Three hundred thousand dollars? Theresa was stumped.She’d been in a coma for six years, and she didn’t have any money on her.She didn’t want to make things hard for Clarissa as well. She knew how tough life would be for Clarissa as a normal girl marrying into a rich family. If Clarissa were to ask them for money, she would be under their control.“Mom, it’s fine. I’ll go settle it.” Clarissa patted Theresa on the shoulder and pulled out Financial and Cost Management.She carried it with her everywhere she went, and the check that Damien had given her was still stuffed between its pages.“I have five hundred thousand dollars here. He gave it to me, so don’t worry. Grandma will be fine. I need to get this check accepted first.” She showed Theresa the check. “He” was referring to Damien, of course.Theresa felt like something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.After paying the deposit, the doctors started operating.Operations to remove tumors always took a long time.T
Clarissa didn’t expect her mother to notice this.“Is there anything wrong with him giving me a check?” she asked.“Don’t you think it’s really odd? Which husband gives his wife a check? And for five hundred thousand dollars, too. It’s such a huge sum! It’s like he’s buying something. Clary, are you hiding something from me?” Theresa held Clarissa’s shoulders, her face grim.Theresa had always thought there was no way someone with Damien’s status would go for a normal girl like Clarissa.Clarissa was pretty, true. Her family background, on the other hand…“It’s nothing, Mom.” Clarissa was pale.“I watched you grow up, and I can read you like an open book. What’s going on? Did you do it because of me…?” Theresa’s heart ached for her.Her own son couldn’t care less about her illness, yet her daughter had gone to the extent of selling herself for money…Theresa had already guessed the truth.“No, Mom. Absolutely not!” Clarissa’s denial was forceful.Theresa knew that she had gue
“This is the money you gave me before. I still owe you 930 thousand dollars,” Clarissa said.Damien put the card aside. “What do you mean by this? Do you want to end the contract?”“No. Anyway, Grandpa’s sick, so we can’t end it. My mother found out about our contract marriage, and she told me to give the money back to you. She said that a person’s feelings are very precious, and they can’t be measured using money. I don’t want the rest of the money.” Clarissa sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. She lowered her head and laughed, and then said, “I might be dirt-poor compared to you, but I still have feelings at the very least. Don’t I?”As she laughed, she suddenly started to cry.“So, everything you gave up is just going to go to waste? You used to be a virgin, and now… Don’t you regret it?” Damien asked.“My mom’s right. I have to retain the last of my dignity when we get divorced. At least…”“At least what?” Damien lit a cigarette.“At least I got to kno
“What’s this?” Damien looked at the check.Lately, he seemed to have a lot of luck with money. People were giving him money left and right—Clarissa had started it, and now, Joseph was doing the same.How mocking!Damien’s gaze was cold, and his smile was icy.“I heard Clarissa talking to her mother a few days ago. She still owes you 930 thousand dollars, doesn’t she? I’ll pay it off for her,” Joseph said.“You?” Damien looked at the check before tearing it to shreds. “Who do you think you are?!”“Damien Lawrence!” Joseph shot to his feet angrily.“There’s no need for you to interfere in our personal matters,” Damien said. “I’m busy, so get lost!”Joseph stormed out, infuriated.The moment he left, Emily came. This was her first time entering Damien’s office.“President Lawrence. You were the one who gave Luke that house, right? Now, Connie…” Emily crossed her arms over her chest. She had yet to finish her sentence when Damien had already called the marketing department.“Fir
“Director Conrad’s idea is pretty good. What do you think, Clarissa?”It looked like Damien was giving Clarissa a choice. He was, apparently, the world’s best husband and best boss.For the sake of her future in the audit department, Clarissa had no choice but to agree.“I’m not the best writer,” she said.“I’m not reading a novel.”“I’ll turn it into a day-to-day account, then.”“Sure. Remember to hand it in every day.”Clarissa left dejectedly. ‘Did Connie tell on me? Ugh… Why does Joseph keep causing trouble for me?’“Damien, are you teaching your wife a lesson again? You used me very well, didn’t you? I bet she’s going to hate me from now on,” Ray said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you think you’re really sly?”“No, I don’t. Get to the point.”Clarissa went back to her office and started to work.In time, she realized that keeping a journal was actually a pretty good idea.Her work was all over the place, and keeping a journal helped her keep her tasks on track. It made
The two shirts cost 5 thousand dollars.In Clarissa’s current situation, five thousand dollars was an astronomical sum.Outsiders couldn’t enter the audit department, so she met with the store clerk at the reception desk.She asked whether she could pay them together with the following month’s bill.The store clerk smiled. “Miss Johnson, we just work there. We have to keep a monthly record.”“I forgot to bring my cell phone, though,” Clarissa said.“That’s okay. I can wait here while you go back upstairs to get your phone.”Clarissa fell silent.She was backed into a corner.She couldn’t bring herself to borrow any money from Lily, because she knew that Lily was always short of money at the end of the month. Lily spent more than she earned, and her mother even had to give her some allowance every month. Moreover, Clarissa could already imagine what would happen if she were to borrow money from Lily.“You want to borrow money? Half of this building belongs to you, but you want
Damien took out a card. “This is my secondary credit card. You can hold on to it.”“Do I need to pay you back for this?” Clarissa blinked at him.“Since you don’t want the five million anymore, you can take it that I’m sponsoring all of your expenses.”Clarissa figured that since it was almost payday, things would be better once she had her salary. She would take this credit card as an emergency measure.“What’s the pin? I’ll take it down.” She pulled her phone out and got ready to take down the pin.“000215.”“Does it mean anything special? It’ll make it easier for me to remember,” Clarissa said.After a moment of silence, Damien said, “It’s my birthday.”“Oh, right, your birthday. I forgot all about it,” she said awkwardly after a pause.In truth, she didn’t even know when his birthday was, let alone forget about it. She was afraid Damien would mock her again, like how he’d done when she hadn’t known about his age. She had to find a way to make herself look better.“Drop th
Clarissa ignored Connie’s jab. She quickly picked two belts with Lily’s help, one black and one brown. They weren’t from a luxury brand, but the quality was pretty good.She hoped Damien would like them.They cost 1,790 dollars in total. Connie gave her the receipt.After paying, Clarissa turned to leave. Right then, she saw another woman walk toward her.‘Indeed, one can’t avoid one’s enemies.’Madelynn was dressed elegantly. She walked up to Clarissa.At that moment, she held a shopping bag.Clarissa was starting to recognize more brands after being with Damien for some time. She knew that Madelynn had bought something from Patek Philippe.“What did you buy, Miss Johnson?” Madelynn sounded like she couldn’t wait to make fun of Clarissa.“Belts for Damien.”“What’s the brand?” Madelynn looked up at the store, and then tutted. “I’ve never even heard of it. Do you plan on using such a cheap brand to win Damien’s heart? You probably won’t succeed.”Clarissa ignored her. She gr
Benjamin walked to her side and suddenly hugged her. It was as if there were thousands of words that could not be said. Jacey did not refute. It was as if the two of them had known each other for a long time. It was as if they had known each other for a long time."Your mother did a good job with this exhibition," Jacey said."It's good. After all, you're an expert in this field," Benjamin said. "Or if you have any requests when you get married, tell my mother and let her customize the most beautiful jewelry for you.""Married?" Jacey didn't understand.She had never thought about marriage. Why did she feel so close to her when Benjamin mentioned it?She still felt quite confused."I'll treat you to a meal later?" Benjamin said. "What do you want to eat?"Jacey's eyes lit up. "Hotpot? How about a hotpot?"Benjamin smiled and said, "I thought you had a profound hobby. This is it."Jacey smiled again.Jacey didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by people, so she chose the
Kenny smoked as he spoke. He had the look of a veteran in society. It was hard not to believe that he was a nouveau riche who did not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of his subordinates to save money."Sir, you've found the right person. Come and take a look." The workshop owner said. Then, he whispered a few words into Kenny's ear and asked, "Can you accept it?""What's so unacceptable about that? I'm definitely showing it to Party A. These people grew up in the countryside. What kind of milk have they drunk? I can't tell if it's true or not," Kenny said."Alright, alright," the workshop owner said with a smile."Just don't make it obvious. I'll go take a look at the manufacturing workshop." Kenny said.The owner of the workshop was initially quite shy, but Kenny said that he had ordered a lot, so the other party agreed.As soon as he entered the workshop, Jacey secretly turned on the pinhole camera when the workshop owner was not paying attention and filmed the production proce
Jacey felt that under Kenny's serious and unsmiling appearance, there was a soft and warm heart.This note looked like it had been around for a long time. It was unknown how long Kenny searched last night before he found it and gave it to Jacey so easily.Jacey left.However, she did not expect that something would happen on her first day there.She brought a vacuum camera and made her clothes look like rural women's. After finding the milk production point, she said that she wanted to order milk in large quantities because she heard that the milk here was very cheap.The people in the workshop looked at each other and said, "I'm not selling!"The people in the workshop were very smart and vigilant. Their workshop had a fixed delivery channel. This woman was alone and was unlikely to be here to order. They found an excuse and sent Jacey away.No matter how much Jacey dawdled, the other party refused to let her in.For a moment, Jacey didn't know what to do. She was quite depres
Jacey was a little stunned. She really didn't know much about what the parents were talking about.Moreover, she hadn't interacted with Benjamin for a few days. Moreover, when Ashlyn came to visit this time, she didn't say a word about him. It made her feel very uneasy. She even wondered if he didn't mean that at all. It was all her own wishful thinking…For the past few days, Benjamin had not come to look for Jacey. She had not contacted him either.However, a few days later, Jacey received a Whatsapp message from Benjamin. There were many photos. It was a rather high-class living room. There were boxes in the living room. The living room was simple and noble, like a top-notch courtyard house.[This is the showroom and display cabinet for my mother's medieval jewelry. How about letting your mother take a look?] Benjamin said.[Where is this place? This place is so beautiful.][My mother's dowry. The courtyard house in Genovia.] Benjamin said.Jacey thought to herself, "As expec
Today, Benjamin had already returned home."How is it? How's your first time meeting your in-laws alone?" Calvin teased Ashlyn."It's quite good. I'm preparing to hold a medieval jewelry exhibition and then let my employees learn medieval video skills. I said that I wanted to use their jewelry as an exhibition, but they didn't even want the deposit. How generous," Ashlyn said lazily as she leaned against the sofa."It's… it's over?" Calvin looked at Ashlyn and said in surprise.Benjamin sat there and smiled."What else?" Ashlyn asked."What are you going to do this time? Aren't you going to look for your daughter-in-law? Did you see what she looked like?" Calvin poured a cup of tea for Ashlyn.After so many years, Ashlyn still hadn't changed from her usual macho self. In fact, she was even more macho than before. Perhaps Calvin had been the one to deal with everything after marriage, developing Ashlyn's habit of not using her brain.Of course, it only meant that she didn't use
For some reason, Ashlyn felt like crying when she saw this. In the past, these jewelry had traveled to another country. Now, these jewelry were all back with stories.She thought about how the person who owned these jewelry had brought them overseas and brought them back…She felt that the Irving family was worthy of admiration.Linda had gone out at some point. Seeing that Ashlyn was looking at her very seriously, she didn't disturb her.When she came in again, she was carrying a cup of coffee. The fragrant Americano she'd just ordered from the coffee machine on the first floor. It was made from good coffee beans.She handed the coffee to Ashlyn."Have a cup of coffee when you're tired. Anyway, these jewelry don't have long legs. They won't run away on their own," Linda said. "You can come and take a look whenever you want. I've always been here."Only then did Ashlyn feel that she had been watching for an hour or two, but she had always been like a pious primary school student
On Saturday afternoon, Ashlyn drove to Jacey's house, a very simple villa.Ashlyn knew that writers liked to live in such a quiet place because they had inspiration in such a place.Jacey's mother, Linda, was already standing on her steps to welcome her.Linda was dressed in a Chinese-style robe. She looked very ancient, but because she was slender, she looked especially good. She looked like a fairy.Ashlyn was dressed in a very fashionable modern outfit. She was wearing a knee-length skirt, pearl earrings, and earrings. She looked especially round and beautiful. One look and one could tell that she was the kind of person who had never experienced the blow of life."I'm Jacey's mother. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Conrad." Linda reached out and held Isobel's hand. "Jacey said that you're coming to our house to take a look. I am so happy. I specially brought all the jewelry from the other houses here and packed them up. If these jewelry can be displayed in the exhibition and let everyon
"Excuse me, how did you know about me?" Jacey asked."Oh, Benjamin's phone was on the table that day. He went to the washroom and I happened to see the photo album he was looking through. I picked it up and saw these few pieces of jewelry. You know it too. As jewelry makers, we won't let go of those rare jewelry no matter what. I asked Benjamin where these pieces of jewelry came from and he told me about you," Ashlyn said neither servile nor overbearing.She understood a girl's mentality very well. She knew that if the woman found out that the man had taken the initiative to leak her news to her parents, she would be very disgusted and feel passive. Therefore, she did not say that. Instead, she said that she had seen it herself. She even said that Benjamin was looking at these photos at that time.Jacey's heart would probably feel warm. After all, a man was looking at her photo behind her back. She should have a good impression of this man.Jacey really thought so. When she heard A
After Benjamin returned home, he showed Ashlyn the jewelry he had taken for Jacey.Ashlyn was very knowledgeable. One look at this jewelry and she knew that it was priceless.Moreover, the girl wearing the jewelry also had extremely good skin and was extremely delicate.Calvin, who was sitting at the side, also watched.However, Ashlyn didn't just look at the jewelry. She said, "You only bought jewelry. Who is this person wearing jewelry behind you?"Ashlyn asked Benjamin gossipily."Don't ask," Benjamin said.Ashlyn smiled. "You said that you only took photos of the jewelry but didn't take photos of her. Aren't you trying to arouse my curiosity? Now that I'm curious, you're not making a move. However, I've been working on researching National Jewelry recently, so I'm lacking samples in this area. When are you going to ask this girl out? Let me take a closer look. From her appearance, I think she's dressed very well. Moreover, I can see her face from her bone structure. I think