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My Husband Sent Me to Prison Over $30
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Even after I got pregnant, my husband still only gave me eight dollars a day for living. His secretary—the gorgeous one with the perfect figure—turned down my request for extra money. "You're three months along and you've already put on five pounds. "Our business partners mocked Mr. Preston for marrying such a pig. From now on, every meal will be nothing but boiled vegetables." I was starving. So I took thirty dollars from my husband Adrian's wallet and bought myself two pieces of bread. And the moment I turned around, I was dragged to the police station and thrown into a holding cell. Adrian looked at me coldly, at the handcuffs on my wrists. "Everything I give you every day still isn't enough to fill you up, and now you'll stop at nothing?" That was when I finally broke. "Thirty dollars for food and you call the police to have me arrested! Who's the one stopping at nothing!" He frowned. "Thirty? What are you talking about? The receipt clearly says thirty million dollars!" Before I could even make sense of that, his secretary sent over a bill from a luxury boutique. [Mr. Preston, your wife stole the money and still wasn't satisfied. She came to me asking for more, and the first number she mentioned was five million.]
Chapters (4)
第1章
Even after I got pregnant, my husband still only gave me eight dollars a day for living.
His secretary—the gorgeous one with the perfect figure—turned down my request for extra money.
"You're three months along and you've already put on five pounds.
"Our business partners mocked Mr. Preston for marrying such a pig. From now on, every meal will be nothing but boiled vegetables."
I was starving.
So I took thirty dollars from my husband Adrian's wallet and bought myself two pieces of bread.
And the moment I turned around, I was dragged to the police station and thrown into a holding cell.
Adrian looked at me coldly, at the handcuffs on my wrists.
"Everything I give you every day still isn't enough to fill you up, and now you'll stop at nothing?"
That was when I finally broke.
"Thirty dollars for food and you call the police to have me arrested! Who's the one stopping at nothing!"
He frowned.
"Thirty? What are you talking about? The receipt clearly says thirty million dollars!"
Before I could even make sense of that, his secretary sent over a bill from a luxury boutique.
[Mr. Preston, your wife stole the money and still wasn't satisfied. She came to me asking for more, and the first number she mentioned was five million.]
……
Adrian's brows drew together.
I couldn't see what was on his phone.
I only knew that the moment he read the message, something flickered across his face before he looked at me.
"You'd actually steal just to buy something like this?"
"You refuse to give me enough money to eat, and now you expect me to starve just to protect your precious sense of morality?"
"You're really that greedy?"
My hands curled into fists. My vision blurred as anger burned through me.
I ate two pieces of bread, and that made me greedy?
His fingers moved across the screen a few times.
A beat later, I heard the chime of a successful transfer.
He stood up.
"I'll settle this for you this time, but you need to know where to draw the line. I can't keep cleaning up after you."
"Well, then, thank you so much, Mr. Preston."
My voice dripped with sarcasm.
Seeing my lack of gratitude, he frowned.
And frowned.
"I won't be dropping the charges. Do whatever you need to do."
With that, he pushed the door open and strode out.
From the moment I was taken into custody, he never once came to see me.
The only person who showed up was his lawyer.
I didn't bother defending myself.
It wasn't much money, but it was still considered theft.
I spent three days in the holding cell.
Somehow, those three days became the time when I ate the most I'd had in a long while.
My cellmate watched me wolf down even plain white rice.
After watching me for a long time, my cellmate finally asked.
"Have you really never had a good meal before?"
My cheeks were stuffed with rice.
Never had a good meal? How could that be true?
Back when we first started dating, Adrian had actually gone and learned to cook.
Italian, French, Mexican, or anything else I was craving—he'd always make time to cook it for me.
Whenever we went out, he took me to the best restaurants and let me try dishes from all over the world.
My eyes burned, and I quickly wiped away the tears threatening to fall.
How could I have ever imagined that Adrian would one day despise me for gaining weight during pregnancy?
That he would one day drive her to the point where even plain rice in a holding cell felt like a feast.
Three days later, the police gave me a physical exam.
Once they confirmed I was fine, they let me go.
The moment I got home, Adrian's secretary, Vanessa Croft, called.
"Mrs. Preston, the report the hospital sent over shows you gained three pounds in three days in detention.
"You can gain weight even on jail food? Are you a pig or something?"
Before I could even defend myself, a notification popped up on my phone. My daily allowance had been changed.
"Starting today, your allowance will be cut in half until you lose those three pounds."
The measly amount of money landed in my account.
Four dollars.
第2章
"No, Vanessa, how am I supposed to eat enough on four dollars?"
"Those are Mr. Preston's instructions."
"What?"
On the other end, Vanessa Croft gave a cold little laugh.
"You stole thirty million dollars from Mr. Preston, and he's still willing to give you an allowance. What more could you possibly want?"
I froze.
To Adrian, spending thirty dollars was really that big of a deal?
"He doesn't even bring you to important functions anymore. You still haven't figured out why?"
"If you hadn't let yourself gain so much weight, do you think the business partners would have laughed at Mr. Preston for marrying a pig?"
"I'm begging you. For the sake of the Preston family's reputation, could you at least watch your figure?"
My voice caught for a moment.
"But I'm pregnant. It's impossible not to gain weight—"
"Just eat less."
And with that, she hung up.
I called back several times.
Vanessa rejected every one.
I called Adrian.
No one answered that either.
The TV cut to a news segment.
Adrian Preston attended a partnership summit with his secretary by his side.
Vanessa in a custom couture gown.
Around her neck hung a three-million-dollar necklace, the latest masterpiece auctioned by Zurich's prestigious auction house.
Smiling, poised, right beside him.
The trending topics suddenly exploded.
[Mr. Preston's Secretary Makes a Stunning Appearance]
[Preston Group CEO's Secretary Steals the Spotlight at Business Summit]
[Mr. Preston and Miss. Croft: a Perfect Match]
The comment section blew up too.
[That figure is unreal. The waist, the curves... I work out every day and still can't get anywhere close!]
[How can someone be naturally this perfect? Oh my God, that's so unfair.]
[She's literally a goddess, and I'm over here looking like a pig.]
The word "pig" burned into my mind.
My hand shook before I could stop it.
I placed my trembling hand over my belly.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my face pale and gaunt.
"Baby... what are we going to do..."
Did I really have to give up on this baby?
Before making that decision, I decided to give Adrian one last chance.
But I called ten times in a row.
No one answered.
In the end, it was Vanessa who called me.
"Mr. Preston is in a meeting with a business partner. Mrs. Preston, could you please be reasonable and stop calling him over every little thing?"
"Put him on, right now!"
"Mrs. Preston, I told you, Mr. Preston is in a meeting."
"Then have him call back when it's over!"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Preston. I'm Mr. Preston's secretary. It's my duty to keep irrelevant matters from disturbing him."
I gripped the phone tight.
"Who are you to decide what happens between a husband and wife?"
"Mrs. Preston, if you keep causing scenes like this, Mr. Preston really will divorce you."
And then she hung up.
I called again and again.
But she never answered.
I leaned my back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.
My bank account showed a balance of only $1.80.
An abortion cost two thousand.
My parents were both working construction jobs, earning only eighty dollars a day.
A week ago, they had just given me $1,000 to help me take care of myself.
But after one prenatal checkup and a few medications later, there were less than two hundred left.
My parents were already struggling to make ends meet. How could I bring myself to ask them for more?
Sitting in the dark, I covered my eyes and let out a long breath.
In the three years I'd known Adrian, aside from the gifts he'd given me while we were dating and the expenses during the time we were trying to conceive and when I was pregnant, I had rarely ever asked him for money.
Even my parents refused their son-in-law's help, insisting on standing on their own.
I thought that if I kept my distance from his money, he'd never have a reason to doubt me.
And yet, it still came to this...
The phone buzzed.
第3章
It was Adrian.
"You called?"
His tone was almost gentle.
But the anger filling my chest wouldn't settle.
"You're the one who told Vanessa to cut my allowance in half?"
"Yes."
"Adrian, if you really don't care about this baby at all, then send me $3,000 right now. I'll take care of it myself."
"What is this nonsense?"
A thread of irritation crept into his voice.
"I cut it in half so you'd stop wasting money on useless things. Use what's left to eat properly."
My fingers could barely keep hold of the phone.
"And before you cut it in half, was I eating properly then? I guess Mr. Preston has forgotten what things actually cost. Since when did a meal cost so little in Mr. Preston's world?"
Silence on the other end.
A long time passed before he spoke.
"Sophia, you're the one who's completely out of touch with money. Even after being cut in half, it's still more than most people spend. If you want money, just say so. You don't need to come up with some ridiculous excuse about not having enough money for food."
He was about to hang up.
Then something seemed to occur to him.
"I'll transfer more money to you. Stop stealing."
And he hung up.
A moment later, a transfer came through from Vanessa.
One dollar.
"Mrs. Preston, Mr. Preston says if you're still this greedy, he really will divorce you."
My grip tightened around the phone.
One dollar.
Plus the $1.80 already in my account.
$2.80.
One piece of bread cost a dollar fifty.
It was all I had for both breakfast and lunch.
By evening, I was standing in front of the bakery at the entrance to the complex, watching the lid lift off the steamer.
My eyes went still.
"You again. Are you buying or not? $1.50 each. Three for $3."
"Could I… could I buy one for a dollar?"
"No can do. We run on thin margins here. Can't afford to take a loss."
I turned away, deflated.
I kept telling myself that if I couldn't see it or smell it, maybe I wouldn't crave it.
But the hunger was real.
As I wandered the street, I saw a shopkeeper sweeping up expired food.
She was putting the crumbs and leftover pieces into a bag to throw away.
I spoke up carefully.
"Um... are you selling those?"
She glanced at me.
"Hey, aren't you that gold digger, Mr. Preston's wife?"
I waved my hands quickly. "No… that's not me."
"Right, of course. A woman who squeezed that much money out of Mr. Preston wouldn't be here begging for scraps."
I swallowed.
"This… could I buy half a bag for a dollar?"
She stared at me, startled.
"Even half of that... I'll take whatever I can get."
My voice trailed off.
In the end, she sold me the whole bag for fifty cents.
That left me with eighty cents. I begged her to knock off twenty, and she sold me a bottle of water that normally went for a dollar in the shop.
I went home to a dark and silent apartment.
I didn't dare waste a cent of electricity.
I curled up by the window and ate the leftover bread pieces under the glow of the neon signs outside, shoving them into my mouth like I was starving.
A piece caught in my throat.
I hurried to twist off the cap.
My weak fingers couldn't get a grip. I wrenched at it for ages.
When it finally gave, my hand slipped.
The bottle hit the floor.
More than half the water spilled out.
I snatched it up, desperate, trying to tip it into my mouth.
There was only a swallow left at the bottom.
Tears spilled down my face.
I clutched the water bottle tight.
My eyes fell on the tap.
The bottled water delivery service charged a minimum of $2 per order.
It had been a long time since I'd let them come.
第4章
I stumbled to the sink and turned on the tap.
Unfiltered tap water rushed into my mouth. I gulped it down, one mouthful after another, then dropped to the floor, coughing so hard the tears came with it.
I looked at the bottled water spilled across the floor, and at the single thin layer of crumbs left in the bag. Lying flat on the ground, I cried until I couldn't catch my breath.
The crumbs were gone, and my vision still went black in waves. To quiet the aching emptiness in my stomach, that night I filled my stomach with tap water until I couldn't drink anymore. With a belly full of water, I finally felt a little less empty and managed to fall asleep.
The next morning, the moment I opened my eyes, Vanessa called.
"The smart scale at home shows that you gained another pound yesterday."
"Your weight is growing out of control."
"Starting today, your food allowance is cut in half."
Then today's amount came through.
Two dollars.
I didn't have the strength left for much. "Is this what Adrian wants too?"
"Yes."
And she hung up.
I didn't even have the strength to be angry anymore.
I looked at the two dollars sitting quietly in my phone. And I knew. If I ate like this again today, neither my baby nor I would make it.
I went to Adrian's safe. I hesitated, then entered my own birthday.
Thankfully, the code he'd set when we first started dating was still the same.
Inside were stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills. Several property deeds, too, and jewelry and jade of the finest quality.
I only pulled out one of the bills.
"Just one. I only need one. He won't even notice..."
Before I rushed to the restaurant downstairs, I shut the safe and put everything back exactly as it had been.
At the restaurant, I lifted a big mouthful with my chopsticks and shoved it in. But before I even swallowed the first bite, a police car pulled up at the door, with lights flashing.
The cuffs closed around my wrists.
"Someone reported you for breaking in and stealing. You're coming with us."
"Wait! I haven't finished eating! Please, let me finish! I'll cooperate with the investigation, I promise! Please!"
But they grabbed both my arms and hauled me out of my seat.
I heard Adrian had canceled a business trip with a major client just to deal with this.
At the station, he sat across from me and looked at me coldly. "Do you have any idea that was the money I'd set aside for our baby's nursery?"
I kept my head down and ate my sandwiches.
Adrian frowned. "Stealing from me is one thing. Now you're even using our baby as an excuse to get your hands on money."
"Are you even a mother?"
I picked up every last crumb that had fallen onto the table and ate it.
Then I looked up hopefully at the officer. "Can I get another one?"
"Sophia! Stop pretending to be crazy!"
Adrian slammed his hand on the table. "Where did you spend the money I'd set aside for the baby?"
"Don't bother me while I'm eating."
The officer handed me another piece of sandwich. I lowered my head and ate, each mouthful tasting bitter.
Adrian's patience wore thin. He gave up trying to get through to me, turned to the firm's best lawyer, and ordered, "Get her the maximum sentence. Whatever the law allows, I want the full punishment. Don't go easy on her."
"Yes, Mr. Preston."
"You're hiring a lawyer to put me away?"
I swallowed the last bite of the sandwich.
Adrian turned back, frowning.
I stood up. "Adrian, if you've really got what it takes, have your lawyer get me a life sentence. Then I'll never have to leave prison again, not for the rest of my life!"
"What are you talking about?"
His frown deepened.
"What am I talking about? Adrian Preston, let me make one thing clear. I'd be perfectly happy to rot in prison for the rest of my life!"
"At least in prison, I'd get enough to eat."
"And the state would even give me a few bucks a month to buy myself something extra to eat!"
"I'm done being Mrs. Preston! I'd rather spend the rest of my life in prison than another day as your wife!"
He looked at me like I was out of my mind.
"I cut your food allowance because you kept wasting money on useless luxury crap!"
I was so furious that I laughed.
"Luxury crap? Mr. Preston actually thinks I can afford luxury?"
"I'm not your secretary. I don't get a three-million-dollar necklace from you. I don't get to wear designer couture to your partnership summit. And I certainly don't get to play one half of the golden couple everyone envies!"
"Because I'm pregnant. Because I've gained weight. I'm no longer good enough to be seen with you in public!"
He went completely still.
He turned around and frowned at me.
"Why would you think that?"
"Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"
My eyes burned as I spoke, tears threatening to spill.
"You installed a scale in the house and made me weigh myself and record my weight every single day."
"The second I gained even a little weight, you cut my allowance."
"First it went from eight dollars a day to four, then from four down to two!"
"You can buy Vanessa Croft a three-million-dollar necklace, but the moment I spend a hundred dollars of your money on a piece of bread, you want to have me thrown in jail!"
His lawyer stared at me in shock.
"Mrs. Preston, Mr. Preston never—"
"Enough."
Adrian raised a hand to silence him, then walked over to me.
He bent down and looked at me.
"Go on."
