Chapter 3: Trade Off

Sofia scoffed, her arrogant and cold attitude unchanged. "Agreeing sooner would have been better, my dear sister. Showing hesitation and reluctance is quite repulsive."

Sofia then briefly recounted her situation and that of her current blind fiancé, Finn, to Annie. The engagement between Finn and Sofia had been arranged when both families were wealthy and prosperous. At that time, Finn was the only son in his family, handsome, talented, and possessed strong business acumen, making him a dream marriage prospect for many young women. Given the affluent circumstances of Sofia's family, they were considered a suitable match.

However, recently, after Finn's mother passed away, his father hastily remarried a younger, beautiful stepmother, who had a son from a previous marriage, older than Finn by two years. Finn's father appeared to favor this stepson, Hubert and even had plans to groom him as the future heir to the family business. Consequently, Finn went from being the esteemed heir to an outcast in his family.

Subsequently, a series of events led to Finn's temporary blindness, and whether or not he would regain his sight depended on luck and fate. In such circumstances, as Finn's fiancée, Sofia naturally had the responsibility to take care of him, be by his side, and encourage him to overcome this predicament.

However, Sofia, now living a lavish and privileged life as an aristocratic young lady, despised Finn's blindness and his abandonment by his father. She had no intention of caring for Finn.

"Why should I endure this hardship when he's blinded and disowned by his father?" Sofia remarked. "If it weren't for fear of public opinion and the disdain for greed and poverty, I would have abandoned my fiancé's status long ago."

"Furthermore, while Finn may no longer be the heir to the family fortune, he still holds shares in the company and has his own successful business. Who knows, circumstances might change, and Finn could become even more successful and wealthy than he is now. Then I could enjoy wealth and bask in the praise of others as a virtuous fiancée."

"So, your current task is to take good care of Finn for me; as I promised, I will pay you one million dollars. If you perform well, there may even be additional rewards."

Sofia had no concerns about Annie potentially replacing her as Finn's fiancée, as the two were identical twins, and their striking resemblance often led people to mistake them for one another. Even their parents had occasionally mistaken them for each other when they were young. Besides, Finn had only met Sofia a few times before, so Sofia was confident that this switch would go unnoticed.

"Do you understand?" Sofia concluded, condescendingly asking if Annie comprehended. Annie obediently responded that she understood and would do her best. Satisfied, Sofia provided Finn's address to Annie, reminded her of a few crucial points, and then hung up.

Finally, the space returned to silence. Annie sat in her empty house, feeling suffocated to the point where she couldn't breathe properly. Once again, she found herself doing something she hated, using deception to gain money. Annie sat motionless on her bed in the midst of the pitch-black night, feeling like her life had become just as blurry and uncertain as that of a blind person.

Like Finn, Annie's future looked bleak with no silver lining, and everything appeared dark and dismal. However, Finn was certainly much luckier than Annie because he was still a wealthy billionaire with considerable assets in the country, with a vast fortune he had amassed when managing his father's company and his own business. In contrast, Annie had nothing.

When Annie was in pain and desperate, she couldn't help but look around, feeling lost and sighing deeply. Despite her unwillingness, life had to go on.

Annie woke up without time for breakfast the next day, hastily got dressed, and hurried to work. Her words to her mother weren't entirely false. Currently, she works as a server at a well-known five-star restaurant in the city, earning a stable income.

Upon arrival, other staff members were also changing into their uniforms to prepare for the morning shift. Manager Denis greeted Annie with a gentle smile. "Good morning, Annie."

Annie tried to appear cheerful and returned the greeting. She chatted briefly with Denis and then changed into her work attire. They were always on high alert near the start of their shift to welcome customers.

Annie had a busy morning, and it wasn't until a few hours into her shift that she had time to stand next to Denis and chat. The two of them stood in a corner of the restaurant, already changed into comfortable clothes. Denis began speaking slowly.

"Annie, I proposed your salary advance to the higher-ups, but they didn't approve it. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

Previously, when Isolde had to go to the hospital, Annie had been in a rush and had asked Denis to help her get an advance on her salary for this month and the next to cover some of the medical expenses. Denis had been more than willing to assist. However, this required approval from higher management, and Denis was worried about Annie when the outcome didn't meet their expectations.

Seeing Denis's concerned expression, Annie reassured him with a soft and soothing voice.

"It's okay. Regardless, I appreciate you. Before this, you also lent me a large sum of money, and you even helped me propose to get an advance on my salary. I'll pay you back soon."

Denis was a kind and compassionate man. When Annie was struggling and desperate to cover the medical expenses for her mother, he loaned her money and assisted her in requesting an advance on her salary. Annie was so grateful for his help. 

"So, how is your mother's medical bill? I have some well-off friends, and I can ask them to lend you money," Denis offered, showing deep concern for Annie's situation.

Annie shook her head, indicating that she would handle it herself, and assured Denis that she had a wealthy friend who had lent her substantial money. She didn't want to bring up the complex relationship between her and Sofia, so she chose to tell a white lie and nodded to reassure Denis that everything was fine. Denis briefly felt reassured and didn't press further, changing the subject.

"Alright, that's good to hear. Have you been able to visit your mother at the hospital? I also want to visit her. After all, we're colleagues, and it's something we should do."

"Moreover, my mom is also in the same hospital, and it seems like she's in the same ward as your mother. I also plan to visit her this afternoon."

Denis was Annie's closest colleague at the restaurant, so she couldn't refuse his genuine offer. On their way to the hospital, Denis wanted to buy many things to bring as gifts, but Annie had to intervene several times to stop him. Eventually, Denis arrived at the hospital to visit her mother with a bouquet of fresh flowers and a carefully packaged bag of fruit.

"In fact, you didn't need to buy so much; just coming with me to visit my mom is enough," Annie couldn't help but say quietly on the way back, feeling somewhat uneasy that Denis had to spend so much money. However, Denis shook his head and said it was alright; they didn't need to be so distant.

On their way back, they stopped by the roadside and bought four more lunchboxes before heading to the hospital. Annie feels guilty about Denis spending a lot and whispers to Denis that they didn't need to go to such lengths. But Denis shook his head, assuring her that it was not necessary.

They arrived at the hospital and bought some additional food before entering. When Annie mentioned the room number where her mother was staying, Denis appeared surprisingly surprised.

"What a coincidence! My mother is also in that room too."

It was a relatively small hospital in the city, so patients were often placed in shared rooms, even if their medical conditions were unrelated. Denis's mother had slipped down the stairs a week ago due to a careless accident, resulting in minor injuries and fractured bones, requiring her to stay in the hospital for observation.

It was unexpected that they would end up in the same hospital room with Annie's mother.