Chapter 5 Treating You Like My Own Daughter
Anna Greene was totally floored when she heard the news.
She was all set to get her marriage license today, but then she got caught up in a traffic accident involving a kid and some nosy woman, which made her crash into a roadside barrier.
So, she hurt her foot, and to top it off, she was late, her phone got busted, and she couldn't get in touch with Ashley or meet up with Charles.
At first, she thought Charles had bailed because she was late, but she never expected someone else to marry him first.
Anna felt a wave of frustration wash over her.
After all, she had put in so much effort to win over Ashley and make her like her.
Trying to sound pitiful, Anna said, "Ashley, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been late."
Knowing that Charles had married the wrong person, Ashley quickly tried to comfort her, "Anna, today's mess is all on Charles, not you. He messed up and married someone else. I'll make sure he explains himself."
Anna's voice was shaky as she spoke again, "It's all my fault. I'm such a bad driver. I managed to avoid the kids playing on the road, but I ended up hurting myself and wasting time."
Ashley always thought Anna was the sweetest person, and hearing her say this made her even more moved.
She comforted her and then continued talking to Charles on the phone, "Look at how kind Anna is. Not only did she save my life, but she also comes to see me every day. Where can you find such a good girl?"
Ashley held Anna's hand and spoke with relief.
She loved Anna's thoughtfulness, understanding, and pure kindness.
Charles felt helpless listening to Ashley.
He thought, 'I'm curious about the kind of circumstances where someone might not go to work and spend all day at the hospital. Is it considered an act of kindness? Also, isn't it better to avoid people on the road rather than risk hitting them?'
Anna's little schemes were already very clear to him.
Charles just couldn't understand why Ashley couldn't see through it.
After all, she came from a wealthy family, how could she be so naive?
Suppressing his frustration, Charles said to Ashley, "If you like her so much, let her stay with you every day. Don't worry, I'll pay her a salary."
Hearing this, Anna cried even harder. She wasn't a caregiver, what did he mean by paying her a salary?
"Are you trying to make me angry? I didn't mean that! I just want you to marry Anna quickly so she can be my daughter-in-law and stay with me every day," Ashley said directly.
Charles's face darkened again, and even the maid setting up dinner felt the tension in the air.
"Mom, I'll say it again, I won't marry anyone else. I have things to do," Charles hung up immediately after speaking.
Anna's tears stopped at Charles's ruthless words, but she still pretended to be strong, wiped her tears, and stood up. "Ashley, I know Charles doesn't like me, you should just let it go."
This was her tactic of retreating to advance, the most effective one.
Ashley uttered, "Anna, don't be like this. It breaks my heart. Don't worry, even if he doesn't marry you in the end, I'll still consider you my daughter."
Then Anna pretended to sob in Ashley's arms, but in her heart, she was resentful.
She didn't want to be a daughter. How much could Ashley's retirement savings be, and how much of that could she give her? It was more worthwhile to be Charles's wife.
Charles was tall and handsome, even if he wasn't a millionaire, he was at least middle class. Once she married him, all of Ashley's money would be hers.
Charles just felt a headache. The trouble of mistakenly marrying Luna during the day was enough, and now he had to deal with Ashley and Anna.
Turning his head, he saw the marriage certificate on the table and recalled the events of the day.