Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 7

Emily's POV

I didn't know why Andre showed up at the club out of nowhere, and while I was glad he was able to show up, I didn't want him to see such a bad side of me.

I tried to run away but he grabbed me and took me to a corner where no one was, then he told me it was dangerous and I shouldn't be working here.

He was the only one who said that to me today.

I lowered my head and was silent for a long time.

I knew it's very dangerous here, but I had to work here because I needed the money.

Andre lifted my chin and he asked me why I didn't ask him for help. I avoided his gaze, not wanting to tell him it was only because I had lost his card.

"I...I have no reason to ask you for help, me and you...We barely know each other."

I didn't expect Andre to offer to make me his secret lover after hearing my explanation!

I felt very painful about the identity of a secret lover, an identity that would make me feel like a pet, a nightingale without any freedom locked in a golden birdcage. But Andre said he would cover all of Hellen's expenses while she was in the hospital...

I looked at him pleadingly, trying to get him to change his mind, but Andre's eyes were firm and he didn't look like he had any intention of changing his mind at all.

I couldn't refuse his request.

I said yes to him.

"Can I kiss you?"

I was surprised that Andre would say something like that, I thought he would do what he wanted to do despite my wishes, because I was already his secret lover.

I looked deeply at Andre and some emotions rushed into my heart. I gazed at his lips and then without any hesitation I kissed him directly on my tiptoes. I felt I was very cold and my head gradually became confused and turned blank.

In the end, all I remembered was Andre kissing me back, then holding me and calling my name out loud, and then I lost consciousness.

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a VIP room in the hospital. The room was quiet, except for the footsteps of the nurses and doctors going back and forth.

There were fresh daisies on my bedside, seemingly freshly picked from the flower room, with the morning dew still on their petals. Through the window, I saw white flowers growing on a large and unknown tree, with a few butterflies flapping their wings and lingering on it.

There was a note on my hospital bed, and I picked them up to read.

The note was from Andre, who said he had left because he had to rush home to put naughty Kate to bed, and openly expressed to me that our relationship would become closer the next time we met.

I was a little touched by his approach, and although Andre was a playboy, he was very gentle with me, which made me think he might genuinely like me. I even thought having sex with him would be a nice experience.

But just then, my phone suddenly rang.

I opened my phone and saw the pop-up news about Andre's date with a cover model two days ago, which was occupying the top of the news list!

After reading the news, I put down my phone in disappointment.

How ridiculous! How could I think that Andre, this famous playboy, would genuinely like me? He just saw me as a fresh toy.

Because I was worried about Hellen lying in the hospital bed, I packed my things and checked out after my fever broke.

When I arrived at Hellen's hospital, the attending doctor told me that a man had paid all the surgery fees for me in one go. Therefore, they could now schedule Hellen's surgery immediately.

I had mixed emotions because I knew that person was Andre.

I stood alone outside the operating room door. Three hours later, Hellen's attending doctor finally came out from inside, "Ma'am, you can rest assured that Ms. Jones' surgery went very well."

"Really?! Oh my gosh, thank God! Thank you, doctor, I really appreciate it!" I was so happy that I didn't know what to say but to thank the doctor over and over again.

That was such great news!

I took out my phone and shared the news with my only friend Susan, who was so happy for me that she kept telling me on the phone that we had to celebrate and that she would decide where to celebrate.

I felt a great sense of relief and desperately needed some entertainment to vent my excitement.

Because of Andre, the hospital gave Hellen a better room. I packed up all of Hellen's things and went to the new room, passing by the hospital's resuscitation room.

I saw people standing outside the resuscitation room in a daze, others crying as they held the bodies of their loved ones, their faces all numb with the future.

I used to be one of these people, living each day in an unbearable rush for my sick mother, not knowing when the pain would end. I didn't know if I was right to agree to Andre's terms, but at that moment, I didn't regret it at all.

When I returned to the hospital room, Hellen had awakened.

"Emily, come over here, let me take a good look at you."

Hellen's eyes were red, and I suddenly wanted to cry as I looked at the vibrant her.

The sun shone into the ward and I saw the hope of life.

"Hellen, how are you feeling?" I held her hand, and her palm was no longer damp and cold like before, but a warm temperature that made me feel at ease.

"I'm fine, Emily. but, I heard I had surgery and now I'm in such a nice hospital room. All of this should cost a lot of money. But...but...where are we going to get the money from?"

I had expected her to ask this question.

Hellen couldn't let go of Toby completely, even though she knew the man was a selfish and cold scum yet she still had hope for Toby.

I was silent, thinking of Hellen and me in the past.

I was always teased by my schoolmates for being a fatherless child. Among simple children, anything different from them was the enemy.

"Look, her father doesn't want her, she must be a bad kid."

"She doesn't have a father at all, her mother is a bad woman who destroys other people's family!"

"We have to teach her a lesson, we can't let her do bad things again."

Mocking or insulting words stayed with me throughout my childhood.

Children did not understand the distance between good and evil, and they did many things that were sufficiently intolerable. But I was always told to forgive them because they were children, forgetting that I was also a child who was hurt.

They bullied me because I had no one to protect me. They threw rocks at me, put snakes, cockroaches or bugs in my desk and other scary things. Even if I cried in fear and told the teacher, the kids would end up bullying me even more.

I felt aggrieved by this and ran home crying and asking Hellen loudly, "Why does everyone else have a daddy and I don't, does he not love me?"

And Hellen always gently stroked my hair and told me, "Baby, how could daddy not love you? You're our most important baby, he's just very busy so he can't be with you, but he sent you toys..."

When I first learned the truth growing up, I was overcome with great pain and even began to blame Hellen for his deception. But Hellen's words were the only motivation I had at the time when I fought back against the kids who laughed at me.

So I should also be forgiven for telling a white lie now.

"The money for the surgery came from my father. He was very worried when he found out you were sick, so he secretly gave the money to me without Bella's knowledge."

When Hellen heard my words, her dark green eyes no longer filled with sadness, and I knew she was starting to look forward to Toby again.

That was good, and as long as Hellen was happy, I was happy too.

The powerful dance music of the club hit my eardrums and I swayed to the rhythm of the music on the dance floor.

Susan accompanied me to the club to quit my job as a dancer because Hellen's surgery was a success.

After quitting, Susan dragged me straight to order several bottles of wine. She said she wanted me to try relaxing at the club. I couldn't say no to her, so I had to play along with her.

"Emily, you can't believe Andre's fancy words. He's a womanizer! He's not a nice guy!" Susan was so drunk that she hitched her arm around my shoulders and her speech started to become illogical.

"Yes, I get it. Honey, stop drinking and let's go dance." I pulled her toward the dance floor.

I'd actually had quite a bit to drink, and if I'd been sober I would have dragged Susan home instead of coming to the dance.

I twisted my body around the dance floor so carelessly that I couldn't see the faces of the people around me and felt the world become very distorted in front of me. Then I saw a familiar figure coming my way.

"What are you doing here? Emily."

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter