CHAPTER 307: CHAPTER 307: DELUSIONAL

Three days passed just like that.

Aurora spent most of her time with Spencer. She laughed more, smiled brighter, and even forgot to check her own company’s updates. Coding, deadlines, and meetings? All were pushed aside. Spencer had become her favorite distraction.

On the third day, while sipping tea, Aurora got a call from Emily.

"Your company is officially registered!" Emily said, her voice bubbling with excitement.

Aurora’s eyes lit up. "Really?! That’s amazing!"

She didn’t waste a second. Right after the call, she launched her company’s first software product. But instead of the usual boring promotions, she used a sneaky marketing plan: hacking.

Not harmful ones, just enough to make people curious. People started talking about the new software that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

But after launching, Aurora didn’t even check the data, no graphs, no user count, nothing. She simply smiled, closed her laptop, and went to spend the rest of the day with Spencer.

Because right now, he mattered more than any line of code.

On the fifth day, Aurora had just returned from school. She was tossing her bag on the sofa when she noticed something odd.

The living room was filled with tension.

Mary was pacing, talking on the phone, looking pale and worried.

Aurora raised an eyebrow and walked over. "What’s going on?"

Mary covered the speaker and whispered, "Tan just called. He said Ruby got into a car accident. They need over a hundred thousand dollars for her treatment."

Aurora blinked. "What?"

Mary nodded, clearly torn.

Aurora crossed her arms. "Do they even know what shame is?"

Mary looked down. "He said since his mother once helped me, it’s my turn to repay."

Aurora’s eyes narrowed. She snatched the phone from Mary’s hand and put it to her ear.

"Tan," Aurora said calmly, "do you actually think we’ll give you money?"

Tan’s voice came through, full of righteous anger. "Of course! Your mother owes us a life! My mom saved her, and now it’s your turn to repay that debt!"

Aurora chuckled softly. "Really? Okay then. I’ll send you something. Listen to it. If you still feel the same way after that, I’ll personally send the money."

Tan sounded pleased. "Good. I knew you were reasonable."

"Oh, I’m very reasonable," Aurora replied with a smile. "Check your phone."

She hung up.

...........

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Ruby was sitting up in bed with a bandage on her head, eating jelly. She didn’t look seriously hurt.

Jean sat beside her, holding her hand and watching the door nervously. "Did she say yes?" she asked Tan.

Tan nodded, opening his phone. "She said she’ll send a recording. If I still feel the same, she’ll send the money."

Ruby smirked. "Told you that rich girl would give in. She’s soft."

Just then, a new message popped up. Tan clicked on it.

The moment the audio started playing, the smiles disappeared.

Tan’s eyes widened. His hand trembled.

Jean stood up. "This... this can’t be real! How do they have this?!"

Ruby dropped her jelly cup, face turning pale. "We’re doomed. They know everything now. They’ll never send money."

Jean started pacing, shouting, "No! That’s impossible! I had Mary completely fooled! I was about to get fifty grand from her!"

She stomped her foot in frustration. "We can’t lose this! We need to fix it. We have to do something!"

Just as Jean, Tan, and Ruby were whispering and thinking up new ways to trick money out of the Waters family, the hospital door suddenly opened.

A doctor stepped in.

He was wearing a white coat and looked very calm, but his eyes were sharp. He looked at the three of them, then spoke in a serious voice.

"I’ve already told you," the doctor said. "Ruby’s injury isn’t serious. It’s just a twisted ankle. She can leave anytime. There are other patients who need this room more than you do. You shouldn’t be taking up resources when you’re perfectly fine."

Jean’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Excuse me?" she said loudly. "We’re paying for this room! We’re not staying here for free!"

The doctor’s calm expression vanished. His face turned red with anger.

"You’re lying," he snapped. "For the past hour, the nurses have been asking you to leave the room. You ignored them. And when they asked you to pay the bills, you said the money was coming soon. But no one has paid anything. Not even one penny!"

He pointed toward Jean with his clipboard. "If you keep acting like this, we’ll file a police complaint. Then you’ll be kicked out."

Jean’s mouth opened, but no words came out for a moment. Then she quickly changed her tone and put on a sad, pitiful look.

"We’re... we’re just really poor," she said, lowering her voice. "We don’t have enough money right now. We’re trying to get help from our relatives. Please give us a little more time."

The doctor stared at her like she was crazy. He shook his head.

"Lady, are you even listening to yourself?" he asked. "Her injury is minor. If she stays home and rests, she’ll be fine in two days. Why are you even pretending this is an emergency?"

Jean suddenly pouted, her voice soft and dramatic. "Is it because I’m poor? Are you looking down on me because of that?"

She slowly stepped closer to the doctor like she was trying to get sympathy. She even tried to reach out and gently touch his arm.

The doctor quickly stepped back with a disgusted look on his face.

"Stay back," he warned. "Don’t come near me. And it has nothing to do with your money. I’m telling you not to waste hospital space."

Jean blinked and smiled awkwardly. "You misunderstood. I wasn’t trying anything..."

But before she could finish, the doctor cut her off.

"If you don’t clear this room soon, the police will come. I’m serious."

Then he turned around and walked away quickly, almost as if he were afraid Jean might follow him.

Jean rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Ugh, what’s his problem? Such a drama king."

She turned back to her children, but froze.

Ruby and Tan were both staring at her... with weird, almost disgusted looks.

Jean narrowed her eyes. "What’s with those looks?"

Ruby just shook her head and mumbled under her breath, "I wonder how Dad hasn’t been cheated on yet, with the way you act sometimes."

Jean’s eyes widened in shock. "What did you say?!"

Ruby quickly looked away, pretending she hadn’t said anything.

Tan sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked like he was wondering why he was even born into this mess.

Suddenly, Ruby’s eyes brightened and she said, "I have an idea!"

.........

The sun was starting to set as Olivia walked out of her university gate, her bag swinging lightly on her shoulder.

She was tired from a full day of lectures and group work and just wanted to go home, eat noodles, and watch something dumb on her phone.

But as she turned the corner near the parking lot, something strange caught her eye.

In the middle of the sidewalk, a girl and a boy were standing face to face.

At first, Olivia thought it might be a couple having a small fight. But as she got closer, she realized it was much more dramatic than that.

The boy was wearing a plain white T-shirt and black pants.

But even though the outfit was simple, anyone with an eye for fashion could tell it was super expensive. The kind of outfit that costs more than a normal person’s rent.

He stood calmly, hands in his pockets, and had a tiny, amused smile on his face. He looked at the girl in front of him like she was a child throwing a tantrum in a candy store.

The girl, on the other hand, looked like she was about to explode.

Her face was red, her fists were clenched, and her eyes were burning with anger.

"Why are you acting like nothing ever happened between us?" she yelled, her voice shaking with frustration.

The boy just shrugged, the smile still on his face. "Because nothing ever did," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

That made the girl even angrier. "You think just because you’re rich, you can treat people like trash? You think you can play with my feelings and walk away whenever you want?"

The boy raised his eyebrows slightly, as if surprised. Then he replied, "Wow. I didn’t know you were this delusional."

The girl’s eyes widened. Her whole body was shaking now.

"What about the letters?" she shouted. "What about the money you gave me? Huh? Was that all fake, too?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, the girl lifted her hand, ready to slap him across the face.

But then something very unexpected happened.

The boy suddenly dropped to the ground.

He didn’t look like someone who got hurt. He dropped on purpose, like a kid pretending to faint. Then he started yelling.