On the Wedding Night, When I Pulled Up the Blanket, the Truth Made Me Tremble: The Reason My Husband’s Family Gave Me a $2 Million Mansion Was to Marry a Poor Maid Like Me.

My name is Anna Brooks, 26 years old.

I was born in a poor town in Texas, where the sun burned my skin and the wind carried the smell of dry grass dust.

My father died early, my mother was seriously ill, and I had to drop out of school at the age of 16 to work as a maid in Houston.

I worked for the Harrison family – one of the wealthy and famous families in the real estate industry.

Their only son – Ethan Harrison – 31 years old, is a handsome, educated man, but always keeps his distance from everyone.

I have been a maid for them for nearly three years, getting used to quietly cleaning, cooking, and bowing.

I never dared to think that one day, the name “Anna Brooks” would be placed next to the surname “Harrison.”

 The Strange Proposal

One morning, the landlady – Mrs. Caroline Harrison – called me to the living room.

She placed a marriage certificate in front of me and said, her voice calm but firm:

“Anna, if you agree to marry Ethan, the $2 million lakeside villa in Austin will be named after you. It is a wedding gift from my family.”

I was stunned.
A maid like me, marrying the only son of the Harrison family?
I thought she was joking, but when I saw her serious eyes, I knew it was true.

I didn’t know the reason – I only knew that my mother needed money for treatment, and this might be the only chance to save her.
My mind told me to refuse, but my weak heart nodded.

The wedding took place at a luxury hotel in the heart of Houston.
I wore the white dress that Caroline chose, walking among the curious gazes of hundreds of people.
I didn’t laugh, just held my hands tightly to keep from shaking.

Ethan – my groom – still kept his usual cold expression.

He didn’t look at me once.

I thought to myself:

“Maybe I’m just a gift for him – a ‘nominal wife’ to please my mother.”

That night, in the newlywed villa by the lake, I sat by the bed, my hands trembling.
The sound of rain pattered on the glass door.
Ethan walked in, holding a glass of water, limping closer.

“Drink this,” he said, his voice as light as a breath. “You look nervous.”

I nodded slightly, finished the glass of water, my heart pounding.

Ethan sat down on the edge of the bed, turned off the light.

The room fell silent.

I closed my eyes, preparing for what every bride has to go through.

But a few seconds later, I heard..

…but a few seconds later, I heard Ethan’s voice — low, tired, and nothing like the cold mask he wore in public.

“Anna,” he said quietly. “You don’t have to be afraid. I know what my mother offered you.”

I opened my eyes. The room was dark, but moonlight slid across his face. There was no anger there — only a strange sadness.

He continued, “This marriage… it isn’t what it looks like. My parents think I don’t know why they chose you, but I do.”

My hands clenched in the blanket. “Why?” I whispered.

He looked away, toward the rain-streaked window. “Because they think you’ll never leave me. Because they think a maid with debts and a sick mother would stay even if she found out the truth.”

“The truth?” My voice barely came out.

He turned back slowly. “That I’m dying, Anna. The doctors say I have less than a year.”

For a long moment I couldn’t breathe. The wind outside rattled the glass, the rain tapping like a clock counting down.

Ethan’s smile was faint. “They didn’t want me to die alone. They wanted someone… loyal, gentle. Someone who wouldn’t ask for more than a name and a house.”

My world tilted. The mansion, the wedding, the strange kindness of his mother — it all made sudden, terrible sense.

But instead of fear, I felt something else rise in me: compassion.

I reached out, my fingers trembling, and said softly, “Then we’ll live this year, Ethan. Not for your parents, not for money — but for us.”

He stared at me, searching my face, and for the first time that night, he smiled — a real smile.