Chapter 9 Will You Marry Me?

The floor was littered with cigarette butts.

When the cigarette case was empty, James Lu finally took a deep breath. As soon as he walked out of the stairwell, he saw Elizabeth Liang with her wound bandaged and curled up in a ball, sitting on a hallway bench with her thin arms wrapped tightly around herself.

People walked in and out of the hallway, but she just sat there quietly, like an abandoned child.

He walked over and stood beside her. "Are you done?"

Elizabeth looked up and saw that it was him. "Yeah."

"Where are you going? Should I give you a ride?"

She shook her head.

She once had her uncle's family. But now, she had no one, not even a place to live.

Elizabeth didn't mention on the way here why she was standing outside of the gate with her luggage. James only assumed that the marks on her body had angered her family.

She didn't speak, but he couldn't be bothered to care at the moment.

"Well then, Miss Liang, take care."

"Mr. Lu..." Elizabeth saw that he turned around to leave, so she grabbed a corner of his suit.

James stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. "Miss Liang?"

"Are you... willing to..." Elizabeth looked into his eyes and swallowed. "Marry me?"

James's handsome face looked irritated as he said impatiently, "I think I made it very clear this morning. I can't give you anything other than money."

Marry him? Did she lose her mind?

"I heard... your phone call..." Elizabeth didn't know what the person at the other end had said, but she definitely understood every word of his. "I'm pretty sure you need someone to marry right now, both to satisfy your parents and to save your face."

Hearing her words, James's eyes became frighteningly fierce. A turbulent storm was brewing inside them, but there was no emotion on his face.

As if things weren't bad enough already, of course, Elizabeth had to witness his embarrassment. James couldn't hide his ire any more. He raised his big hand and grabbed her delicate chin. "So you're threatening me?"

He held her chin with crushing strength.

But Elizabeth did not cry out in pain, she only frowned.

"I'll marry you, and you'll help me take back my family's company and house. How does that sound?"

Elizabeth deeply understood that in her current situation, she could not miss this precious opportunity. The thing she needed the most right now was a place to live, and only then could she think about taking back what had belonged to her.

All these years, she trusted her uncle's family wholeheartedly and never asked about the company's affairs. She devoted herself to studying and didn't know anyone in a position of power.

She hadn't known of James before today, but she could tell from his clothing, mannerisms, and his car that his status was more than mediocre.

She would never marry him under any other circumstance, but if she didn't marry him now, she wouldn't even have a place to live. How would she ever take back the Liang mansion and company then?

"Why do you think I would agree to that?"

Her speech was somewhat muddled with a pinched chin. "Can you let me go first?"

James looked at her face turning pale from the pain and finally let go.

She rubbed her aching chin and stood up. "Mr. Lu... to be honest, I don't know what I can use to negotiate with you other than myself. But if you're looking for an appropriate marriage partner as fast as possible, I do believe that I am the most suitable one."

He and she were neither relatives nor friends. Other than becoming his wife, she couldn't think of any other reason for him to help her.

The rage in his eyes faded a little, as he looked at her with something resembling a smile. "So?"

Seeing that he did not refute, she spoke more boldly, "Last night... er... you know it was my first time... there aren't many good girls like me these days."

"Ha!" Amused, James looked at her impudently. "Do good girls ask strange men to marry them like this?"

Elizabeth's expression changed and she clenched her fists. "I have no choice."

James looked at the little woman in front of him, her face slightly flushed from embarrassment. Her big eyes looked at him with desperation and anxiety.

Remembering the phone call made James's heart wrench in pain. Years of persistence and patience had been nothing but a joke. What point was there in hoping anymore? And his parents, they were expecting good news from him. If he couldn't marry the one he loves, then what difference would it make with anybody else?

This woman in front of him did just give him her virginity. She was pure and inexperienced. There was nothing wrong with marrying her.

"I can marry you, and you can enjoy everything that comes with being Mrs. Lu..." He paused and knit his dark eyebrows together. "But I may not love you."

Even Theodore Chao could just throw away their ten-year relationship like it was nothing, let alone him. What was the point of expecting something like love?

"Mr. Lu, you need a person to marry, and I want to take back what's mine. We'll be fine if we just take what we need."