I Married Three Calamities (And Got A System For It)

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Aunt Mari

15:

Mars didn’t have a driver’s license yet. So he had no choice but to take the metro, then, once he reached Street Marbery, walk another 15 minutes to his old apartment.

He passed the same familiar sights lining the street, poor and homeless people crowding every stretch of pavement.

Many lay right on the sidewalk, an empty cup or a battered hat set in front of them, begging for change.

Those who didn’t speak French wrote signs and propped them beside themselves.

Others couldn’t be bothered even with that, still asleep, bodies wrapped in blankets that looked like they hadn’t been washed in years.

As he walked past them, taking in a scene painfully familiar yet still beyond his power to fix, Mars stopped abruptly in front of an older woman, somewhere around 30 to 35, leaning against a squalid wall.

She cradled a young child in her arms, wrapping her in extra clothing.

Mars looked at the child, then his lips curved into a sad smile. The child was actually a girl, though her mother always dressed her and raised her as a boy.

Only Mars knew her true gender, because he’d been the one who’d helped the woman give birth, that fateful night.

The worst yet best night. He’d witnessed something that had kept him up many nights since, yet being part of that birth had felt special, somehow.

For an orphan, Mars cherished that memory deeply.

Which was exactly why he always regretted his inability to give the woman and her child more than he had.

He did what he could, buying food, occasionally bringing blankets and clean clothes.

But it wasn’t enough. Nowhere close.

’Maybe...maybe I can help them now?’ He thought quietly, walking toward them.

Sensing footsteps approaching, the older woman opened her eyes quickly, body tensing as though afraid, glancing up.

Then she relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of Mars.

"Ah, it’s you, little Mars." The old woman rasped, her voice hoarse and low.

"Yes, Aunt Mari, it’s me." He smiled, crouching down in front of them, reaching out to gently stroke the young child’s curly hair, "How are you doing? Is little Hope doing okay?"

A bad question. But he had no better one to ask.

"The food you brought us yesterday morning helped a lot." She smiled gratefully, nodding, "And Hope managed to sleep, thanks to the blanket. We’re doing just fine."

Mars’s chest tightened, "I’m glad to hear that. How’s the job search going?"

Aunt Mari grimaced.

"Hahah." Mars laughed nervously, "Sensitive subject?"

"It’s just hard for them to accept me." She sighed, looking down at her daughter, "I don’t have any real skills. All I can do is clean, take on menial tasks. And I have a child with me."

"Didn’t you say there was a job that seemed ready to take you on?"

"They couldn’t accept me bringing Hope along while I work. And I...I can’t leave Hope alone. You know why, little Mars." Aunt Mari’s eyes glistened with tears, pulling her daughter closer, "You know why I can’t."

Mars said nothing for a moment, knowing exactly why. And it was precisely because of that knowledge that he felt so on edge, desperate to find them somewhere to stay.

He sighed under his breath, changed the subject, and talked with her a while longer.

Then he checked the time and decided it was time to go. He couldn’t leave his wives alone for too long.

They might kill each other.

"I need to head off, Aunt Mari." He said, taking her rough, calloused hand in his, "I can’t promise anything, but I might be able to help you soon. I just need to talk to some people first. So hang in there a little longer, Aunt Mari."

He smiled sadly,

"Will you do that for me?"

Aunt Mari chuckled, tears trickling down. In her lap, her child stirred and groaned,

"Of course I will, little Mars." She smiled widely, so wide the stunning beauty behind her terrible circumstances shone through, "I have to, after all. I have Hope with me."

Mars nodded, "Indeed." He looked at the child, "You have Hope."

With that, Mars stood, said his goodbyes, and headed straight for his apartment, his mood a bit heavier now.

...

"Just a couple of clothes for now. Just a couple!" Mars said, moving through his old apartment.

Having now experienced the house given by the Three Prime Families, he realized just how poor and miserable his old living situation truly was.

His conditions were genuinely terrible. But he wouldn’t complain too much. There was always worse.

Mars grabbed an old suitcase and started packing clothes. He also grabbed his small manga collection and tossed it in too.

He left the rest behind, having no way to carry much more.

"That should be—!"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Mars froze mid-motion, wincing, cursing under his breath.

’Great! Just fucking great!’

He swallowed a curse and forced back his scowl before turning toward the voice, plastering on a wide smile.

There, standing in his doorway, now open for some damned reason, stood two people.

A man, tall and lanky, a tattoo of a wilted flower on his neck. He wore a dark jacket over a white shirt, matched with black pants.

His dark hair was cropped short, blue eyes glinting with amusement and cruelty.

The woman beside him stood a head shorter. Dressed entirely in black, yellow hair, black eyes. The same tattoo marked her neck.

She was smoking, watching Mars with open disdain.

"Great friends, how—!"

"No need to kiss ass today, waiter." The man cut him off, "We’ve been patient with you this whole time, letting you skip your rent."

"Not anymore." The woman added, exhaling a plume of smoke, "We need the money right now. Our gang isn’t a goddamn charity, waiter, you hear me?"

"Huh, yes...how much was it again?" Mars said, cursing his luck for showing up at exactly the wrong moment to run into these two bastards.

"You’re behind on rent, 4,680 euros, waiter." The man said, grinning, "And considering we keep this whole neighborhood clean..."

’Clean? Is this guy serious?’

"...and protected..."

’Protected? Come on. What exactly are you protecting? Your own pocket?’

"...you also owe us an additional 1,500 euros."

"Which makes it a total of 6,180 euros." The woman finished, and Mars felt himself sag.

For context, Mars only made 1,240 euros from his waiter job. Between food, healthcare, and transport, nothing was left by the 5th of the month.

Mars had never even seen or touched 2,000 euros in his entire life. And these bastards wanted 6,000?

Mars almost laughed. A nervous, bitter laugh. But he held it back, sighing instead.

"Harow, Melinda, you already know I don’t have that money." Mars said, looking between them, "You know my situation better than anyone."

"You think we actually give a fuck?" Melinda, the woman, hissed, taking a menacing step closer, "No, we don’t, asshole. And what are you doing with that suitcase, huh? Trying to run off with our money?"

Mars already had his answer prepared, "No, not at all. I’m actually planning to sell everything inside to raise the money and pay you back."

"But that doesn’t change the fact you have no money right now." Harow said, shaking his head, "That won’t cut it, waiter. Not this time. You know what happens next, don’t you? This is your third warning already."

Mars watched them, seeing Harow pull out a long baseball bat while Melinda clenched her fists, eyes turning cruel.

"That’s the price for not paying, waiter. Take your punishment like a good boy."

Mars’s eyes hardened. For a moment, he was sorely tempted to fight back, to use his new Talent, but he’d never actually used it before, and these two were seasoned fighters as far as he was concerned.

Add to that the gang standing behind them, and given everything else he had going on, he didn’t want to pile on more problems than necessary.

So he sighed inwardly, clenched his jaw, and looked at them.

"Fine," he whispered, setting his suitcase down, "I’ll take my punishment."

Harow and Melinda smiled coldly, and in the next instant, the steel bat crashed into the left side of his head, sending his vision spinning, followed immediately by a merciless punch straight into his nose.

Mars’s legs buckled beneath him as he collapsed, nose shattered, blood pouring out, jaw broken.

A/N

Please support with PS, comment and reviews. If we reach 50 PS, two additional Chapters and so on. Thanks for reading

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!