Chapter 3 How Much

Hannah knocked on the door, only to be met with complete silence.

"Mr. Winchester, if you don't mind, I'm coming in now."

The nearby maids looked at Hannah in shock as she opened the door and entered the room.

Although it was noon, the room was dark and gloomy as thick curtains had blocked out all the sunlight.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Winchester. I believe we should introduce ourselves to get to know each other."

Hannah took the initiative and calmly switched on the lights. She continued, "I'm—"

"Get out!" a deep and hoarse voice roared angrily as the room lit up.

At the far end of the room, Hannah saw a somewhat scrawny man sitting in a wheelchair. He glared at her with an overwhelming intensity. The menacing gaze could cause anyone to shudder.

Despite that, Hannah remained unfazed. She began to size Darren Winchester up.

Clearly, he had not been doing well these days. His cheeks had sunken, and his hair was somewhat disheveled.

However, it didn't diminish his handsome appearance. On the contrary, it added a touch of feeble charm to him.

Darren had a pair of angled eyebrows. His long and thick eyelashes accentuated his solemn eyes. With his lips pursed tightly, he exuded a sense of coldness.

His eyes were distant, and his expression was weary. It tugged at people's heartstrings.

No wonder he used to be the dream lover of countless women.

"Mr. Winchester, we're a family from now on. You should at least get to know me."

Hannah wasn't intimidated by Darren. She smiled as she walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. Then, she pulled back the curtains, letting the light stream in.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm your wife, Hannah Emerson," she said, offering her hand.

Darren's lifeless gaze swept over her with extreme indifference. With a deep voice, he said, "I don't need a wife."

"Thanks to the Winchesters' influence, I've obtained our marriage certificate without your presence."

As Hannah leaned forward, her back curved into a graceful outline. She added, "Legally speaking, we're officially husband and wife."

Darren's eyes flashed with anger, but he quickly suppressed it.

Hannah knew he wasn't angry at her. "Mr. Winchester, we'll be living under the same roof from now on. I think it's important for us to communicate. Don't you think so?"

After a short silence, Darren took a black card from his wallet and handed it to her.

His fingers were long and slender. However, they were rather pale from the lack of sunlight.

The black card held between his two fingers created a striking contrast. It made them look exceptionally elegant.

Hannah returned to her senses and took the card. "What is this?" she asked.

"If you're here for the money, this should suffice. If not, this should also be enough to support you in the future. This is my supplementary card."

Darren lowered his gaze. "Just use it."

Hannah couldn't help but smile. Her pretty features displayed pure joy.

She knew that she was forced into this marriage just to humiliate Darren. Even so, he didn't vent his frustrations on her.

Rumor had it that Darren had become an unstable lunatic after his injury. Yet, despite his rude remarks, Hannah found that he had a better personality than most people she met.

Feeling more confident, Hannah asked, "So, I can use the card however I like?"

Darren remained silent, which she took as approval.

Hannah's smile widened. Intending to test the waters, she asked, "I'm interested in investments lately, so I'd like to borrow some money from you. We can do 50-50 on the profits. How does that sound?"

She had pushed Matthew to the limits by demanding one million dollars from him. Now that she'd spent some of it, she planned to put the remaining money to work.

There were many ways to use the money. After all, her reincarnation had given her some advantages to foresee the future.

The stoic Darren finally showed some expression on his handsome face. Seemingly surprised, he looked deeply into her eyes.

Hannah was attractive, confident, and radiant. As someone who grew up in the slums, she was neither timid nor hostile. Instead, she had a carefree charm.

Her eyes gleamed with a hint of defiance and determination. She was dazzling, and her every move was elegant.

At that moment, she had a radiant smile playing on her lips. It was beautiful, captivating, and full of youth.

To top it off, she was a young lady.

A beautiful young lady.

Darren lowered his gaze again and asked, "How much do you need?"

He treated her request like a kid going shopping. Hence, he didn't take her offer to split the profits seriously.

His indulgence made him appear easy to manipulate.

"50 million dollars. Is that okay?" Hannah lightly brushed her index finger against the back of Darren's hand.

His fingers instinctively curled upon her touch. For the first time since his injury, his heart skipped a beat.

Darren diverted his gaze and wrote a check. As he handed it over to Hannah, he said coldly, "Behave yourself. Don't disturb me anymore."

"Is this your request?"

Hannah took the check and shook her head. "Mr. Winchester, we're husband and wife now. We should act more like a family."

She added, "Don't worry. You won't be disappointed if you invest in me."

At that moment, there was a cautious knock on the door.

Seeing no response from Darren, Hannah raised her voice and said, "Come in."

As a maid pushed the door open, she saw the room was bright. Soon, her attention shifted toward Hannah. The new lady of the house was gracefully sitting on the desk opposite Darren.

Stunned, the maid started re-evaluating Hannah's capabilities. She then informed them respectfully, "Mr. Nigel Moore had forced his way downstairs. He wishes to see Madam."

Nigel Moore?

Although Darren didn't care, Hannah's background information was placed on his desk yesterday. He immediately realized that Nigel was his newlywed wife's pursuer.

For some unknown reason, he glanced at her, only to find her looking at him with a smile. Their gazes met.

Hannah leaned in. Her gentle breath brushed against Darren's ear.

"It seems the maids in our house should retire earlier. They can't even guard the door properly."

Darren's eyes were downcast. Feeling bewildered, he responded with a hum.

Did she just say "our house"? She really was …

Hannah's voice was exceptionally clear in the silence. She purposely didn't lower her tone.

The maid, who was somewhat disdainful earlier, was now nervous. She instinctively asked, "Pardon?"

Darren's assistant—Bryan Locke—knocked on the door. He briefly registered the situation in the room.

In his usual tone, he said, "Sir, there was a call from Mr. Andrew's college. He had gotten into a fight. They have requested a guardian to go over and handle the situation."

Bryan wasn't surprised when Darren remained silent. He said, "I'll get Mr. Andrew now."

Seeing that Darren didn't object, Bryan turned to leave.

"Wait," Hannah said.

"Mr. Andrew, as in Andrew Winchester?" Before marrying Darren, Hannah had done her homework on the Winchesters. Andrew was the third child of the family.

After getting confirmation, she lowered her gaze and said, "In that case, I'll go."

Both Bryan and the maid looked at her in astonishment.

Did Hannah want to fetch Andrew or use him as an excuse to meet up with Nigel?

Darren glanced at her, seemingly in deep thought.