“See this?” He dropped the keys into Eliza’s palm. “I made the final payment for our new home yesterday. Melissa was here to help me with an idea to surprise you. But everything’s ruined now.”

“He’s lying, Eliza,” Iris insisted as she watched Eliza lift the keys with her trembling fingers.

But Eliza didn’t seem to hear her mother. “You were going to surprise me?” she whispered, staring into Daniel’s eyes.

“Yes! I wanted to drive you there in a blindfold…walk you onto the lawn…and show you our dream home. But I guess I’ll be staying there alone now. There’s no point in sharing my life with a woman who doesn’t trust me.”

Daniel snatched the keys from Eliza and stormed to their bedroom. “Wait, you can’t just leave me like this,” Eliza ran after Daniel. “I don’t doubt you…but I know Mom would never tell me something like this unless it’s true.”

Daniel stopped and turned around. “I don’t know what your Mom saw and heard. I’ve offered you proof. If you still don’t believe me, I don’t think this marriage can last.”

“I trust you…that’s why it hurts so much to think of you cheating on me. I love you, Daniel…”

“I love you too,” Daniel said. “You’re my everything. I don’t understand what went wrong to make it easy for you to believe such awful things about me. If you truly believe that I’ve been unfaithful to you, tell me now. I’ll pack my things and leave you…forever.”

“I trust you! Please forgive me,” Eliza hugged Daniel as Iris couldn’t believe what she was hearing and seeing. “Do you look at that?” Melissa told Iris. “I don’t understand why you can’t just let your daughter be happy.”

“How can you be so heartless…and deny the truth so easily?” Iris fumed.

“You’re imagining things, Iris. Perhaps you need to get your eyes checked.”

Iris’s heart raced in her chest. It was all too much for her. Her knees gave way as a dull pain spread through her chest. The last thing Iris heard was the piercing shrill of ambulance sirens. Iris was rushed to the hospital, where the doctors informed her she’d had a heart attack.

“You scared me, Mom…I’m glad you’re okay,” Eliza visited Iris and hugged her. “I’ll feel a lot better if you tell me that you’ve kicked that fraudster and his mistress out of your life.”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “Mom, please don’t talk about my husband like that. You’ve mistaken things about him…”

“Wake up, Eliza. He’s just using you. All that nonsense about buying a house and threatening to leave you was his way of guilt-tripping you into staying.”

“But it proves he loves me. Why would he want me to stay if he was only after my money?” “Why don’t you check your prenup, Eliza?” Iris snapped. “Good Lord, how do I make you understand that your husband is a gold-digger?”

“Mom, please stop this. I know you’re looking out for me. But let’s not assume things and punish Daniel for something he’s never done.”

“Fine then,” Iris said. “If you don’t want to open your eyes and see the reality around you, then things are going to be different from now on.”

“What do you mean, Mom?”

Iris reached for her phone and dialed a number. “Hello, Mr. Simms…I’m calling you about my will,” Iris told her lawyer. “I want to make an urgent change. I’ve decided to leave all my wealth and assets to charity. My daughter, Eliza, will not inherit a dime. And I want you to freeze her bank account. Yes…immediately. Thank you.”

“What?” Eliza stood shocked. “You can’t be serious, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, Eliza, but you left me with no choice. I don’t want our family’s hard-earned money being palmed to a gold-digger using you.”

“Fine!” Eliza yelled. “If you’re cutting me off your will, so be it. You no longer have a daughter…and I don’t want to see you again.”

The following few weeks were the most challenging days for Iris. She underwent heart surgery and was released from the hospital after a long recovery period.

She felt very lonely and even tried calling Eliza several times. But her daughter never answered, and Iris was heartbroken. However, Iris never stopped trying to connect with Eliza. She called her every day and sent her text messages. Iris wasn’t surprised when there was no reply. But one day, her doorbell rang. When Iris answered the door, she froze in disbelief. “Eliza?!” Iris teared up as a wave of emotions washed over her. “I’m so happy to see you, sweetie…”

Iris stopped talking when Eliza looked at her with red, puffy eyes.

“It’s Daniel, isn’t it?” She wrapped her arms around Eliza’s shoulders and led her inside.

“I’m sorry, Mom…I should’ve listened to you,” Eliza sobbed. “You were right about him!”

Iris hugged Eliza. She hated seeing her daughter so heartbroken but was glad she was finally free from that money-grubber, Daniel.

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