Chapter 26 He Never Cared About Me
I must have pulled too hard because blood immediately began to seep from around the IV needle in my hand.
Charles looked down at my hand, his handsome brow furrowing deeply.
Fearful that I had angered him, I quickly released my grip.
Cheryl suddenly wrapped her arms around Charles’s arm, pressing her whole body against his as she smiled sweetly at me.
“Ms. Thompson, was there something you wanted to tell Charles? Don’t be shy. He’s really sweet, I promise,” she said, all sugar and innocence.
Seeing how closely she was clinging to him, I didn’t dare ask him in front of her whether he would be coming home tonight. If I upset his precious Cheryl, not only would I not get the loan, but he would probably find some way to punish me.
Just as my thoughts were in complete disarray, Charles suddenly asked me in a flat tone, “What is it?”
This moment was my best chance to borrow money since I couldn’t be sure he would return home tonight. Once he left this hospital, getting to see him again wouldn’t be easy.
When I didn’t answer right away, Charles started walking away.
I quickly stammered, “C–could you possibly lend me some money?”
Charles halted his steps. He turned back to look at me with a mocking expression in his deep–set eyes.
“So it’s about money,” he said with a cold, humorless laugh.
I couldn’t read his expression. “I’ll pay you back,” I promised.
He let out a derisive snort. “With what?”
That cold mockery in his eyes suddenly brought back last night’s dream–how all he wanted was to see me humiliated.
I pressed my lips together, the words coming out strained. “I’ll repay you however you want.”
He let out a short, mocking laugh. “You give yourself way too much credit.”
His words echoed in my mind–a painful reminder that he never truly cared about me, yet I still foolishly held onto the hope that he would help.
A sharp pain hit me right in the chest, and my eyes started to burn. I looked down fast, trying to hide that I was about to cry. Charles gave me one cold look, and then turned and walked away.
Cheryl quickly grabbed his arm and said, “Charles, just lend her some money. She is your ex–wife after all. Can’t you show her a little pity?”
“Pity her?” Charles replied with a scornful laugh. “There are plenty of pitiable people in this world. I can’t help every one of them.”
They stepped into the elevator, and I stood watching as the doors closed, my vision blurring with tears.
A little girl walking by suddenly gasped. “Miss, your hand is bleeding. Your IV came out. You should go see the nurse.”
I looked at her, and suddenly, the tears were just pouring down my face.
She tried to cheer me up. “Don’t cry. You gotta be strong. I’m here all by myself too. My parents dropped me off and left because they’re always so busy.”
I quickly wiped my tears and gave her a smile. “I’m not crying, sweetie. I just need to use the restroom and was feeling a little stressed because I couldn’t find anyone to help me.”
“Then let me help you,” she said brightly, already reaching for my IV bag. She took it with surprising care and lifted it high above her head.
Watching her, I felt some of the heaviness in my chest lift.
My problems suddenly seemed smaller. Charles didn’t like me back, but my world wasn’t actually falling apart because of that.
The world kept turning without his affection, still full of good people and small kindnesses.
The IV finished as evening settled in.
Successfully unlocked!
The fluids worked better than the pills. The fog in my head cleared, and my body felt stronger, but the knot of anxiety in my stomach remained.
During the IV, my father called asking about the money.
I promised I’d call him back later, but he kept calling every ten minutes until he’d reached me four times.
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Chapter 26 He Never Cared About Me
I’d had enough. “If they’re really gonna chop your hands and feet off, then I’ll take your place. They can have mine. Will that finally make you happy?”
That finally got him to quiet down.
By then, it was already evening, and I had no idea how I was going to get the money. The only person I could think to ask was Charles.
But Charles refused to lend me the money, and I was left with no idea what to do next.
I slumped down on the curb and called every single person in my phone who might lend me the money.
I humbled myself and begged them for a loan, just like my brother had done, but not a single person agreed to help. Some of them even mocked me for asking.
When I finally reached Diana, she was at the hospital keeping her mother company.
She managed the story through her tears–her mother was desperately sick, the medical bills were piling up, and her father had flat–out refused to give her the money.
Seeing her in such a difficult position made it impossible for me to ask about borrowing money.
I spent several minutes comforting her and reminding her to take care of herself and her mother before I finally ended the call.
I looked up at the sky, but the tears spilled over anyway. It hit me then–everyone carried their own burdens in life. After sitting by the roadside for a long time feeling completely lost, I eventually made my way back to the villa.
Bella had already prepared dinner and immediately invited me to eat when she saw me.
However, I had no appetite at all. Feeling completely drained, I retreated to my room, where I slumped against the door and gave in to helpless, silent sobs.
Just at that moment, my brother called me.
I quickly wiped away my tears and answered the phone with a simple “Hey.”
My brother asked with clear concern in his voice, “How’s the money coming along? Today is already the third day.”
Not wanting him to worry, I forced a light tone and replied, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve already taken care of the money.”
My brother sounded astonished. “How did you get the money so quickly?” After a brief pause, he continued with sudden understanding, “It was Charles who helped you, wasn’t it?”
When I didn’t respond, he continued. “Well, 1.4 million is nothing to someone like him. I’m not surprised he helped you–he‘ s always been more generous than we realized.”
I froze when I realized he still didn’t know about the additional 1.6 million our father had lost.
Of course our father wouldn’t dare tell my brother about this mess. I doubted he even knew my brother was in the hospital.
“Still,” my brother added, “no matter how wealthy Charles is, we need to pay back every cent we borrowed.”
“I know,” I said, keeping my voice light. “Don’t worry about anything. Just focus on getting better. I’ll visit tomorrow.”
“Alright, he replied.
After hanging up, I leaned against the door, my mind reeling from the conversation.
My mother called again just moments later.
She was already crying when I answered. “Annie, please tell me you got the money. They can’t hurt your father like that. You have to find some way to help him.”
Before I could respond, my father grabbed the phone. “She’s right, Annie. Just keep Charles happy. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll give you the money. A couple of million is nothing to a guy like him.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, too drained to even respond.
In the background, my parents started up again.
My mother’s voice cut through. “This is all your fault. You’ve got everyone panicking. If you ever gamble again, I’m divorcing you,”
“You’re always blaming me. When I was bringing home good money, and we were living comfortably, you weren’t complaining then,” my father shot back.
“What good money?” my mother started. “That was just-”
“Enough!” My father cut her off. “Right now, we need to focus on getting the money.”
Then my father came back on, his voice tight with worry. “Annie, when are you gonna get the money? I’m really scared here.”
I closed my eyes, answering in a weak voice, “I’ll have it by midnight.”
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Chapter 26 He Never Cared About Me
If I couldn’t get the money by midnight, I’d go to the collectors and let them take my hands and feet instead.
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