I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 09

I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 09

After watching Margaret for a while, I realized her compulsive penny-pinching had a lot to do with her brother. Growing up poor in a trailer park where boys were favored over girls, she’d been conditioned her whole life to put her brother first. That kind of conditioning didn’t vanish overnight.

She wasn’t tech-savvy, and Derek was always working, so she had no one to guide her. Financially, she was set-but mentally, she was still stuck in the past. The uncle knew exactly which buttons to push. He’d constantly tell her she was just a country bumpkin with no education, that nice things were wasted on her.

Over time, she’d swallowed it all hook, line, and sinker, convinced she deserved nothing.

But today, she took her first real step. She said no to her brother. That was a start.

“Your uncle’s a piece of work, but your cousin didn’t do anything wrong,” Margaret said softly. “Maybe we don’t need to go after his job.”

“As long as they pay us back, I won’t make trouble. Don’t worry, Mom.”

“Mrs. Carter, leave this to us. Your only job is to enjoy yourself. Derek works this hard so you can have a good life. If you don’t let yourself enjoy it, you’re wasting all his effort.”

I continued, “And stop worrying about saving him money. The less you spend, the less motivated he’ll be to earn more. You raised Derek into the man he is today. That means you’re a remarkable woman. Everything you have now, you earned.”

Margaret’s head shot up, her watery eyes staring at me. No one had ever said anything like that to

her.

She’d raised her son alone all those years. Whenever Derek succeeded, people said he was talented and driven. At best, she got a “lucky woman, having such a great son.”

But she knew the truth. Her luck had run out when her husband died. She’d scrubbed dishes,

cleaned toilets, picked through trash-all to get Derek where he was today. She’d never once thought of herself as remarkable. But now, someone was telling her she was. And she wanted to cry –for herself, for all those years.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I was so busy with work I didn’t even know they were taking advantage of you. From now on, I’ll make time for you.”

Derek knelt in front of her and bowed his head.

They held each other, both smiling through tears.

Looked like my job was almost done. That big payout was close. I could feel it.

The next few days were pure luxury-good food, good wine, living like royalty in that mansion.

But my peace didn’t last long.

“Margaret! You’re being scammed, sis! That woman’s a con artist-she’s been lying to you and

Derek!”

The doorbell rang early. Martha saw who it was and refused to open up, telling them to leave.

They didn’t give up. They started shouting outside, drawing attention.

“Get security to remove them,” Derek said.

But before the guards arrived, the uncle actually climbed over the garden fence and forced his way

“Pearl Shaw, you little snake! Trying to kick us out so I wouldn’t expose your little secret, huh?”

“I knew it you’re just a gold digger after Derek’s money!”

Derek and I exchanged a look. Something was wrong. He stood up. “That’s enough. I’m throwing

them out.”

“Wait. Let him in. I want to hear what he has to say.” Margaret stopped him.

Forcing them out would only raise more suspicion. We had no choice but to let them in and see

where this went.

“Sis, thank God I found out before it was too late. That ‘perfect daughter-in-law’ of yours is a

fraud!”

The uncle rushed to Margaret’s side, clutching a stack of papers in his hands. So he hadn’t been

raising money-he’d been digging into me.

“What are you talking about? What about Pearl?”

“That precious daughter-in-law of yours isn’t some heiress-she’s a liar! She’s not from the Shaw family at all. Her parents are just college professors. You’ve been fooled! Lucky for you, my son used his work computer to run a background check on her. Caught her red-handed!”

The uncle slapped the papers in front of Margaret. They laid out my real identity-my parents were both university professors. Not old money rich, but respectable enough.

Derek tried to intervene. “Mom, don’t look at that. It’s all lies-he’s messing with you.” He reached for the papers, but Margaret pulled away.

The writing could’ve been faked, but the photos couldn’t. And no, I wasn’t really some heiress.

“Pearl, is all this true?” Margaret looked at me.

For a second, I hesitated. Maybe I should’ve lied. But then I thought-her bad habits were already fixed. I could take my money and walk away clean. Admitting it wouldn’t cost me anything.

“Yes, Mrs. Carter. I did lie to you. My parents aren’t business tycoons-they’re professors. I’m

sorry.”

I came clean.

“Mom, it wasn’t Pearl’s fault. I asked her to pretend. I was afraid you wouldn’t accept her

otherwise.” Derek stepped in front of me.

“See, sis? Told you. Now kick this phony out. Look what she’s done-turned your own son against you. Keep her around and Derek’ll forget he even has a mother.”

Margaret was quiet for a long moment. Then she said three words: “Get. Out.”

“You heard her-get out!” the uncle crowed. “You’re not good enough for Derek. Pack your things and disappear.”

I was ready to leave. Fine. But I wasn’t going down without a fight. “For the record, my family’s not

exactly poor. And Derek’s no spring chicken. If anything, he’s lucky to have me.”

I shot Derek a look and tapped my phone, reminding him to pay up. Then I turned to leave.

But someone grabbed my hand.

“I wasn’t talking to her,” Margaret said, glaring at her brother. “I was talking to you. Get out of my house. I know exactly what kind of person my daughter-in-law is. You don’t get to come in here and stir up trouble.”

She turned to me. “So what if she lied? She lied to help me. Meanwhile, you-my own brother- stole my retirement money.”

“And for the record,” she went on, “her family are educators. That’s a profession to be proud of. If anything, my Derek is the one who doesn’t measure up.’

The uncle stood there, jaw dropped. “Sis, have you lost your mind? She’s a fraud! You’re really choosing a con artist over your own brother?!”

“Did you not hear my mom?” Derek grabbed his uncle by the collar. “Get out. And by the way, your son used his government computer to run an illegal background check on my girlfriend. That’s a violation. I’m reporting him. You can count on that.”

He threw them both out.

The uncle realized too late the trouble he’d caused. He tried to beg, but Derek was done.

I hadn’t expected Margaret to take my side. And if she ever found out Derek and I were just a

contract couple, she’d be crushed. I decided to keep that to myself.

“Pearl, I know you had your reasons for lying to me,” Margaret said, gripping my hand. “I may not

be educated, but I know who treats me well and who doesn’t. Everything you did-you wanted me to

have a better life. I see that.”

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “Being with my Derek, I know it’s asking a lot. But please

don’t give up on him.”

I patted her hand. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Carter. I won’t.”

Margaret’s leg healed fast, and she was a changed woman. She’d hardly socialized before-too insecure-but now she asked Derek to sign her up for a senior community center. When her old scrap-collecting friends called, she turned them down. “I’m at the age where I should be enjoying life. No more picking trash. I’ve got a painting class.”

At the center, she learned to use her smartphone, took up watercolor and calligraphy, and made new friends. She even planned a group trip abroad with her new girlfriends.

Derek and I saw her off at the airport. She was laughing and chatting with her friends as they

boarded the plane.

“Pearl, thank you for everything. Our contract is officially complete. I’ve transferred the money to

your account. But I have one more request.”

I glanced at my bank balance and grinned. “Name it,

“After all these days together, I’ve realized something. I’m genuinely falling for you. Would you let me try to win you over?”

I didn’t look surprised. People falling for me? Pretty standard.

But I’m not easy. Let’s see what he’s got.