CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 12: I’M WILLING TO MARRY YOU

Crying and crying, Clara Sterling felt her mother’s body trembling slightly.

"Mom, what’s wrong?" Clara Sterling hurriedly got up from her mother’s arms.

Yvonne Sterling’s face turned even paler than before. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and she was biting her lower lip with a pained expression, as if enduring pain with great effort.

Clara’s heart ached, and she quickly wiped her tears and said, "Mom, I’m going to call the doctor."

Clara Sterling hurriedly ran to call the doctor.

Soon, the doctor came over to assess the situation.

Yvonne Sterling’s condition had worsened due to emotional agitation and excessive stress.

The doctor suggested that it was best to avoid situations that could cause further emotional agitation.

Yvonne’s illness suddenly worsened, the pain was unbearable, and the doctor administered a painkiller injection, set up special equipment for treatment, carried out some examinations, and then left.

This all cost tens of thousands.

Clara took out all the money she had, but it still wasn’t enough. Yvonne withdrew a portion of her savings to pay the medical bill.

After paying, Yvonne didn’t have much savings left.

Clara Sterling consulted the doctor about the future medical expenses, and after roughly calculating, she found out that her mother’s savings would only last for another month.

After a month, if they couldn’t come up with more money, her mother’s treatment couldn’t continue.

This was just the cost at Crestwood Hospital. If they went to Veridian, the expenses would be even higher, and that money wouldn’t last a month.

She had to raise money immediately, or it would be too late by the time they ran out of money in a month.

On her way back to the ward from consulting the doctor, Clara felt very low and was absent-minded.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. She took it out and saw that the caller was Isaac Sutton.

She frowned, a trace of annoyance flashing in her eyes.

It was because of Isaac Sutton’s fickleness that Quinn Hughes had come looking for her.

If Quinn Hughes hadn’t caused such a scene, her mother’s condition wouldn’t have suddenly worsened.

The root cause was Isaac Sutton.

Clara Sterling answered the phone.

Isaac Sutton still used that affectionate tone, "Baby, where are you? Why aren’t you returning my calls?"

Clara’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

It seemed he didn’t know what Quinn Hughes had done.

"At the hospital," Clara Sterling said truthfully, "My mom is ill, so I came to see her."

Isaac Sutton paused, and spoke in a very surprised tone, "Our mom is really sick?"

Clara Sterling replied calmly, "Yes, so are you coming to the hospital to see her?"

Isaac Sutton responded immediately, "Okay, which hospital? I’ll come right over."

Clara Sterling said, "City Center Hospital."

"Okay." Isaac Sutton hung up the phone.

...

Over on Isaac Sutton’s side, after hanging up the phone, he changed into his humble attire and meticulously went to the bus stop.

Clearly, driving would be faster, but to prevent Clara Sterling from discovering he was faking poverty, he chose to take the bus.

Just as he reached the bus stop, his phone rang again.

The call was from Quinn Hughes.

Isaac Sutton answered, "Hello, Quinn."

Quinn Hughes’s coquettish voice sounded on the phone, "Isaac, I’m on my period, and my stomach hurts a lot. Can you come over and take care of me?"

Isaac Sutton paused, "Did you drink hot water? Do you still have a heating pad at home?"

Quinn Hughes said with grievance, "Drinking hot water didn’t help, and I ran out of heating pads. Can you bring some over for me? It hurts so much I can barely walk, and now I feel like I’m dying lying in bed."

Isaac Sutton hesitated for a moment, then spoke gently, "Baby, I have something to do right now. Can you wait for me for two hours? I’ll come to see you as soon as I’m done here."

"Hmph! What’s more important than me?" Quinn Hughes pouted, "I’ll only give you half an hour. If I don’t see you in half an hour, I’ll never speak to you again!"

With that, Quinn Hughes hung up the phone.

At this moment, the bus Isaac Sutton was waiting for slowly pulled up to the bus platform.

People started to board the bus one after another.

Isaac Sutton hesitated for a few seconds, then turned and left the bus stop.

...

Clara Sterling waited for over an hour, but Isaac Sutton never showed up.

She sent a message.

[Where are you?]

Isaac Sutton didn’t respond.

Clara Sterling frowned.

She had asked Isaac Sutton to come because she wanted to clarify things face to face.

After all, they had been in a real relationship for two years, and she had genuinely cared for him during that time.

Now that her mother had fallen seriously ill and needed money, she didn’t want to leave for Veridian without a word as originally planned. After much thought, she decided to speak with Isaac Sutton face to face and ask to borrow some money from him.

She would pay him back in the future.

She hoped he could do her this favor.

If Isaac Sutton was willing to help, she would be willing to overlook his deception, break up with him amicably, and allow him to be with Quinn Hughes. From then on, they would only be creditors and debtors, with no further emotional entanglements.

Clara Sterling waited in the hospital for a long time.

Until evening, Isaac Sutton never appeared.

Not only did he not show up, but he also didn’t answer the phone or respond on WhatsApp.

Clara Sterling didn’t call again.

She stayed at the hospital until her mother fell asleep, then returned to the school.

As soon as she reached the entrance of the dormitory, Isaac Sutton finally replied.

It was two photos.

The first photo was of him sitting by the bed massaging someone’s stomach.

Judging by the angle, the photo was taken by the person lying down.

The clothes worn by the person lying down were identical to what Quinn Hughes wore earlier that day.

As soon as Clara saw the photo, she understood that Isaac Sutton had gone to Quinn Hughes’s place.

The second photo was of Isaac Sutton in the kitchen cooking brown sugar water.

The photo showed the pot of brown sugar water and Isaac Sutton’s profile.

A second after sending the photos, a message from "Isaac Sutton" followed.

[Wake up, Isaac cares most about me. Who are you to compete with me?]

[When I mentioned cramps, he came over immediately. In his heart, I’m the most important person.]

It turned out Quinn Hughes used Isaac Sutton’s phone to send the messages.

Clara Sterling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

After two years of dating, Isaac Sutton had always appeared to be deeply in love with her, calling her ’baby’ and agreeing to everything she said.

But he never let her see his phone.

She respected Isaac Sutton’s privacy and never insisted on checking his phone.

She used to think Isaac Sutton didn’t let her see his phone because of privacy concerns, but now she realized it was simply because he didn’t love her.

Quinn Hughes could casually use his phone, even sending taunting messages from his WhatsApp.

While she wasn’t allowed so much as a glimpse.

Clara Sterling stood there, eyes lowered, staring at those two photos for a long time.

A gust of wind blew, rustling the leaves.

The central meteorological station had forecasted a drop in temperature for tonight.

Clara wrapped her scarf tighter, the one she had knitted with her own hands last year.

At that time, she had made two matching scarves, her own in burgundy and Isaac Sutton’s in dark gray.

However, she had never seen Isaac Sutton wear that scarf.

In retrospect, the signs were always there.

Perhaps, Isaac Sutton had never truly loved her.

In the end, Clara Sterling didn’t reply, but walked into the dormitory.

That night, Clara dialed a phone number she had long committed to memory.

"Silas, I’ve thought it over. I’m willing to marry you and hope you will keep your promise."

The man’s voice was as cool and clear as always, "Okay, I’ll have a driver pick you up tomorrow, and we’ll go to the civil affairs bureau to get the license."

"Okay."