Chapter 5 As Long As You Accompany Him for Ten Days

"William, what the hell are you talking about?" Laura's eyes were red, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls.

"When did I ever fall for someone else? Mom and Dad wanted me to marry you, so I waited. When did I ever have the chance to like someone else? Get up, get up and talk!"

William's eyes were bloodshot, a near-madness flicker in them.

"Laura, I want you so bad.. right now."

Just then, a series of urgent, powerful knocks on the door shattered the tense atmosphere in the room.

It was followed by the worried and anxious voice of William's mother, Olivia Martinez: "William! Laura! What's going on in there? Laura, are you okay?"

Laura's heart tightened, as if a savior had arrived.

She mustered all her strength and shouted, "Mom! Mom! Help me! William, he..."

Before she could finish, William rudely interrupted her.

But even in his crazed eyes, there was a flicker of fear towards his mother outside the door.

"Laura! William! What's going on in there? Laura!" Olivia's voice was filled with urgency and determination, as if it could pierce through the door.

"Mom! Come in quickly! William, he looks so scary."

"William! Open the door!" Olivia's fists pounded on the door.

She realized the door was locked from the inside, so she screamed, "I swear, if you hurt Laura, I won't forgive you! Open the door!"

"William! Open the door right now!" William's father, John Smith, was also banging on the door. "If you don't open this door, I'm breaking it down!"

"Get away! Everyone get away! No one is allowed in!" William's voice, twisted by alcohol and anger, screamed, "Laura is mine! She can only be mine! No one can take her away! She's mine! Mine!"

The situation was dire, and John didn't hesitate any longer. He stepped back a few paces, gathered his strength, and charged at the door.

With a loud crash, the door finally gave way under the repeated blows.

Without hesitation, the two of them rushed in. Olivia quickly turned on the room's light.

The sudden bright light made William squint, which stopped him from making any actions for a moment.

Taking advantage of this, Laura used all her strength to push him aside, grabbing her nightgown and running behind Olivia, crying out in fear, "Mom! Save me! Mom! William was so scary just now!"

"Laura! It's okay, it's okay."

Seeing her disheveled state, Olivia's heart ached. She quickly pulled Laura into her arms, gently patting her back and soothing her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mom's here, don't be afraid."

"Mm," in Olivia's embrace, Laura's emotions gradually stabilized. She nodded, sobbing softly, her body still trembling slightly, clearly very frightened.

"Mom, look at William, what's wrong with him? He never acted like this before. Why would he come to my room in the middle of the night and try to do this to me?"

Before she could finish, John, already furious, grabbed William by the collar and lifted him up, shouting angrily, "You little punk! What the hell are you doing? Huh? How dare you bully Laura? Are you tired of living?"

A slap rang out.

As soon as he finished speaking, John raised his arm and slapped William hard across the face.

William was left dazed, his face burning with pain as if it were on fire.

Soon, one side of his face swelled up. Five bright red finger marks were clearly visible, and a trickle of blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth, a shocking sight.

The pain from the slap sobered William up a bit from his drunkenness.

He shook his head, and his vision gradually cleared, immediately seeing Laura's terrified expression.

At that moment, he seemed to realize what he had done. He broke free from John's grip and stumbled towards Laura.

"Laura, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that to you! But I, you have to save me! I don't want to die, I really don't want to die!"

"What? Die?"

William's words shocked everyone in the room, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

"William, what are you talking about? What do you mean die? Who wants to kill you?" Laura, stunned and forgot about her almost exposed body, asked in a trembling voice.

"I..." William remembered the cold, sinister face, and he shuddered, gritting his teeth. "Laura, you have to save me! I owe a lot of money, and if I can't pay it back, he'll kill me, kill our whole family."

The blood-chilling words left everyone stunned, as if time had stopped.

After a moment, John, as the head of the family, was the first to regain his composure. He gave a simple order: "William, come with me. Olivia, help Laura get dressed. We'll talk in the living room."

The living room lights came on, illuminating four faces filled with despair.

As William recounted his story in broken sentences, everyone felt a disaster silently approaching, inescapable and unavoidable.

Laura's face was pale, but her voice was unusually calm.

She looked at William's shame-filled face and asked quietly, "William, are you saying that you were gambling secretly so you can make more money to marry me, but rather you ended up losing over two million dollars?"

"Yes." William lowered his gaze, unable to look at Laura's stunningly beautiful face, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Laura, I just wanted to win more money so that you could have a good life after marrying me. But I didn't expect to lose so much."

"Gambling always makes more losers than winners. Didn't you know that?" Laura laughed bitterly, tears streaming down her face.

"And I agreed to marry you, not for a rich life, did I? William, you..."

What could she say now? It was too late for anything.

"I was foolish." William hesitated, knowing it was too late to say anything now.

They were just ordinary people. William was just an ordinary cashier. Laura was just a teacher at a school for the deaf. John and Olivia ran a small clothing store. Their combined income barely covered their living expenses.

Two million dollars was an astronomical figure to them.

How could they pay off this debt?

Olivia looked at her son, crying even more bitterly than Laura, as if she could already see William's tragic end.

"William! You idiot! You owe so much money, even selling you wouldn't be enough! How can we help you?"

William looked up at Laura, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

But he knew very well that if he couldn't repay the money, that man would really kill him!

With a determined heart, he said in a trembling voice, "Mom, there's only one person who can save me, who can save our whole family."

After speaking, William's eyes fixed on Laura.

Feeling the coldness in William's gaze, Laura suddenly felt a chill that penetrated her skin and reached her bones.

She couldn't help but shrink back, trying to keep her voice from trembling, "William, why are you looking at me like that? You don't mean to tell me that you want to use me to pay off the debt, do you?"

She squeezed out the last four words with all her strength.

She desperately hoped that William would shake his head vigorously and loudly denying it, telling her that no matter what happens, she wouldn't have to bear his cross, and he would take full responsibility for his horrible decision and actiong.

But William completely disappointed her.

He knelt in front of Laura, grabbing her hands, shouting hoarsely, "Yes! Laura, I know I'm sorry! But I did it for our future! The creditor said that if you stay with him for ten days, all the debt will be cleared! Laura, save me! Only you can save our family now! If you don't agree, our whole family will be doomed!"