My Wife Used My Dream to Fund His Brother

My wife, Linda Bennett, and I spend six years saving for our first home. Just when we finally have enough, her brother, Howard Bennett, suddenly falls seriously ill, and every dollar in our savings disappears into his medical bills. I don't blame her. I tell her we'll start over. To help cover the expenses, I even drive Uber after work, taking late-night shifts and going six months without buying myself so much as a new shirt. Then my business suddenly takes off. I rush home, excited to tell Linda how much money I've made, but before I open the door, I hear her talking to Howard inside. "You got the house?" "Yep! Thanks to the money you gave me, I had enough to buy it outright." Linda's next words stop me cold. "Good thing you came up with the idea of faking an illness. If I'd told him the money was for your house, he would never have handed it over." I freeze. Howard was never sick. The medical bills were all a lie. For six years, I've worked myself to the bone for our future, only to discover that Linda has taken everything we saved and secretly used it to buy Howard a house. I push open the door. Their laughter dies instantly. Chapter 1 My wife, Linda Bennett, was sitting on the couch while her younger brother, Howard Bennett, stood by the window. The second they saw me, they both froze. Linda recovered first. Her expression was stiff for a second before she rose to her feet and smiled at me. "Mark, you're home early." I set the bag of fruit on the entryway table. "Yeah, I wrapped up work sooner than expected." Howard put down his mug and gave me a nod. "Hey, Mark." His tone was perfectly normal, as though nothing had happened before I walked through the door. I changed my shoes, giving no indication that I'd noticed anything. But in my head, I was replaying every word I'd overheard just before coming in. I took off my coat and hung it by the door. "How are you feeling these days, Howard? Getting better?" Howard hesitated. His eyes flicked instinctively toward Linda. Linda answered for him without missing a beat. "Much better. The doctor said he just needs to take it easy for a little while longer, and he'll be fine." I nodded and walked over to the coffee table. Picking up the mug Howard had just set down, I glanced at what was inside. "What are you drinking?" "Nothing special," Linda said. "Just coffee." I set the mug back down and looked at Howard. "Your treatment must've cost a lot." Howard's expression shifted. Linda quickly jumped in. "It doesn't matter what it cost. When someone's sick, you do whatever it takes." I ignored her and kept my eyes trained on Howard. "I'm asking you. How much did it cost?" Howard swallowed, but no answer came. Linda reached for my arm. "Mark, what's gotten into you? Howard's only just started feeling better." I pulled my arm away. "I heard you two talking before I came in." Linda's hand froze in midair, and she went completely still. The living room fell so quiet that the ticking of the clock on the wall suddenly seemed deafening. Howard was the first to speak, his voice coming out strained. "Mark, just let me explain." "Explain what?" I turned to him. "That you weren't faking being ill? Or that the money didn't come out of our account?" Howard opened his mouth, but not a single word came out. I gave a slow nod, then turned to Linda. "Then you tell me." Linda stared at me, her eyes gradually reddening. But she didn't cry. She didn't explain either. After a long silence, Linda lifted her chin slightly. "Fine. Yes. I used the money to buy Howard a house." The caution in her voice was gone. Now that the truth was out, she seemed almost defiant, as if she had nothing left to hide. "And yes, I told him to fake being sick. If I'd come right out and told you I wanted to use the money to buy him a house, you would never have agreed." I stared at her, wondering if I'd somehow heard her wrong. We'd been married for six years. For six years, I'd gone to bed every night believing I'd married a good woman. Linda was frugal and sensible. She never splurged on clothes or wasted money on things we didn't need. I'd always thought we were making sacrifices together, building a life together. As it turned out, she'd been making those sacrifices right alongside me, only to hand everything we'd saved over to her brother. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep my voice steady. "So the 300 thousand dollars in our account, every cent we had, you gave it all to him?" Linda didn't deny it. "He's my brother. If I don't help him, who will?" "By having him fake an illness? By lying to me? That's your idea of helping him?" Her expression hardened. "What else was I supposed to do? If I'd told you the truth, would you have given me the money? You know exactly how you treat Howard. "Every time he comes to us for help, you come up with some excuse to say no. He's my brother, Mark. I can't just turn my back on him." I held her gaze. "So your solution was to make a fool out of your husband?" Chapter 2 Howard cut in. "Mark, don't blame Linda. It was my idea. If you're angry, take it out on me." I turned to him with a short laugh. "Don't worry. I'll deal with you in a minute." Linda immediately stepped between us. "If you're mad, be mad at me. Leave him out of it." Watching her rush to protect him, I suddenly found the whole thing absurd. After six years of marriage, I was starting to wonder if I knew my wife at all. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a notification from the bank. The business had unexpectedly taken off today, bringing in tens of thousands in profit. I'd come home excited, planning to surprise Linda with the good news. Now the notification felt like some kind of sick joke. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked at her. "Linda, whose name is on the deed to that house?" Her expression turned wary. She said nothing. Howard answered instead. "Mine. Linda gave me the money, so obviously the house is in my name." "Good." I nodded. "Since we're all family, Linda and I can move in with you. We're renting anyway. Might as well save ourselves the rent." Howard's expression changed. "What? No. It's my house. You can't just move in." I looked straight at him. "And whose money did you use to buy it?" Howard faltered for a second. "Linda gave me that money. Once she gave it to me, it became mine." Linda quickly backed him up. "Mark, come on. Howard finally has a place of his own. How could we move in with him?" "Why couldn't we?" I turned to her. "You paid for the house, and you and I are married. Why shouldn't we live there?" Linda's expression grew uncomfortable. "Howard's going to get married someday. He needs the house for when he starts a family. It wouldn't be appropriate for us to live there." I let out a humorless laugh. "So what would be appropriate? We keep throwing money away on rent while you keep sneaking our savings to your brother behind my back?" Linda's face darkened. "Sneaking? Don't make it sound like I stole something. That's our family's money. What's wrong with me spending some of it on my own brother? Mark, you don't have to make it sound so ugly." "Our family's money?" I finally lost my grip on my temper. "Half of that money came from me driving Uber until two or three in the morning for the last six years. While you were home asleep, I was out there taking ride after ride just to put money into the account. "And now you're standing there telling me that money was yours to give away?" Linda took a step back at my outburst. But she recovered quickly, lifting her chin as she stared me down. "Why are you yelling? The money's already gone. The house has already been bought. What good is making a scene now? It's done, Mark. What are you going to do about it?" She sounded remarkably confident. Because as far as she was concerned, those were the facts. The money was gone. The house had been purchased. The papers had been signed. There was no undoing any of it. In Linda's mind, there was nothing I could do. She probably thought I'd react the same way I always had. Stay angry for a few days, then eventually let it go. It had happened plenty of times before. She would slip Howard three thousand dollars here and five thousand dollars there. I would find out, we would argue, and in the end, I was always the one who gave in. She clearly expected this time to be no different. The money was already spent. I couldn't possibly do anything about it now. I looked at the certainty on her face and felt exhausted. "Linda, I want a divorce." Chapter 3 The smile on Linda's face froze before she could wipe it away. "What did you just say?" "I said I want a divorce." The living room went silent again. Howard was still standing by the window. He looked surprised, but not particularly worried. Linda stared at me for several seconds before laughing. "Mark, seriously? Where are you going to live after we get divorced? You don't even have enough for a down payment. If I hadn't spent the last six years pinching pennies, do you really think we would have saved anything?" I said nothing. "You barely make anything at your day job, and how much can you possibly make driving Uber on the side? Without me, you wouldn't even be able to support yourself." Howard chimed in, "Mark, don't make a decision you'll regret. We can sit down and talk this through." I ignored him and kept my eyes on Linda. "Are you finished?" Linda folded her arms across her chest. "No, I'm not. If you're seriously going to divorce me over this, fine. Walk away with nothing and give me another 200 thousand dollars as a settlement. Do that, and I'll agree to the divorce." She lifted her chin even higher, as though she'd just laid down terms I had no choice but to accept. I didn't answer. My attention had shifted to Howard. The moment Linda mentioned the 200 thousand dollars, I'd caught the unmistakable flicker of excitement in his eyes. I looked at him and chuckled. "Howard, your sister wants 200 thousand dollars from me." He didn't seem to understand why I was telling him that. He nodded automatically. "So let me guess. You're already thinking that's just about enough to buy yourself a new car, aren't you?" Howard's expression froze for a split second. Linda frowned. "Mark, stop twisting things. Howard didn't mean anything like that." I ignored her. "Your sister asks me for 200 thousand dollars, and you're already thinking it'd be just enough for a car, aren't you? You've got the house. Add a nice car, and you'll be all set." Howard shifted uncomfortably. "I wasn't thinking that. Stop making things up." "You weren't?" I took a step toward him. "The second you heard 200 thousand dollars, you started thinking about what kind of car you could get with it, didn't you?" Linda glanced back at Howard. He immediately raised his hands. "Linda, don't listen to him. He's just trying to turn you against me. I wasn't thinking about any of that." I chuckled. "Linda, your brother hasn't thought about you once through any of this." She turned back to me, her expression darkening. "What are you talking about, Mark?" "You really don't get it? Has he asked what happens to you after the divorce? Has he shown any concern about how you're going to manage afterward? You asked me for 200 thousand dollars, and his first thought was what that money could buy him." Howard snapped, "That's a lie. Stop putting words in my mouth." Linda stood between us, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of uncertainty on her face. But it disappeared almost instantly. "So what if Howard does want a car? He's my brother. If I want to help him, that's my choice!" Her voice rose. "This is Bennett family business. It has nothing to do with you. You're an outsider, Mark, so stop telling us what we should do!" An outsider. Linda pressed her lips together and turned her face away. I stared at her. For a moment, the woman in front of me felt like a complete stranger. Then I nodded. I didn't say another word. I simply turned and headed for the door. "Mark! Where are you going?" I didn't look back. I slipped on my shoes, opened the door, and walked out. Behind me, Linda's voice cracked as she shouted after me. "Fine! Walk out! But if you leave, don't bother coming back!" Chapter 4 I slammed the door behind me. By the time I left the apartment complex, night had fallen. Streetlights stretched down the block, and a steady stream of headlights moved along the road. I stood at the curb as the cold wind slipped beneath my collar. Looking down, I noticed how worn my coat had become. The cuffs were frayed and faded from years of use. I'd been wearing the same coat for three years. Linda had never once suggested I replace it. But whenever Howard needed clothes, she would buy him several new outfits at a time without a second thought. I stood there for a while before opening my banking app. The moment I saw the balance, something inside me gradually settled. Business had been incredible today. I'd made tens of thousands in a single day. And Linda had no idea. As far as she knew, I was still scraping together every dollar I could, working myself to exhaustion just to build up our savings. I'd been so excited to tell her. Now there was no reason to. I locked my phone and slipped it back into my pocket, then hailed a cab. "Take me to the best restaurant downtown." The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, probably taking in my worn coat. I didn't care. I couldn't remember the last time I'd treated myself to a decent meal. For the past six months, I'd eaten whatever was cheapest. Lunch came from the cafeteria at work. Dinner was usually a sandwich or something equally basic before I started my driving shift. Some nights I'd stay on the road until well after midnight, my stomach aching with hunger, and still refuse to spend a few dollars on a hot meal. Every dollar mattered. Or at least, that's what I thought. Every dollar I'd denied myself had ended up feeding the bottomless pit that was my brother-in-law. Not tonight. Tonight, I wasn't saving a damn thing. The cab dropped me off in front of an upscale restaurant downtown. When I opened the menu, I almost laughed. There had been a time when I wouldn't have dreamed of paying prices like these. Whenever Linda and I went out, she'd start complaining if the bill went over 200 dollars. But when it was Howard's birthday, she could drop a thousand dollars on dinner without batting an eye. I closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter. "Bring me all of your signature dishes." He hesitated. "Sir, we have seven or eight." "Then bring all of them." The dishes arrived one after another. I sat alone by the window and took my time. The steak was cooked perfectly. The wine was excellent. Even the desserts looked almost too beautiful to eat. And with every bite, I found myself thinking about the way I'd lived for the past six years. All those meals I'd skipped, all those things I'd refused to buy, and all those nights I'd gone hungry because spending even a few extra dollars had felt irresponsible. For what? When the check arrived, it came to just under three thousand dollars. A bill like that would've haunted me for days before. Tonight, paying it felt strangely satisfying. By the time I got home, it was late. I opened the door and found Linda sitting alone on the couch. The moment she heard me come in, she looked up and stood. "Where have you been?" Her tone was accusatory, as if somehow I was the one who had done something wrong. I tossed my keys onto the entryway table. "Dinner." Linda frowned. "Dinner? This late? You went by yourself?" "Yeah." "What did you eat?" "I had steak, some wine, and dessert." Her expression immediately changed. "How much did you spend?" "Three thousand dollars."