Chapter 3 Got Married

Inside the car, things got real tense for a moment.

Maria quickly jumped in, "No, seriously, I need it ASAP, I..."

Before she could finish, Henry's phone buzzed.

"Grandpa," he answered, listening to Ethan ask if he'd seen Maria. A look of helplessness crossed his face.

Ethan was super worried about Henry's marriage. Knowing his grandfather had only a few months left to live, Henry felt a deep sense of urgency and responsibility. He didn't want to let him down. So, meeting Maria was Henry's way of fulfilling his grandfather's last wish.

As Henry hung up, Maria was about to speak, but Henry beat her to it. "I can lend you $120,000. When can you pay it back?"

Henry's eyes were sharp. Maria, not avoiding his gaze, thought seriously for a moment before saying, "No more than a month." She figured her house should sell within a month.

The car started up again.

After they finished the marriage procedures and left the City Hall, Maria looked at the marriage certificate in her hand, wondering when Henry would give her the money.

"Mr. Smith," she called out as Henry walked to the car. "I need to go home and pack my things." She hadn't forgotten Henry's condition that she should take care of Ethan.

Henry was already in the car, his voice indifferent. "Call me when you're done packing, and I'll give you the address."

Maria nodded, handed over the IOU she had written, and said humbly, "Mr. Smith, I really need the money urgently. This is the IOU I wrote. When can you give me the money?"

Maria felt her cheeks flush with awkwardness. She didn't want to ask Henry, whom she had just met, for money like a debt collector, but she had no other choice.

"Tomorrow," Henry said, and then he drove away.

Early the next morning, Maria rushed to the company. She had stayed up late packing and almost couldn't get up in the morning. Luckily, she wasn't late.

After turning on her computer, Maria went to the break room to get some water. She overheard three colleagues whispering.

"Do you really think Maria is as virtuous as she seems? She leads quite a wild life outside of work. How else do you think she got her supervisory position?" Vivian said.

"Exactly, she hasn't been here long, and among those who joined with her, she's the only one who got promoted," a colleague added.

"But doesn't she have a boyfriend? He came to pick her up before; I think his name is Billy," another colleague said.

"Billy broke up with her a long time ago. He's with me now. Billy said he regrets being with her and wishes he had met me sooner," Vivian said proudly.

Hearing this, Maria stepped in. "I regret not seeing the true colors of you two scumbags sooner."

The three in the break room were startled. Vivian clutched her chest and said, "Maria, you were eavesdropping on us? Are you mad because you heard Billy regrets being with you?" She looked smug.

Maria resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she sidestepped them for some water, regretting her past naivety. "He's just an unemployed bum. If you want him, he's all yours. I don't give a damn."

"Unemployed bum? Billy is just between jobs right now. He's already sent his resume to Luminex Innovations. With his qualifications, he'll definitely get hired. Luminex Innovations offers a monthly salary of $12,000, which is probably more than your salary for a few months," Vivian said, looking at Maria with disdain.

Maria pretended not to hear and, after making her coffee, started to walk away, only to find Vivian blocking her path. "Let's talk when he gets hired. Now, move."

Vivian crossed her arms. "Maria, it's too late for regrets now. Billy doesn't like you anymore. If it weren't for..."

Before Vivian could finish, Maria "accidentally" spilled half a cup of coffee on her and apologized insincerely, "Oops, my bad. Hand slipped."

With that, Maria left without waiting for Vivian to respond, afraid if she didn't leave, her anger would make her spill the rest of the coffee.

When she went to the manager's office to get some documents, Maria discovered that Vivian had gone over her head to request leave from the manager and had also reported her.

Maria sneered and told the manager about Vivian not submitting her design drafts. She had covered for Vivian's occasional delays and non-submissions before, thinking of her as a best friend; otherwise, Vivian would have been fired long ago. But now, it wasn't too late.

Maria returned with the documents, assigned the tasks given by the manager, and started working.

She was busy until the end of the day when she remembered Henry had mentioned transferring money to her today. She checked her bank account, but no funds had been deposited.

'Did he forget?' Maria wondered as she decided to call him first, since she was heading over today. she dialed his number.

The call was quickly answered. "Mr. Smith," she said.

"What's up?" Henry's voice was as cold as ever.

"I've finished packing," Maria said.

In the CEO's office, Henry looked at the time; it was already 6 PM. He stood up and gave Maria the address. "Rose Garden Community."

Maria memorized the address as her reserved taxi arrived.

After informing Henry of her approximate arrival time, Maria hung up. She wanted to mention the money, but it wasn't appropriate to talk about it over the phone, so she decided to bring it up in person.

Soon, the taxi stopped at the entrance of the residential community. The area was known for its luxurious villas, and Maria carried her two suitcases and walked in.

The community was large, and it took Maria some effort to find Henry's house. But looking at the three-story house in front of her, Maria was momentarily unsure.

"Ms. Brown," Henry called out as he came over from the yard, glanced at her suitcases, and took one. "Come in."

Maria snapped out of it and followed with her suitcase. Engrossed in observing her surroundings, she failed to notice Henry standing at the entrance and accidentally bumped right into him.

Maria's eyes immediately reddened as she held her throbbing nose, tears welling up almost instantly. 'It hurts so much,' she thought.

Henry only felt Maria's soft body press against him, making his body stiffen for a moment before he quickly turned around and saw Maria looking like she had been bullied.

'Is she doing this on purpose? Putting on this act for my grandfather?' With this thought, disgust flashed in Henry's eyes.

"Is that you, Henry?" Ethan's voice came from the room.

Henry suppressed his anger, speaking coldly, "Change your shoes."

"Grandpa, it's me." Henry's tone softened.

"Is my granddaughter-in-law here?" There was a sound from Ethan's room.

Henry strode into the room, and Maria managed to hold back her tears. She hadn't seen Henry's expression clearly through her teary eyes, only feeling he was inexplicably angry.

Seeing Henry walk in, Maria quickly changed her shoes and followed. The room door was wide open, and as Maria reached it, she saw an old man sitting by the bed, looking at her kindly.