I Became A Millioniar

Hi everyone, my name is Maria.

A few years ago my dad had a heart attack at work and passed away. His sudden death changed our lives forever.

My mom had no job and no marketable skills. We had some money saved up from when my dad had been working. At first we were getting by on that, but soon that money ran out and things got bad. We weren't able to pay our bills.

One day my mom said to me, "Maria , I want to talk to you about something important. Our landlord Ted wants to marry me. He divorced his wife 4 years ago. He has 2 daughters but they live with their mom. I don't know him that well but he seems like a good person. I'm going to say yes. I'm doing this for both of us. Please try to understand me".

My mom is a really beautiful woman. I had only seen this man once before, he is only 10 or 15 years older than my mom. He knew we were having money problems since we weren't able to pay the rent. He was trying to take advantage of my mom.

No matter how much I pleaded with her, my mom wouldn't listen to me and you married him.

As I got to know him better it became clear that my mom had made a big mistake.

Ted was an arrogant man who talked about his money all the time. He was living on the rent money he got from his properties. He had no other job. He was home all day. He was clearly using my mom as his maid. For example, every Sunday he would hand my mom a list. It's spelled out one by one all the dishes my mom had to cook for lunch and dinner that week. He would grade each dish after every meal and he wasn't very generous with the grades either. The worst part was that the whole time he would talk about how good his ex wife's cooking was.

My mom really wanted me to get along with Ted. I decided I would try to do my best. I saved up my allowance to buy him a nice pen for his birthday. My mom was insisting that I call him Dad. I wrote a little note saying "to my dad with love" and put it inside the gift box. Ted frowned when he saw the note "I think it's too early for you to call me dad. first you need to prove to me that you are my daughter" he said. I was so upset, and looked at my mom. She felt terrible too.

It was around that time that something happened that made things even worse. I woke up one morning and saw that there was another girl around my age at home. It was Ted's younger daughter pia. She had a huge fight with her mom. So she had decided to move in with us.

I just got a step father and now I had a stepsister too. At first I thought maybe we could be friends, but unfortunately pia had turned out to be just like her dad.

One evening she yelled to my mom "your food is too greasy. I gained weight because of you".

But she was already chubby when she arrived. I think that she's been like that since she was a kid. She made that up just to blame my mom. The thing that annoys me the most about Pia was that she was extremely jealous. She was so jealous of me and she didn't even feel the need to hide it.

I'll give you one example. I had an orange dress. one day my mom commented that "this dress looks good on you''. I said yes "I love it too''.

When I wanted to put on that dress again a few weeks later, I saw that there was a huge hole right on the front. Fierced, I went to Pia and screamed "did you do this". She smirked and said " of course I did, who else".

After Pia began living with us, Ted started treating me even worse. She didn't go to college because her grades were bad. I, on the other hand, was a good student. I wanted to study psychology in college. I was talking to my mom about it and she went and told Ted. He came to me and said "don't even dream of going to college, you're not smart enough for that". That night I cried until morning. I had to get out of that house but I couldn't see any way of doing that.

One day, the miracle that I needed happened. My phone rang and the person on the line said "I'm your grandmother. I would like to meet you and your mom, if you let me".

We met up the next day. (When my dad was only 4 years old, my grandmother abandoned him. He never forgave her for that. In the years that followed, she tried to get in touch with him many times. but my dad refused to communicate with her).

She told us all about this in tears. He was right because I'd left him. "I have immense regret, however unfortunately it's not possible to turn back time".

My grandmother had just recently found out that my dad had died. She thought we might be able to use some help with money, so she tracked down and finally reached me. She told us "my second husband was very wealthy. I lost him last year. I have no one to share the fortune with, do you want to move in with me" she asked.

My mom was pregnant at that time and she said "I have a new family now, but I know Maria is not happy, she can live with you if she likes".

My grandmother seemed like a really nice person. even if she wasn't, I'd still move in with her. Since my stepfather and step sister were making my life unbearable. I agreed right away, that night I said goodbye to my mom and left home.

My grandmother was really wealthy. She lived in a magnificent mansion. The best part was that she was even kinder than I thought. she kept telling me "I feel like I've been born again. Maria, I'm so grateful to you for making me feel this way. I'll send you to the best schools. Eventually all this will belong to you anyway".

I didn't care about being rich. I was at peace now and that was more valuable to me than all the money in the world.

That summer something unexpected happened. My grandmother suddenly died after an accident. She went out on a tour of the Greek islands with her close friend. While swimming in the sea, a poisonous fish stung her. They didn't make it to the hospital in time. She died on the way. I was incredibly sad. she had once told me "when I die I'd like you to build the school so that my name can live on"

I immediately got to work to make her wish come true.

My mom and I talked on the phone a lot. She had her baby. I have a brother now. I think she wasn't happy at all and her husband continued to treat her badly. But she still never mentioned anything to me. I told her to come live here with me. "You don't have to put up with that man". But she wouldn't listen to me. My mom is a good natured person and a loyal wife. Ted was taking advantage of her qualities.

One day my mom called me. She sounded very sad "your stepdad wants to visit you" she said. "No way, I don't want anything to do with him,'' I yelled. My mom said "Maria this is really important, will you please see him for me". I couldn't say no. I wonder what he wanted from me.

Ted came over the next day, he wasn't that smug, arrogant man anymore. When he said "Maria, we don't get along too well but I still like you very much". I couldn't help but smirk. That was an outright lie, still I didn't say anything.

Perhaps your mother has told you "my daughter Pia has a very rare, very severe type of muscle disorder". He went on. I was shocked. I said "no, I had no idea".

Apparently my mom had kept this for me, so as not to upset me with their own troubles. My stepfather looked into my eyes and said "my daughter is dying Maria. I came here to ask for your help". I knew Ted had a lot of money, so I was confused "what exactly do you want from me?'' I asked.

"There's a drug for Pia's condition. Single dose will be enough to cure her, but this is the most expensive drug in the world. It's only produced for 20 people every year. I sold all my properties but I still only have enough money to cover half of its cost. Please help me with the rest. My daughter can't move it all right now. When it gets her heart muscle,she'll be dead. I beg you to help us".

After he settled that out. My step dad started sobbing.

Neither Ted nor Pia is a good person. You know this already. Ted ruined both my and my mom's life. My grandmother saved me from that house. What would have happened to me if I stayed there? Would you helped them if you were in my place? You probably would. Without even thinking I told him "I'll give you the money you need" but I couldn't stop myself. "I don't think you deserve it but also help you'' I continued. Ted started crying again. "You're right, I don't deserve it, I know it is as well as you,'' he said.

I was so sad to see Pia. She was all skin and bone. She couldn't even move her eyeballs, but she was conscious. I whispered into her ear "you will be fine, but please be a better person in your new life".Even though I didn't want to say things like that. I couldn't help myself.

The drug was really expensive. but as my step dad had said, "a single dose was enough to cure her disorder". Her condition is improving every day. Even though she still can't talk, I can see her thanking me with her eyes.

Meanwhile my step dad Ted, changed a lot. Since he was so deeply shaken by this, he's no longer hostile. My mom of course is really happy about his new behavior.

I am busy with the construction of the school that I'm building in my grandmother's name. My stepfather comes to help with the construction, not expecting anything in return. I don't think I'll ever have a close relationship with him. But at least now I can rest easy, knowing that he will no longer treat my mom badly.