Chapter 4

Two days later, Lisa was returning from work, looking worried. The doctor had called yesterday and told her that her mother might not hold on for two weeks. She became worried, unable to think of a solution.

Her friend Anna gave her fifty thousand dollars, and with the one she saved, it's only a little over a hundred thousand dollars; it still wasn't enough. Just as she was still thinking, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry, please. I wasn't looking; it's not intentional," she quickly apologized.

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize. Actually, I was waiting for you."

She looked up surprisingly and saw that it was Williams.

"Williams, what a pleasant meeting. I thought you traveled," she joked.

"Nah, I'm still around." The two tactically did not talk about what happened between them last time.

"I heard about your mom," he said out of the blue. Lisa lowered her head slightly. "Here, take this. Go ahead and pay your mom's hospital bills; her life is too important," he said while handing something that looked like a check.

Lisa wanted to ask him what it was, but he didn't even give her a chance and left immediately. She looked at the check: one million dollars. Her lips twitched; this is not a joke. Why would he joke with something like this? Did he deliberately prank her?

"I told you that boy is up to no good the first time you told me about him. People like him don't deserve our pity because they will turn back to backstab us. You are so naive, baby girl," Anna admonished when Lisa told her about Williams' antics.

"And the check? Have you thrown it away?"

"Yes," Lisa lied. For some reason, she couldn't get herself to throw the check away and had kept it.

"It's good you are wise this time. Anyway, I want to apologize to Mr. Kendrick."

Lisa shook her head. "No need to apologize; it's not your fault."

"It is. It was me that called him hoping he will help you, maybe."

"You should have known there's no free food in the world," she admonished her.

Anna gave a wry smile. "Thanks to the good Samaritan, nothing happened to you."

Lisa blushed a little. Her friend was still unaware of what happened that night. She didn't want to tell her anyway. If not, who knows what she would have thought.

A week later, Lisa was looking so worried. Anna was sitting beside her. "Anna, maybe you should consider Mr. Kendrick. I'm sure he will help."

Lisa shook her head. She was already aware of the kind of person Mr. Kendrick is; he might not necessarily help as he claimed.

After a while, she brought out the check from her purse and looked determined.

"Don't tell me you want to believe that pauper? Lisa, I know you are better than this."

Lisa ignored her. She stood up and started leaving the room. Anna sighed and followed her. They took a cab to the nearest bank. After submitting the check, the bank went to confirm it, and after a while, one million was credited to her account.

Lisa was so shocked that she felt tears dropping from her eyes. Anna, who stood behind her all this while, was also speechless. She had been condemning the guy and calling him a pauper. She felt ashamed of herself. What kind of pauper can casually give out a million dollars? She must be mad.

Luckily, Lisa didn't pay attention to her. She went outside immediately and flagged down a cab.

"Take me to Genevieve Hospital now!" she said to the cabman. The man understood that she must be in a rush, so he didn't get angry over how rude her voice was. The car drove for ten minutes before stopping in front of the hospital.

Lisa went directly to the doctor's office. Soon the payment was processed, and she paid in full. The doctor was surprised; she already knew her condition and knew that she couldn't afford the money, but he didn't ask her how she got the money.

A few days later, the surgery was successful. Lisa was sitting beside her mom in the hospital ward assigned to her. She was feeding her soup.

"Lisa, I had thought of something. It's really hard for a girl like you to take care of me while working. Why not take me to your Aunt Marie? Let her take care of me," Mrs. Winston said.

"But mom, I can take care of you," she insisted.

"I know. Don't be stubborn, child. It's for your own good," she said, hitting Lisa's head playfully. Lisa smiled and hugged her mother. The mother and daughter duo looked so perfect.

Two days later, they were discharged. Lisa had already contacted her aunt ahead of time and gave her some money. A cab was already waiting for them, so she helped her mom inside.

It was a thirty-minute drive to her aunt's house, which is in another part of Pennsylvania. Aunt Marie welcomed them. Mrs. Winston was also happy to see her younger sister. Lisa thought it's a good idea for her mother to live with her sister. They can accompany each other most of the time.

It was getting so she started heading back. She was resting her head on the window inside a cab when she saw Winston coming out from a hotel with a middle-aged man. The two wore business suits.

She quickly asked the cabman to stop and paid him off before hurrying over in time to see Williams parting with the middle-aged man.

"Williams!" she called out to him. Williams was startled when he saw her. Before he could say anything, she came forward and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you very much, Williams. I didn't know what I could have done without your help. I had always wished to meet you and thank you, but you seemed to have disappeared into thin air," she said while sobbing.

Williams was touched and hugged her back. He couldn't understand how she felt, but he could tell that she was really grateful.