The Price of Gold
Mira was 25, vibrant, ambitious, and tired of waiting.
She had spent her life in a modest neighborhood, helping her mother sell vegetables and stitching clothes at night to pay for college. But when her degree in marketing led to nothing more than unpaid internships and broken promises, Mira's patience wore thin.
All her friends seemed to be traveling, shopping, and living the life she dreamed of. She scrolled through Instagram, pausing at a photo of her classmate sipping champagne in Paris. The caption read: “Married life has its perks 💍✨”
Mira clicked the profile. The girl was married to a man twice her age — bald, wrinkled, but rich. Very rich.
It planted a seed in her mind.
A few months later, at a charity event she had snuck into as a friend’s “plus one,” she met Mr. Rajan Malhotra — 62 years old, recently widowed, with a net worth that could make anyone’s eyes gleam. He owned textile factories, drove a Bentley, and lived in a mansion that looked more like a palace.
He also had no children.
Mira knew what to do. She smiled brightly, laughed at his old jokes, touched his arm just a little longer than necessary. She wore red more often — he had said once it was his favorite color.
Within three months, they were married.
Her family was shocked, her mother begged her to reconsider, but Mira silenced them all with one sentence:
"I’m not marrying for love. I’m marrying for security."
At first, it was exactly what she imagined.
Shopping sprees. Private chefs. Gold jewelry. A room full of designer handbags. She had her own driver, her own garden, and soon, her own walk-in closet. Mira posted filtered pictures of her life with vague captions like “blessed” and “grateful.”
But gold comes with a cost.
Mr. Malhotra wasn’t cruel, but he was controlling. Every conversation was about his late wife — how she was more graceful, more understanding, more traditional. Mira smiled through it all.
Then came the loneliness.
He was asleep by 9 PM every night. He refused to travel. He didn’t like parties. And the worst part — he didn’t trust people. Mira wasn’t allowed to have friends over. Every call was monitored, every bank transaction noticed.
She felt like a bird in a golden cage.
A year passed. Then two.
On their second anniversary, he gifted her a ruby necklace, the biggest she had ever seen. But when he kissed her cheek, she flinched.
She wasn’t just tired. She was empty.
Then came the final blow.
One rainy evening, Mira overheard a phone call. Mr. Malhotra was speaking to his lawyer about updating his will. Her ears perked up.
“No, no,” he said firmly. “Don’t include Mira in the main trust. I’ve set aside a fixed sum — enough for a comfortable life. But not everything. She wasn’t there when I built this empire.”
Mira’s heart stopped.
The man she had married for wealth had outsmarted her.
She had traded love, youth, and freedom for a fraction of the fortune she thought she’d inherit.
That night, she looked at her reflection — flawless makeup, glittering necklace, eyes full of regret.
For the first time in years, she cried.
Months later, Mira sat alone on the balcony of the mansion, watching the city lights flicker like fireflies. The world below moved fast — couples laughing, motorbikes zooming, life happening. But up here, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
She had thought money would fill the emptiness, but instead, it magnified it. Every glittering object reminded her of what she had traded away — youth, dreams, freedom, and perhaps, even love. She had become a stranger in her own life.
Sometimes, when Mr. Malhotra coughed in the next room, Mira didn’t rush to check. She just stared into the night and whispered, “Was it worth it?”
Write by Atif bhai
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Dumb girl but 😥
In the Midwest, a mute woman named Liz works as a midwife. She lives with her husband, Eli, and their two children. Matthew is Eli's son from a previous marriage, but Sam is Liz's. One day at church, the community welcomes the new preacher, only known as the Reverend. While he talks about false prophets and how they destroy society, Liz gets more and more scared. Eli checks on her, but she pretends she's fine. After mass is over, Liz sees the reverend touch Abigail's pregnant belly and worries. Eli introduces himself and the kids to the reverend, but Liz stays in the carriage to avoid him. Suddenly, Abigail goes into labor, so she's taken back into the church. Liz helps her while noticing the reverend staring, but he soon disappears. Unfortunately, the baby's head is too big, which means they'll have to choose between the baby and the mother. Liz ends up euthanizing the baby to save Abigail's life. At home, Eli comforts Liz, reminding her it was an act of God and not her fault. Liz says it was actually the reverend's fault, but Eli thinks she's imagining things. The next day, Liz tries to check on Abigail, but her husband, Nathan, doesn't let her come in, saying the Reverend has already found them a doctor. That night, Liz leaves her bed when she hears a noise outside. Suddenly, a bullet hits the window. It turns out to be Nathan, who is drunk and has lit a carriage on fire. He keeps shooting at the house and shouting Liz's name while blaming her for the death of his son, saying she belongs in hell. Eli rushes to the window and tries to make him see reason to no avail. At that moment, the reverend shows up and convinces Nathan to leave before putting out the fire. Liz asks Eli not to let the reverend in, but Eli is really grateful and invites him to have a drink. While the men talk, Liz stays in another room. The reverend tells Eli that Liz chose who lived and who died when that decision should be left to God. Getting worried, Eli goes upstairs to find his wife, but Liz is hiding behind the wall. The reverend knows she's there and announces he's come to punish her, but he leaves when Eli returns. Afterward, Eli scolds Liz for not saying hi to the reverend or thanking him. Liz says they should leave the area and Eli thinks she's afraid of Nathan. So, he asks for a few days to find someone who can take care of their sheep and then they can go to his father's house. The next morning, the family discovers that all the sheep have been slaughtered. A pregnant one even got her belly open so the baby could be killed, too. Eli assumes Nathan did it, so he and Matthew go to town to confront him. Meanwhile, Liz blindfolds Sam so she doesn't see the slaughter. Then, she heads into the barn to start cleaning. Suddenly, someone locks the door and Liz panics. When she peaks through a hole, she's horrified to see the reverend taking Sam away. Liz tries to climb a stool on top of a table to reach the window, but she falls and passes out. In town, Eli reaches Nathan's house, only to discover that he's moved away. When he goes home, he sees Liz waking up in the now open barn. She tells him that the reverend locked her up and desperately looks for Sam, who was just resting at the back of the house. That night, Liz asks Sam what the reverend talked to her about. Sam asks her mother if she's evil, explaining that the reverend said she killed someone and he came to take her back where he came from. Later, Liz waits until Eli is asleep so she can leave the house on a horse. At the church, she searches the reverend's room with a knife in hand, ready to kill him. However, when she moves the blanket, she finds Sam's doll instead. Meanwhile, the reverend sneaks into Liz's house and watches everyone sleep. Eli wakes up when he hears a noise and checks on the kids, only to notice the lights are on in the barn. With his gun in hand, Eli enters the barn, but the reverend surprises him from behind and stabs him multiple times. When Eli asks why, the reverend responds, "Because she loves you." When Liz comes back, she finds Eli with his intestines around his neck. He asks her for mercy, but Liz doesn't dare to do it. At that moment, Matthew comes in and volunteers. With his last breath, Eli asks Matthew to take the family to grandpa's house. Then, Matthew shoots Eli. Liz hears Sam calling for her and runs outside to discover that her house is burning down. After the family leaves in the carriage, the reverend picks up the doll and watches the house burn. A flashback then shows a girl named Joanna wandering through the desert until she collapses and passes out. When she wakes up later, she's in the back of a carriage belonging to a foreign traveling family. When they reach town, the family brings Joanna to a tavern belonging to Frank. At first, she's happy to get a drink and talk to people, but soon she discovers that this is actually a naughty house and she's being sold. When Joanna tries to run away, the family is already gone and Frank blocks her as he tells her she now lives there. That night, Joanna can't sleep because she can hear Sally doing the dirty with a client. After the man is gone, Sally explains she makes a lot of noise so the client will finish faster. She asks Joanna about her period and learns she's already had it, but promises to keep the secret. Afterward, Joanna starts working as a waitress in the tavern. One night, a man tries to spend some time with her, but Frank doesn't let him. Instead, the man pays for Sally and makes Joanna watch. The guy keeps his attention on Joanna and slaps Sally in the process. A terrified Joanna rushes to get the man's gun and points it at him. He asks Joanna to keep pointing because it's enjoyable. Then he starts choking Sally while telling the girl to do it. Joanna fails to pull the trigger and the man gets to reach the end line. Afterward, he grabs Joanna and tries to take advantage of her. So, he's shot by Sally. The next day, Sally is hanged for her crimes. Frank tells a grieving Joanna that she isn't a child anymore and takes advantage of her. Many years later, Joanna is a working lady using the trick Sally taught her. One day, a man challenges Frank to a duel, accusing him of killing his daughter. Frank shoots faster and kills him, but Joanna sees a guy at a window and realizes Frank cheated by paying someone else to do the shooting. In her free time, Joanna hangs out with her best friend, Liz, who also works as a naughty lady. They both dream to one day escape this evil town. During a busy night at the tavern, a man keeps harassing Liz, so she retaliates by biting his tongue. The crowd gets angry and gets on the man's side. So, a furious Frank decides to punish Liz by cutting her tongue in front of everyone. Sometime later, the doctor gives Liz instructions on how to take care of the injury. Since she won't ever be able to talk again, the doctor gives her a book to learn sign language. Joanna practices with Liz and also learns the language so they can chat. When she knows enough words, Liz says she wants to kill Frank. One afternoon, the duo goes to town to visit a matchmaker who has found a man willing to marry Liz. His name is Eli, and he already has a son. Liz takes the offer and asks Joanna to come with her, saying they can pretend to be sisters. When they return to their tavern, the duo starts packing in their rooms. However, Frank calls all the working ladies because a client has paid lots of money for the whole staff. The client turns out to be the reverend and Joanna becomes terrified when she sees him. All the ladies present themselves to the reverend, but when he sees Joanna, he decides to only get her. In the bedroom, the reverend reveals that he knows Joanna and has been looking for her. He admits he sinned a lot and blames it on her, saying that now she must save him. Joanna tries to step away from him, only for the reverend to start hitting her with his belt. Liz hears the screaming and enters the room to cut the reverend's face with a knife. He furiously grabs her wrist and guides the knife to her chest to kill her. Then he announces that Joanna is coming with him, but she rushes to get the knife and cuts the reverend's neck. Assuming he's dead, Joanna puts the knife in his hand and arranges both bodies to make it look like they killed each other while doing the dirty. She also takes his purse full of gold nuggets before lighting the room on fire and running away. Then Joanna visits the doctor to request his help. The doctor agrees to cut her tongue, but in the end, he can't bring himself to do it, so Joanna has to do it herself. Next, she waits for the carriage sent by Eli and pretends to be Liz, so she gets to marry him instead. Another flashback goes further back in time to show Samuel in the desert. He's killed a bunch of men during a fight, and the last one tries to escape, but Samuel kills him, too. When he's about to leave on a horse, he discovers that Wolf is still alive and pointing his gun at him. That night at the local church, Joanna is praying before bed. It turns out the reverend is her father and she has to hear how he beats her mother Anna up every night. The next day, the reverend shames Anna in front of everyone during service. Sometime later, Joanna feels weird and rushes to the privy where she's shocked to discover blood in her underwear. At that moment, she sees her parents walking under the rain and decides to follow them to the barn where she discovers the Reverend whipping Anna while claiming he's saving her. The next day, Joanna tries to hide her bloodstained clothes because she thinks she's dying. However, Anna finds her and explains that it's perfectly natural. She keeps her voice low, but the reverend discovers them anyway and tells Joanna to clean up. While the girl washes up, the reverend keeps staring at her body while explaining that since she's a woman now, she'll do more adult chores. Later, Joanna is feeding the animals when she sees Samuel and Wolf arrive on the horse. Wolf passes out on the ground while Samuel asks for some water. Joanna lets him drink from the pump, but Samuel ends up collapsing, too. Then Joanna drags both men into the barn and Samuel reminds her of his things. She takes the saddle and scares the horse off so her parents won't see it. Now she can treat Samuel's wounds and even remove the bullets while Wolf keeps making naughty gestures at her. In the afternoon, the reverend enters the barn, but the duo hides just in time. He makes Joanna help him bathe while he explains that since she's a woman now, she'll take over some wely duties because Anna has failed. Anna overhears this and points out how wrong it is, but the reverend doesn't care. That night, Anna tries to get naughty with him, hoping that keeping him satisfied will distract him from Joanna, but the reverend turns her down. Sometime later, Anna teaches Joanna how to kill a hog, which Samuel watches from the barn. Joanna immediately rushes to hide while she has a breakdown. Meanwhile, Anna keeps finding her husband staring at Joanna's bare body and calls him out, so the reverend slaps her. This doesn't stop Anna from calling him sick, causing the reverend to hit her with his belt in the middle of the house, where Joanna can see it. Whenever her parents aren't home, Joanna brings food to the men recovering in the barn. Wolf uses the chance to go to the privy and Samuel asks Joanna for some rope. Seconds later, Samuel inserts a noose through a hole in the privy and starts strangling Wolf while Joanna watches. A desperate Wolf tries to defend himself by opening fire, but none of the shots land and Wolf dies. Afterward, the body is fed to the hogs. Samuel tells Joanna that he had to kill Wolf before he killed them first. He also advises Joanna to be more proactive and not submissive like her mother. In town, the reverend pays the blacksmith to design a special metal piece. This is put in Anna's mouth as punishment for being a bad wife. The next day at church, Joanna tells her mother that she shouldn't let the reverend treat her like this, claiming that the end would be better than abuse. Joanna leaves the building and seconds later, she returns to selfdee in front of everyone. As Joanna cries, the reverend uses his wife's death as part of his sermon, saying she got the end that she deserved for her sins. That night, the reverend self-punishes in the name of God. Joanna rushes to the barn and tries getting dirty with Samuel, but he turns her down because he knows she isn't thinking clearly. Instead, he comforts her through her grief. The next day, the reverend takes Joanna to the chapel to marry her. When she realizes what's happening, she screams and tries to run away, but the reverend catches her and puts the metal device in her mouth. Then, he starts reciting the words for the marriage ceremony, but he's interrupted by Samuel, who enters the chapel as he drops his saddle on the floor. This reveals a purse full of gold nuggets. Samuel explains how his own father was an abuser too, so he killed him when he was a kid. He points his gun at the reverend and takes his keys, which he throws at Joanna so she can remove the device. Suddenly, the reverend grabs Samuel's hand and turns the gun around to shoot him in the head, killing him. Afterward, the reverend drags Joanna through the mud to take her to the house where he whips her and takes advantage of her. The following morning, while the reverend sleeps, Joanna runs away. In the present, Liz and the kids are traveling through a snowy forest. They can hear the reverend coming for them. So Liz takes the gun and tells the kids to hide. She stands behind a tree and gets ready to shoot when she hears a horse. However, when she looks, she discovers that nobody is riding it. Liz gets back on the carriage and the trip continues in the snowstorm. Suddenly, the wheels run over a dead animal. So, Matthew stops the carriage to take a look. Unfortunately, this was a trap by the reverend who shoots Matthew multiple times when he steps out. Liz rushes to his side to say a final goodbye before continuing with her journey. Moments later, Liz and Sam finally make it to the house of Eli's father. The man has a breakdown when he hears that his son and grandson are dead. Liz takes his gun and sits outside, waiting to open fire as soon as the reverend arrives. He threatens to hurt and abuse Sam, so Liz rushes to her daughter's room only to find her father-in-law dead on the wall. A desperate Liz grabs more bullets and makes Sam escape through the window. The reverend enters the house and talks of wolves coming for sinners while howling. When he sees Liz trying to climb through the window, too, he pulls her back and captures them both. Afterward, the reverend ties Liz up to a tree trunk and she spits on his face when he describes what he'll do to Sam. He makes Liz watch while he whips the girl and touches her, saying he's a doomed man, so it doesn't matter if he sins more. When he turns around to undress, Liz manages to move her arms above the tree trunk to free herself. Next, she grabs a lantern and throws it at the reverend to set him on fire. He won't stop talking about God, so Liz grabs the gun and shoots him, sending his body flying through the window. Months later, Liz has transformed the place into a sawmill like her father-in-law wanted. One day, Nathan comes to visit Liz and reveals that after he lost his baby, the reverend sent him to his hometown to work as the deputy. Recently, he became sheriff and got access to the files where he found the wanted poster for the original Liz, who killed Frank before saving Joanna. Believing that the current Liz is the real one, Nathan arrests her and takes her away in shackles. Liz watches Sam being comfortable around the local workers and decides to follow her mother's example by self-deing with a quick jump into the lake. Many years later, Sam has become a happy woman with her own family who remembers her own mother with utmost respect.
By Story by anyone 5 months ago in Families
Christmas Abroad: Celebrating the Holidays Without Family
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By Kera Hollow27 days ago in Families
Comments (1)
This story shows how the pursuit of security can have a price. Mira thought wealth would solve her problems, but she ended up sacrificing her happiness. Sad.