bChapter /bb398 /b

    bGrace /bjumped in shock and rushed over to help her. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

    With Miguel’s wedding so close, they couldn’t afford to let anything happen to Madeline now. Otherwise, they’d have no way to fork out the money for their precious son.

    Clutching Grace’s arm so tightly her nails dug into the skin, Madeline slowly and painfully pulled herself up from the floor.

    Madeline said to herself, ‘I can’t die now. My good days are ahead of me, and I have a bright future. I can’t just die like this

    “I’m fine, Mom. Don’t worry about the three million dors. I’ll handle it. You and Dad are right. As his sister, I can’t just stand by when he’s getting married.” Madeline said, her every word made her sick to the core.

    But Peter looked satisfied atst. “That’s more like it. Since you finally got the situation, hurry up and get the money together. I need it tomorrow bto /btake. your brother house–hunting.”

    Madeline’s expression turned grave momentarily before she forced herself to be calm.

    Feigning fear, she leaned toward her mother, her voice low and coaxing. “Dad, please just give me a little more time. I really can’t get three million dors right this second. But I’ve already interviewed for a new job. The pay is amazing, and they’re even offering stock options.

    “Once I officially start, I’ll cash out the shares right away and hand the money over to you.”

    11

    Of course, it was all a lie. She hadn’t even started looking for a new job, and even if she hadnded one with stock options, it wouldn’t be that easy to

    cash them out.

    But her parents didn’t know any of this. The only words they heard were “shares” and “cashing out“.

    “How many shares? And how much can you get from them?” Peter demanded eagerly.

    To keep them calm, Madeline quickly said, “At the very least, three million dors. Once the money’s in, you’ll be the first to get it, I promise.b” /b

    Peter and Grace exchanged a greedy nce, their eyes practically shining with excitement.

    Peter finallypromised and said, “Fine, if that’s the case, I’ll give you a few more days. But you’d better not try anything funny, or I’ll beat the crap out of you!”

    Madeline let out a long breath of relief and hurriedly nodded. “Of course not, Dad. Just wait, and the money will be in your ount soon. By the way, have you two eaten yet? The takeout I ordered is here. Why don’t you have some before leaving?”

    With that, she stepped out to bring in the now–cold takeout, serving it to them with forced respect. Only after handing over tens of thousands more for their “living expenses” did she finally manage to get them out the door.

    As soon as the door shut, Madeline rushed into the bathroom. Stripping off her clothes, she stared at the fresh bruises covering her body, her hatred for Jessica burning even deeper now.

    She seethed inwardly, ‘If she hadn’t been clinging to Brian all this time, I wouldn’t be in this hellish situation. This is all her fault! Just you waitb, /bbJessica/b. I’ll make sure you pay for all the sufferings I’ve gone through.”

    Jessica had just taken the ihot /imilk into her hands when she suddenly let out a sneeze. Brian, who was standing closest bto /bher, immediately tensed bup/b. “Did you catch a cold? I’ll go get iyou /isome meds

    With that, he turned on his heel and headed straight out. However, Jessica quickly called after himb. /b“Get back here.”

    Brian immediately stopped in his tracks at her words. Jessica tilted her head back and gulped down most bof /bbthe /bbhot /bbmilk/bb, /bthen bindifferently /bbshoved /bbthe /bcup back at him. “I drank the milk. Now scram.”

    iAn /i

    Honestly, she couldn’t figure out what had gotten into Brian today.

    Not only had he insisted on driving her home, but after she’d made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want to tutor Jake tonight, or bele bune dinner, he still insisted on bringing her a ss of hot milk after the meal, practically forcing her to drink it

    After enduring his relentless nagging for a while, she’d finally taken it, just to get him to shut up.

    “Are you sure you’re noting down with something?” Brian took the ss from her and tried to feel her forehead

    Jessica swatted his hand away, snapping, “No. Just get lost.”

    Brian studied her face carefully, reassured to see it still held a healthy glow. With a slight nod, he said gently, “Alright, I head back nowb. /bGet some rest Good night.”