
The next seven days passed quickly. Daniel stayed at the hotel with Mama Ruth. Every morning, they had breakfast together. Every afternoon, they would take slow walks in the park nearby. Every evening, they would sit and talk, really talk, about everything they had missed in the past five years.