LM
CHAPTERS 1161 - 1165
CHAPTER 1161
As the night went on, Silvia, who was lying on the hospital bed, could not fall asleep at all. Her stomach was still aching, and it hurt so much that her forehead broke out in cold sweat.
She thought that this might be God's punishment.
If it was really the case, she was willing to go through it.
She had betrayed her true love after all. She was the one who had let down the man who loved her so much.
Sometimes, Silvia would wonder... If her father had not been killed, would Felix still disappear? Would she still have been sold to the black market by Norman? Would she still meet Andrew in this life?
However, there were no ifs or buts. Everything had happened, and her life trajectory was already on a different path.
There was no way that she would be able to return to how things originally were.
It didn't matter who Andrew was or whether she could afford to provoke him, he had already left an indelible trace in her life.
Even if she did not want to have anything to do with him, there was nothing she could do to change it.
No matter what, Andrew was still legally her husband.
While Silvia was still immersed in her thoughts, Andrew, who was in the corridor, was smoking one cigarette after another. Within a short period of time, there were already quite a number of cigarette butts piling up in the cigarette tray next to him.
However, he did not stop and continued to smoke one cigarette after another. About an hour later, a nurse who was passing by saw him and said, "Sir, do you not know that you're not supposed to smoke in the hospital premises?"
However, before she could finish reprimanding him, Andrew was already staring at her with his fierce eyes. At that instant, the nurse was so startled that she quickly turned around and ran away. But after a few steps in, a cold voice sounded behind her, "Stop there!"
The nurse was so scared that she almost cried. "Sir, I didn't see anything. You can continue smoking your cigarette and forget what I've just said to you."
Andrew threw the cigarette in the ashtray, putting it out. Then he said, "Go take a look at the patient in ward 901. See if she needs anything."
"Okay, I'll go right away." If he wanted her to check on the patient, he could have just said so. Why did he have to talk so coldly? She was almost scared to death.
But before the nurse could push open the door, the man spoke again, "Don't make too much noise. Make sure you don't disturb her sleep."
“Yes, yes, yes..." The nurse stammered. With such a haughty person standing right at the door, she would never have the guts to make any noises even if she was given a hundred lives.
After the nurse had entered the ward, Andrew's gaze was fixed on the door. Then, the moment the nurse had come out, he asked, "Is she asleep?"
The nurse stammered, "She's... she's asleep. Her body temperature is normal and her condition is stable. She should be fine."
However, Andrew fell silent. The nurse was trembling with fear and she did not know whether she could leave or not. After waiting for a long time, she ventured to ask, "Sir, can I leave now?"
Andrew did not utter a word. The nurse stood in front of him and wanted to slip away, but she did not dare to do so. She waited for a long time, and the man finally spoke, "Go get someone to clean up this place.“
"Yes, yes, yes..." After receiving the order, the nurse turned around and ran away like a gust of wind.
……...
For a whole night, Andrew, who left in anger, did not return to the ward at all. Silvia, on the other hand, was not sleeping very peacefully, she was having weird dreams throughout the night.
It was finally morning and those strange dreams had stopped bothering her. Just as she was starting to sleep more soundly, she could hear Prince and Lemur's twittering voice, "Boss, are you sick?"
"Can't you tell that I'm sick?" Silvia opened her eyes slowly and gave Prince and Lemur a fierce look.
"It's not that we can't tell that you're sick. We just can't believe it. You had such a healthy body all these while but why did you fall sick all of a sudden?" They had known Silvia for many years so they all knew how healthy Silvia was despite her skinny stature.
For as long as Prince and Lemur had known Silvia, they had never seen her taking any sort of medication. Therefore, they had never expected that she would even get admitted into the hospital. lt seemed like she must be seriously ill.
"It's just a mild gastritis. It's nothing to be worried about." Silvia sat up and instinctively looked at the door. She didn't see Andrew, so she asked, "How did you guys know I'm here?"
"The doctor informed us." Prince looked around. "Boss, aren't you dating Young Master Carter? Did he not come to see you now that you're sick?"
"Who said that we are dating?" They had seen Andrew picking her up from school every single day and it was the hard fact that they were indeed dating, but since Silvia did not want to admit it, no one could do anything about it.
"Okay, if you say so," Lemur gave Prince a knowing look, asking him not to piss their boss off.
Their Boss was usually a tyrant who was extremely conceited. Now that she was sick, they couldn't afford to provoke her, so it was better to do as she said.
“Hey, all of you are here.“ Another person appeared at the door. It was Audrey. She came over and said, "Don't ask me how I found out. It was Prince who informed me."
Prince scratched his head and giggled. "Boss, you should understand why am I doing this, so please be more considerate of me,okay?"
Prince wanted to court Audrey, so he had been trying to create opportunities to meet Audrey. He had gone all out that he did not even let go of this opportunity.
Audrey said, "Just go take a look at yourself in the mirror, will you? When I began my career, you were still a baby in your mother's arms. So don't think too highly of yourself, you're not my cup of tea!"
Audrey had a wicked tongue and it was not something any ordinary person could put up with. This was also the very reason why she was not able to make any true friends all these years.
"Audrey, it's common to date younger men nowadays. I will try my best to grow into a mature man and I hope that whenever I'm standing beside you, I can match up to you." Prince had only hung out with Silvia so he had rarely come into contact with other women. In addition, Audrey was unlike any other woman. She could be charming and cute at the same time, so it was a piece of cake to attract a young man like Prince.
"You should keep up with your effort then! Once you can afford a few luxury villas in Madison City and a limited edition Ferrari, you can come to me again." Audrey smiled and said, "I only care about money. As long as there is enough money, anyone can take me home."
A few luxury villas! And a limited edition Ferrari!
With his family background and his own capability, Prince felt that these were the things that he could never achieve in his entire life. However, for the sake of his dream woman, he was willing to fight for it.
"Audrey, I'll work hard for it. Please wait for me!" Someone once said that it was important to have a dream because it might really come true if you had worked hard enough.
Therefore, Prince's greatest dream now was to marry Audrey!
"Okay, go work hard then. I have something to discuss with your Boss." These men would dare to promise just about anything to chase after a woman. But what would happen afterward? Audrey had witnessed countless things in her life so she had a very realistic understanding of the world. This was the very reason why she would only care about money .
CHAPTER 1162
Before dragging Lemur out of the ward, Prince whispered into Audrey's ears, "Audrey, please comfort our Boss. As a woman, she's considered quite pitiful to live like this."
"Come here!" Silvia waved her hand at Prince. Did he think that just because she was lying on the hospital bed that she couldn't beat him up? How dare he humiliate her in her face?
Silvia had always pushed Prince and Lemur around, so with one look, they knew what she wanted to do. Therefore, they immediately turned around and left the ward. Who would be that stupid to go up to her and let her give them a beating?
After Prince and Lemur left, Silvia and Audrey were the only ones left in the room. Silvia then said, "I will be discharged from the hospital soon though. What are you guys doing here?"
"Well, I'm here to keep you company during your discharge." Audrey said.
Silvia said, "Could you please help me get the procedure done then? Also, I have to go over to my mom's place later to bring her home."
Audrey said, "I came here because I knew that you were going to pick auntie up today. With that strong body of yours, we were never worried about you actually."
Silvia snorted and said, "What about you? Have you found a new job?"
The moment Silvia mentioned about work, Audrey's eyes darkened in an instant. She sighed and said, "I'm still looking around. I guess I‘ll find one sooner or later."
Silvia felt a little skeptical, so she asked. "Audrey, you are quite good-looking, and you have the academic qualifications too. How could it be that no company is willing to take you in?"
Audrey shrugged and said, "What else? I've offended the most powerful figure in Madison City and when I was being fired, the airline company had made a public announcement about it. No companies would want to get themselves involved in this, so no one would want to hire me."
If it wasn't for the fact that she had borne a deep emotion for this city, she might have already left this city right after she was being fired by the airline company.
Audrey was the kind who would never fail to mention about money. She had always said that money is the only thing she cared about and she was never kind with her words. However, after getting along with her, Silvia thought that the two of them really clicked. She learned that one should never judge a book by its cover. In fact, Audrey was a kind person, but she had never wanted to show that side of her to anyone.
Silvia didn't have many friends, but she cherished the few she had. Since Audrey was in difficulty, she wanted to help her out. "Why don't you come work for my company?"
"Your company?" Audrey asked with a smile.
Silvia said, "Yeah, it's the company that my dad had left behind for me. Someone has taken it away, but it will come back to me soon. Also, I will need new employees to run the company with me, so why don't you come over to help me? The salary is not very high, but it's still a reasonable price."
Audrey knocked on Silvia's head. "Don't look down on me, little girl. Do you really think that I'm that useless? Let me tell you, I'm actually an alumna of a prestigious university, okay?"
Audrey was a few years older than Silvia so Silvia didn't mind Audrey calling her a little girl. "Well, if you are that awesome, then you can choose whichever department you like to work in. I'll give you three months to prove yourself, otherwise l will fire you."
"The Public Relations Department!" Audrey immediately named a department. It seemed that she did pay some attention to Wateria Corporation. "The PR Department has a lot to do with networking and more importantly, you will need a beautiful woman like me to handle the situation. As long as I am there, I promise that anything that is related to the PR department will be done with perfection. It will not be criticized as it had been previously."
Audrey was an air stewardess, and it was no doubt that she had a good image. After getting to know her for a month, Silvia realized that she was a capable woman. Therefore, Silvia answered eagerly, "That's a deal then. Once I get back all my shares, I will employ you in the PR Department. Since you are personally hired by the company's boss, I'm sure that all the employees would respect you."
"Silvia, do you expect me to work hard for you as an ordinary employee? If I am going to work for you, it's going to be the manager of the PR Department." Audrey was confident that she was qualified for the role of a department manager. In any case, she had relevant experience.
Silvia was a little hesitant. "But there's a manager in the PR Department already and he doesn't work for Norman. So, it would be tricky for me to fire him just like that."
Audrey continued, "Just look at your PR manager, would you? He doesn't even have a good image. He's fat, ugly, and disgusting. When he speaks, how many people would be willing to sit down and listen to him? Just listen to me, fire him, and let me take over."
Silvia teased, "Why do I feel like Wateria Corporation is going to go bankrupt before I even get to be at the helm of it?"
It was such a rare occasion for Audrey to be this serious. She continued, "I'm not joking with you. I'm being serious. I've been paying attention to your company these days. Your PR manager even has an inappropriate relationship with some female employees. You really shouldn't keep such an employee in your company."
After listening to Audrey's words, Silvia thought for a moment and said, "Give me a few days to think about it first. I'll do some checks on what you've just said. If it was indeed the case, I'll definitely fire that a"hole."
Silvia would never tolerate a man who would abuse his power to harass his female subordinates. If what Audrey had told her was true, she would certainly expose all the nasty things that he had done.
Audrey clapped her hands and said, "Okay, I'll wait for your reply."
In fact, Audrey clearly knew that the reason why she couldn't find a job was not only because she had offended someone from the Carter family. In fact, there was still another person who was watching her making a fool of herself and waiting for her to beg him.
He knew her so well, but how could he forget that she was willing to do anything? She was even willing to sell herself out. However, up till now, the only thing that she was not willing to do was to please him.
……….
After completing the discharge procedure, Silvia and Audrey then went over to the eighth floor to pick Mrs. Turner, who had been staying at the hospital, back home.
Mrs. Turner knew that she would be discharged from the hospital today, so she had already packed all her things up and waited for her daughter to pick her up.
Not only did Silvia come today, she had even brought a few friends along with her to take Mrs. Turner home. The house became a little livelier in an instant.
The house was neat and spotless as if the owner of the house had never left. Prince and Lemur both shared the credit. A few days ago, the two of them had volunteered themselves to clean up the house, and that was why the house was so clean and comfortable.
Looking at these sensible young adults, Mrs. Turner was happy. "Prince, Lemur, thank you for keeping our Silvia company all these while."
"Auntie, we are your sons too, aren't we? That's what we should do." Prince's mouth was as sweet as honey, which had never failed to make the elders happy just by listening to him. It was the same for Mrs. Turner. She was overjoyed and replied, "Yes, it's great to have you two around!"
These two young men had always gotten along well with Silvia ever since they were younger. Now that something had happened to the Turner family, they were the only ones who had remained loyal to Silvia. How could she not be touched?
After greeting the two young men, Mrs. Turner then carefully observed Silvia‘s new friend, Audrey.
Ever since Silvia was a kid, there were no girls willing to hang out with her. Audrey was the first female friend whom Silvia had brought home. When Mrs. Turner looked at Audrey, she couldn't help but scrutinize Audrey from head to toe.
CHAPTER 1163
Although Audrey was usually sharp tongued, she still behaves sensibly in front of elders. When Mrs. Turner was scrutinizing her, Audrey did not show any sign of annoyance, nor did she say a word. She knew that Mrs. Turner meant no harm to her at all.
“Morn, why are you staring at her like this? Luckily, Audrey is not timid, else she would have run away with you looking at her that way!" Silvia knew her mother very well so she explained with a smile, "The two of us really hit it off right after we knew each other. Well, I'd say our friendship came with a stroke of fate!"
"Yes, my dearest Silvia, everything you say is right!" Mrs. Turner rubbed Silvia's head and looked at the door. "Silvia, do you have any more new friends that you haven't brought home yet?"
"The only new friend I have is Audrey..."
Silvia looked at the door and suddenly thought of someone.
Ever since that man had left the hospital the night before, Silvia had never seen or heard about him. Silvia wasn't quite sure if Andrew was still angry at her, or perhaps he had decided to let her go this time after hearing her explanation.
Silvia wasn't sure what had happened to her. When she was with Andrew, she wished that he could get out of her sight in an instant. But now that she hadn't seen him for a couple of hours, she was starting to think about him.
"Oh, really?" Since Silvia was not willing to mention him, Mrs. Turner chose to believe her. Silvia was her child after all, so Mrs. Turner couldn't bring herself to force Silvia to tell her the truth. When the timing was right, Silvia would certainly bring the man home to meet Mrs. Turner.
Seeing that Silvia did not intend to talk about Andrew, Audrey hurriedly changed the topic. “Auntie, we'll take care of lunch today. You can go get some rest and watch the TV or you can also enjoy the blooming flowers in your lovely garden while we get lunch ready."
"Alright, alright. With all of you around, I don't have to worry about anything." Although Mrs. Turner did not know Audrey well, as long as she was Silvia's friend, Mrs. Turner would like her.
When these young adults come together, they would have inexhaustible energy and endless topics to talk about. Prince and Lemur were asked to wash the vegetables, and the two of them had gotten into a heated argument on some online games that they had almost gotten into a fight.
Silvia really couldn‘t stand the two of them so she said, "Prince, Lemur, if the two of you keep going on like this, you two can forget about lunch."
The moment Silvia's words came through her lips, Prince and Lemur shut up in an instant.
Prince and Lemur wouldn't even listen to their own fathers, but somehow, they were afraid of Silvia and they had never disobeyed her orders. Despite being younger than them, Silvia was really their 'kryptonite'.
Seeing that Prince and Lemur had stopped fighting, Silvia returned to the kitchen and continued with what she was doing. She was usually talkative but she was rather quiet that day. With one glance, one could tell that there was something wrong with her.
Audrey nudged Silvia, who was distracted, and said, ”Hey girl, did you get into an argument with Andrew?“
Silvia threw in a whole bag of raw pasta into a huge pot of boiling water and said, “Can we not talk about someone who would spoil our moods on such a happy day, can we?"
"Okay, whatever you say. I'm not the one who was constantly looking at the door anyway." Audrey said as she put on the apron. Then, she put down the slices of bacon on the chopping board, and cut them into tiny pieces.
Audrey's cutting skills were impressive and Silvia could tell that she was someone who often cooked. However, judging from Audrey's appearance, she did not look like she would be this skilled.
Silvia was surprised. "Audrey, I never knew that you have such impressive knife skills. Do you always cook?"
"Yeah. I don‘t like take-outs, and I had no one to cook for me either, so if I don‘t cook myself, I will have to starve." Audrey glanced at Silvia and said enviously, "I'm not like you. You have such a loving mother who has doted on you since you were a child. She has spoiled you so much that you don't even know how to do all the things that girls would normally know."
"Hahaha! That's because I am destined to do greater things," Silvia had grown up in a blissful family, filled with abundance of care and love. She continued, "I don't have any siblings so my parents have high hopes for me. Instead of being a housewife in the future, they hope that I can take over the company when I grow up."
"Yes, yes... Whatever our dearest Silvia says is always right!" Audrey mimicked Mrs. Turner's tone as she teased Silvia.
"I would have to thank you for such a huge compliment then, my dear sister, Audrey!" Silvia said with a smile.
Audrey was the head chef, and Silvia was the sous chef. However, Silvia rarely cooked, so she was a little clumsy. Audrey really couldn't bear to see her working like this in the kitchen so she said, "Young lady, even Prince, and Lemur are doing a better job than you. Why don't you go to accompany your mother instead? The three of us will prepare lunch."
"How could I trouble the three of you though?" Silvia said in embarrassment, but she had already taken off her apron. "Audrey, Prince, Lemur, sorry for troubling you guys then."
They were used to Silvia's attitude. The three of them shook their heads and sighed. "See, she only knew how to bully us.“
Prince immediately took over the work that Silvia had left behind and said, "Audrey, is there anything else that I can do for you? Just let me know, I'll be your heiper."
After cutting the bacon, Audrey was ready to cook them. However, she realized there was no salt in the kitchen so she said, "Prince, I really need your help. Could you please go to the convenience store nearby and get a packet of salt for me?"
Reagan said, "But I want to work with you here, Audrey. Can you please ask someone else to get the salt while I stay here with you?"
Audrey shrugged and said, "What I need the most right now is salt. Do you want to go or not? It's up to you."
Prince was reluctant to go, but he didn't want to leave a bad impression on Audrey. He walked out of the kitchen reluctantly and was preparing to go out to get a packet of salt for Audrey.
When he was about to step out of the house, he saw Silvia sitting in the living room staring at the TV in a daze. He immediately sat next to Silvia and said, "Boss, can you go get a packet of salt for me?"
"No." Silvia refused without a second thought.
"Boss, my lovely Boss, I beg you. Please?" Prince held Silvia's arm and acted coquettishly, which made Silvia feel a little nauseated.
"Okay, okay, I'll go, okay?" Silvia was convinced that if a man could act coquettishly and beg her, she would do whatever he wanted her to do even if she was not willing to.
Silvia's home was on the 21st floor, but there were quite a number of elevators, so in just two minutes, she was already at the main lobby of the condominium.
There was a 24-hour convenience store which was located just beside the condominium. When Silvia was about to step into the store, her mobile phone rang all of a sudden.
She took out her mobile phone from her pocket and saw the caller ID. It was 'Young Master Carter'!
Back then, Silvia had been thinking what she should name him. After thinking about it for a long time, she felt this name was the most suitable one and she had not changed it ever since.
Looking at the screen, Silvia paused and finally decided to decline the call. This was who she was. If she had decided to break up with him, then she would not do it sloppily. She would make sure that they would not have anything to do with each other ever again.
CHAPTER 1164
After a while, Andrew called again. This time, Silvia hung up the phone decisively without a thought.
Silvia went into the convenience store to buy salt and at the same, she also bought a few bottles of Prince and Lemur's favourite fruit juice. When she was about to pay, she received a new WhatsApp message from Andrew. There were only two words, "Come out!"
After being with Andrew for so long, Silvia knew more or less the way Andrew talked.
When he talked a lot, he was in a good mood. She could be a little blunt in front of him. When his words were short, it would be his warning to her.
Silvia didn't want to be threatened by him, but this was her home. What if Andrew decided to barge in her home and make a scene? How would she explain it to her mother?
After weighing out the pros and cons, Silvia decided to go and meet Andrew.
Silvia didn't know that if Andrew didn't care about her feelings, he would have rushed to her house to find her. He would not have to go through the suffering of being rejected twice through the phone.
Silvia walked out of the gate of her residential area to see a silver luxury car parked at the 'No Parking' zone outside her neighborhood.
Usually, if someone were to park there, the security guards would have come out to chase the car away almost immediately.
Andrew's car was parked there, the silver body of the car was glaring under the sun. The security guards were not far away yet, they acted as if they couldn't see the car. No one dared to drive him away.
In the past, Silvia often heard that to judge a person, one should look at his car. If it's a million dollar car, one should never provoke even the driver. This was because you would never know who the owner was, someone you couldn't afford to offend.
Silvia walked over and knocked on Andrew's car window. After a long while, the man sitting in the back seat rolled down the window slowly.
The car's window rolled down. However, Andrew was still wearing sunglasses. Silvia couldn‘t see his eyes, but she could still feel the viciousness in his eyes.
Even if Silvia couldn't see his eyes, she didn't dare to look him in the eye. She looked away and said, "Young Master Carter, just say whatever you wanted to say.“
Andrew did not speak. Instead, he took out a contract and handed it to her.
Silvia took it over and looked at it. After reading the contents of the contract, she turned pale with anger. "Andrew, what is the meaning of this?"
The corner of Andrew's mouth curved upwards slightly, revealing an evil and
indifferent smile. However, he still did not speak.
Silvia was so angry that her stomach began to churn. "Andrew, my father left Wateria Corporation to me. Don't you dare take it away using dirty tactics, otherwise... I will drag you down together."
She had almost gotten back Wateria Corporation. However, Andrew had to intervene and caused trouble again.
What on earth did he want to do?
Silvia didn't think that the rich and powerful Carter family would take a fancy to such a small company like Wateria Corporation.
Silvia was going crazy, yet Andrew remained mum. She could not see his eyes, and could not guess what he was thinking nor what he was going to do. "Andrew, what do you want?"
Andrew still did not speak. Instead, he took out his mobile phone and sent her a message, “Excuse me, what identity are you in when talking to me?"
Silvia was so angry that her blood boiled. How could he do this? She really wanted to plunge at him and bite him. However, his question was on point.
What identity was she in when talking to him?
Since he sent her a message with his mobile phone, Silvia also replied to him with her mobile phone.
Silvia replied, "What identity do you want me to assume when talking to you?"
Andrew decided not to reply.
When Silvia was threatened by him, she was always at a disadvantage. Therefore, she sent Andrew another message, "You are my master. What other identities can I assume?"
After he received her message, Andrew did not look at her again. He rolled up the window and ordered the driver to start the car and left, leaving Silvia standing in the sun like a fool. Silvia really didn't understand this man...
"Boss, Boss, I asked you to buy a packet of salt. What are you doing outside?" Silvia had been out for a long time. They were all waiting for the salt, so Prince came to look for Silvia.
Silvia calmed down and took a deep breath. "It's nothing. Let's go back.“
Prince saw the contract in Silvia's hand. "Boss, what's in your hand?“
Silvia hid the contract behind her quickly and stuffed the bag into Prince's hand. "It's too heavy. Carry it for me."
Prince was still worried. He asked, "Boss, are you sure you're alright?"
Silvia said, "I was just buying something at the convenience store. What else could have happened?"
Prince scratched his head and said, "Well, that's true."
He had thought too much. He kept feeling that something was wrong with Silvia, but he couldn‘t pinpoint the problem.
…………
Not only was Audrey beautiful, but she was also very good at cooking. The dishes she made earned everyone's praise.
The review was definitely not fake. It was a genuine review after they had tasted the dishes she made.
Prince, who was far from having a relationship with Audrey, was especially happy. "Audrey's cooking is so delicious. I'm a lucky man."
Lemur rolled his eyes at Prince immediately and said, "You? Have a good look at yourself."
Lemur wasn't trying to tease Prince. Prince really couldn't handle a woman like Audrey. Audrey was an excellent woman, she would require a wild man to subdue her.
Mrs. Turner said with a smile, "Audrey, your cooking is really good. Anyone who marries you in the future, he will be so lucky."
Audrey smiled and said, "Thank you Aunty for your compliment. With your words, I must look hard for a man who will let me cook for him.“
Prince leaned over to Mrs. Turner immediately and asked, "Auntie, what do you think of me?"
Mrs. Turner said in all seriousness, "You are just a tiny little kid!"
Prince had nothing to say.
Both Audrey and Lemur laughed. Only Prince was full of anger. Apart from being younger, he was obviously not smaller in size compared to Audrey!
Well, there was one body part of Prince that was indeed smaller than Audrey's! However, that was a woman's natural asset. How could he, a grown man, compare his chest with hers?
During the meal, everyone was in a jovial mood except for Silvia, whose mind was in the clouds. Of course, everyone noticed that and they turned their attention to her.
Because of Andrew's intervention, Silvia kept thinking about how to deal with the problem. No matter how delicious the food was, it was tasteless to her. What's more, her gastritis hadn't recovered yet and so she couldn't eat any meat. This made her lose her appetite.
Everyone stared at Silvia for a long time before she noticed their gazes. "Why are you staring at me instead of eating? Is there something on my face?"
CHAPTER 1165
Audrey, Prince, and Lemur could probably guess that Silvia's abnormality today was because of Andrew. However, Silvia had told them not to mention him. Therefore, it was not appropriate for them to mention Andrew in front of Mrs. Turner.
At Silvia's question, they shook their heads almost at the same time. "No, no. We were just looking around."
They didn't expose her. However, Silvia felt a little guilty. She found a reason casually and said, "You are all eating good food while I'm eating plain oatmeal. I'm feeling a little sad.“
Silvia's explanation was ridiculous, but it sounded reasonable given her condition. Subsequently, everyone pretended that nothing had happened and continued to eat.
After the meal, Prince and Lemur were tasked to do the dishes naturally. Silvia and Audrey chatted with Mrs. Turner.
At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the gang left one after the other. Finally, only Silvia and her mother were left at home and it was suddenly quiet.
Mrs. Turner came to Silvia's room. When she entered the room, she saw that Silvia was sitting on the bed in a daze. Mrs. Turner felt distressed when she saw that Silvia wasn't in her usual lively self but had been gloomy all day.
She took a few steps over to Silvia's side and held Silvia in her arms. "Silvia, can you tell me what's bothering you?"
This time, Mrs. Turner did not ask if she had something on her mind. Instead, she said, "Tell me what's bothering you." Her meaning was very clear. Mrs. Turner was sure that something was bothering her.
Silvia wanted to say that she was fine, but when she heard her mother ask her so gently, her eyes suddenly turned red. "Mom, I...“
Mrs. Turner hugged Silvia and patted her on the back gently. "Silvia, tell me what's on your mind. Let's see if I can help you?"
"It‘s not a big deal. My classes are getting tougher these days. I may have to stay at the school dormitory tonight. However, I'm worried that you will be lonely as there's no one at home." Silvia didn't want to lie to her mother, but how else could she explain? Could she tell her mother that she had to please her Master later that night, otherwise she couldn't save her father's company?
Silvia was reluctant to say it, but Mrs. Turner didn't want to continue pretending that she didn't know anything. "Silvia, there is something I want to talk to you about."
Did mother know that she was lying? Silvia was a little nervous. “Mom, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Mrs. Turner said directly, "It's about Mr. Carter."
When she heard the name "Mr. Carter" from her mother's mouth and thought that her mother might have found out about the special relationship between her and Andrew, Silvia was so scared that her face turned pale.
How did her mother know about Andrew? How much did she know about him?
Just when Silvia was feeling uneasy, her mother spoke again, "Silvia, after your father's accident, our company was taken away from us. Our house was also being mortgaged. At the same time, I was sick and hospitalized. When we were in the most difficult situation, you asked many friends who used to have a good relationship with us for money, but no one was willing to lend us the money. Do you know why?"
Silvia didn't understand why her mother suddenly mentioned the past. "Mom, it's all in the past. Let's not mention it again."
"Silvia...“ Mrs. Turner patted the back of Silvia's hand. "Some things might have passed, but we have to learn from past events. Do you think those people are just worried that we can't afford to pay them back? No, it's because they have never regarded us as real friends. They are not our real friends. They don't really care about us."
Silvia had always thought those people did not lend them money because they were worried that Silvia and her mother had no ability to repay them. After hearing her mother's statement, it seemed to make sense.
Mrs. Turner continued, "During your father's time, they could get benefits from our family. Therefore, they pretended to be close to us and went about telling people that they were friends with our family. However, when your father had an accident, many of them pretended not to know us!"
Mrs. Turner looked at Silvia and said, "Silvia, I'm telling you all these not because I think that they have the obligation to help us. I just want to remind you that you must look at people carefully and see who is really helping you. If someone stuck by you when you were in trouble, then you must cherish them."
Silvia fully agreed with her mother's words. "Mom, I know. Prince and Lemur have always been loyal to me. They are my friends for life."
Mrs. Turner said, "Only the two of them? Any one else?"
Silvia asked, ''Who else?“
Mrs. Turner added, "Silvia, isn't Mr. Carter someone who lent you a helping hand when you were in the pit?"
"Mom, I... I don't know any Mr. Carter..." Silvia wanted to deny, but her voice grew softer.
Yes, when she was in real trouble, it was Andrew who saved her. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't even know where Norman would sell her to.
Mrs. Turner held Silvia's hand and said earnestly, "Silvia, if it weren't for you, would he have paid so much money to let me stay in a VIP ward? If it weren't for you, would he have hired such a good nurse to take care of a middle-aged woman like me when I was bedridden?“
Silvia asked in a daze, "Mom, what are you talking about? Wasn't the nurse a volunteer?"
Mrs. Turner smiled helplessly and said, "My silly daughter, do you really believe in that?"
"It was the attending doctor who told me that. He even said that we were lucky.” Silvia had thought of Andrew before, but she was unwilling to admit that he had arranged all that. She didn‘t want to owe him too much. If she owed him too much, she might never be able to repay him.
"Silvia, I'm not forcing you to be nice to anyone. I just want to tell you that if a man is willing to take care of a woman's family, he is a trustworthy person. Don't always think about the person who has left. Take a good look at the person beside you. You may start to see his merits." Mrs. Turner was on Andrew's side not because he contributed the money but because she saw that he was a responsible person.
Handsome and rich men were everywhere. However, there were very few men who would share her daughter's burden like Andrew did.
Mrs. Turner didn't want Silvia to miss out on an excellent man like Andrew, who could take care of Silvia well.
Silvia said with grievance, "But Mom... I've made him angry. He's ignoring me..."
Mrs. Turner smiled gently and said, "When I made your father angry last time, he would often ignore me too. However, as long as I hugged him and said a few nice words to him, he wouldn't be angry at me anymore."
