Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

Chapter 130: Ethea’s Gifts [1]

The front door clicked shut with a gentle snap.

Ethea sat quietly in her wheelchair near the edge of the living room, watching the spot where Ryan and Seria had just stood. Their energetic farewells still seemed to echo slightly in the sudden quiet of the house.

"See you again, Brother Soren, Sister-in-law," Ryan had said, bowing with his usual impeccable manners.

"Let’s definitely have dinner together like this again soon!" Seria had added, waving enthusiastically before slipping out.

With the guests gone, the heavy lifting began. From her fixed position, Ethea watched Soren smoothly transition into cleanup mode. He didn’t even hesitate, immediately gathering the empty dessert plates and guiding Aunt Clara toward the kitchen.

"I can handle the rest, Auntie," Soren’s voice drifted back into the living room, accompanied by the sound of running water and clinking porcelain. "You should head home and rest. You’ve done more than enough today."

"No, it’s you who should be resting now. It’s your birthday!"

"Come on, Auntie..."

A brief, warm argument followed, but Soren’s gentle persistence won out.

Within twenty minutes, the kitchen was spotless, and after helping Ethea with her needs, Aunt Clara was bidding them a fond goodnight, leaving the two of them entirely alone.

Soren walked back into the living room, his shoulders dropping the moment he crossed the threshold. With a long, heavy sigh, he practically collapsed onto the sofa, letting his head fall back against the cushions. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly, his entire body finally relaxing after hours of playing the perfect host.

Ethea watched him silently from her wheelchair.

She studied the relaxed lines of his face, the slight, lingering curve at the corner of his lips, and the absolute lack of tension in his posture. He looked genuinely happy and satisfied.

A quiet, profound sense of relief and accomplishment bloomed in Ethea’s chest. It was clear that her plan had succeeded. The surprise, the gathering, the effort, it had all been worth it just to see him look this peaceful.

Soren opened one eye, catching her staring, and offered a lazy, warm smile. "What is it?"

Ethea kept her expression completely calm, her gaze resting steadily on him. The small fingers resting inertly in her lap slightly curled up in a wave of quiet determination.

Since they were completely alone now, it was finally time to give him her own gift.

"...Soren, can you take me to the bedroom?"

She asked the question after gathering every ounce of her courage. Her voice was quiet, but it held a distinct, steady weight that broke the silence of the room.

Soren opened his other eye, his lazy smile fading into a look of mild curiosity. He didn’t ask questions. He simply nodded, pushed himself up from the sofa, and walked over to her wheelchair. With practiced, gentle movements, he pushed her down the short hallway and into the quiet comfort of the bedroom.

Once he brought her wheelchair to a stop near the bed, Ethea looked toward the nightstand.

"Open the top drawer," she instructed softly. "There should be some documents."

Soren raised an eyebrow, slightly suspicious of the sudden request, but he complied without a single word. He pulled the wooden drawer open, revealing a neat stack of crisp, official-looking documents tied together at the top.

"Please, take them out," Ethea said, her eyes fixed on his hands.

Soren reached in and lifted the papers, feeling the heavy, high-grade bond paper beneath his fingers. He turned back to her, silently waiting for an explanation.

"Open them and read," she added, her tone remarkably calm despite the subtle tension in her posture.

Soren nodded and pulled over the desk chair, sitting down directly across from her. He flipped open the cover page and began quickly scanning the text. At first, his expression was perfectly neutral, his eyes darting across the legal jargon and corporate seals.

But as the seconds passed, his reading slowed. His eyes widened significantly, and his grip on the edges of the pages tightened. He stared at the final pages, reading the stamped signatures over and over before slowly turning his head to look at her.

"...Ethea, what are these?" Soren asked, his voice dropping into a stunned whisper.

"Happy birthday." A small, genuine smile finally broke through Ethea’s characteristically stoic face. "They are my gift to you."

"This... this is a bit too much..."

Soren found himself completely unable to speak, the words catching in his throat as he looked back down at the heavy stack in his lap.

Because the documents in his hands were official asset transfer files.

With just his signature, several major, highly profitable companies currently registered in Ethea’s name would be legally transferred into his ownership.

"..."

Soren stared at the legal seals, his mind struggling to process the sheer scale of what he was holding. He knew Ethea had been a powerhouse in her prime: an S-rank hunter and a formidable 7th Circle Awakened. Someone of that caliber naturally amassed incredible wealth.

Yet, he had never once asked her about her money, nor had he ever intended to. It just wasn’t his business. He had honestly assumed that between her crippling injuries, the astronomically expensive medical treatments, and the questionable nature of her family, her fortune had likely been drained or seized long ago.

He had simply taken up the responsibility of caring for her without expecting a single penny in return.

Yet, looking at these documents, it was clear she still held massive financial power.

"..."

Soren opened his mouth, but the words died in his throat.

He looked up from the papers, meeting her calm, steady gaze, before looking back down at the heavy stack in his hands. The sheer magnitude of the asset transfers left him completely paralyzed.

The silence stretched between them, heavy with his unspoken disbelief.

Meanwhile, Ethea watched his stunned reaction, the small smile still playing on her lips.

It was a reaction she had anticipated from the very moment she decided to prepare this surprise.

She had deliberately hidden the truth from him, a lingering defense mechanism from a time when her world had collapsed.

Back when both her family and friends betrayed her, her capacity to trust had been completely extinguished.

She had lost all hope, along with the very will to live, sinking into a pitch-black abyss where nothing mattered anymore—until he stepped into her life.