Chapter 6

Sean respectfully handed the two catalogs over with both hands.

“These are the selections Miss Shaw made.”

Kayden lowered his gaze slightly, his thick lashes casting shadows across his sharply sculpted features.

His eyes paused briefly on the strapless wedding gown Florentia chose only for a moment.

Then his fingers settled on a completely different design.

“Keep the ring as it is. Use this gown instead.”

Sean was surprised.

Hadn’t Florentia chosen the other dress? Yet Kayden selected a different one entirely.

Still, he didn’t question it and simply lowered his head.

“Yes, sir.”

“Arrange an interview with Swiftline Magazine next.”

Kayden spoke again.

His cold, calm voice revealed little emotion, but the instruction stunned Sean.

Swiftline Magazine was where Florentia worked, yet Kayden had never accepted interviews before.

More importantly, Swiftline wasn’t even considered one of the country’s top-tier media outlets.

But after thinking it through, Sean suddenly understood.

Florentia was about to become Mrs. Walker.

And spoiling his future wife was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?

After leaving the restaurant, Florentia drove her Mercedes back to the Patel residence while calling her best friend, Tessa Burns.

For the past few days, Florentia had been too sickened to stay at the Patel residence and had mostly been staying at Tessa’s place instead.

She even gradually moved many of her belongings there.

“I’m not coming over tonight. I have to go back to the Patels’.”

Florentia adjusted her Bluetooth earpiece.

Tessa’s voice instantly rose in panic.

“You’re going back there? Wait for me! I’m coming right now!”

Florentia was so slender that Tessa genuinely worried the Patel family would eat her alive if things really blew up.

“Relax. Things haven’t reached the point of a complete fallout yet. Just wait for my good news.”

“Alright. But call me immediately if anything happens. Worst case, we blow this whole thing up publicly and see where the Patel family hides their shame.”

After finding out the truth, Tessa was so disgusted she stayed awake the entire night.

Even as an outsider, she could barely accept it, let alone Florentia herself.

After hanging up, Florentia stepped on the gas.

Not long afterward, her car pulled into the Patel family residence.

She touched up her makeup before slowly getting out of the car.

The moment she walked inside, she saw Whitney sitting beside Valda with a teacup in hand.

A trace of concealed disdain and contempt lingered in Whitney’s eyes, yet Valda noticed nothing at all and continued coughing uncontrollably while clutching her chest.

Valda suffered from severe asthma.

For the past five years, Florentia worked tirelessly to fit into the Patel family and earn their acceptance.

She had personally taken care of Valda’s health, constantly searching for specialists and treatments to help her condition improve.

Valda lounged on the sofa, fully expecting Florentia to apologize.

Instead, Florentia merely glanced at her before heading upstairs without another word.

Valda froze.

“What the hell?!”

She immediately sat upright.

“Florentia! Cough… cough…”

Another violent fit of coughing and wheezing tore through her chest.

Standing halfway up the stairs, Florentia turned back with an innocent expression and looked at the stunned faces of Hunter and the others.

“What’s wrong, Mom? I’ve been really busy today. I’m tired and want to sleep.”

“You… Hunter, look at your wife! Is this how she treats her mother-in-law? I practically worked myself sick taking care of you, and she’s acting like nothing happened!”

Valda was on the verge of exploding from anger.

Philip also joined in, backing up his wife as he scolded Florentia.

“What’s so important about your job? Does the Patel family not provide enough for you? You can’t even do your duty as a wife properly!”

Hunter frowned as well.

He walked over to Florentia, his tone cold and stern.

“I know you’ve been upset these past few days. Fine, take it out on me if you want, but don’t make things difficult for Mom. Call Dr. Hayes right now and ask him to treat her.”

“I’m not calling.”

Florentia answered with only three words.

An eerie silence instantly filled the living room.

Philip and Valda stared at her with eyes wide as saucers, almost wondering if they had heard wrong.

Had Florentia lost her mind?

How dare she openly defy them?

Whitney was practically dying to laugh.

Even so, she still pretended to play peacemaker.

“Florentia, how can you say something like that? It’s not as if they wouldn’t pay for the consultation.”

The moment those words came out, Philip and Valda’s expressions turned even uglier.

Whitney suddenly realized something.

Sure enough, Florentia let out a soft sigh.

“Isn’t the real issue that no one’s been paying Dr. Hayes? He’s helped this family countless times over the past five years.

“Even before he retired, just getting an appointment with him cost a thousand dollars, and that didn’t include consultation or treatment fees.

“Do you really expect him to keep making house calls for free? Of course he wouldn’t be willing.”

Whitney was speechless.

How could the Patel family be this cheap?

Eager to win favor with Valda and Hunter, Whitney immediately jumped in, “Florentia, you’re wrong about this. It’s just a consultation fee.

“How expensive could it possibly be? As a daughter-in-law, you should be willing to spend this money on your parents. How much is it? I’ll pay for Mrs. Patel.”

Now she was really trying hard to impress them.

Florentia didn’t hesitate for a second. She immediately took out her phone and began tapping away on the calculator.

“One hundred thousand.”

“That much?!”

Whitney completely lost control of her voice.

Florentia raised an eyebrow.

“One hundred thousand is a lot? Over the past five years, Dr. Hayes has come here three or four times almost every month.”

“Besides the medical fees, relationships still need to be maintained properly, don’t they? Unless… you’re unwilling to spend the money?”

She deliberately dragged out the last sentence with a teasing smile.

“Whitney, you don’t have to pay for this. It’s not easy for young people to earn money these days…”

Valda quickly tried to stop her.

Whitney gritted her teeth and wrapped an arm around Valda’s.

Then she turned to Florentia.

“I’ll transfer it to you right now. Tomorrow, you’ll invite Dr. Hayes over.”

She pulled out her phone and transferred the money to Florentia right in front of Valda.

Florentia sneered inwardly.

“Alright. I’ll invite Dr. Hayes over tomorrow.”

Before she even made it upstairs, she heard Valda’s voice drifting up from below, full of warmth.

“Whitney really knows how to care about me. Unlike that ungrateful little brat! It’s not easy for you to earn money, sweetheart. I’ll pay you back later.”

“Mom, this amount is nothing. Your health matters most…”

Nothing?

When Whitney made that transfer earlier, she had practically cracked her back teeth from clenching them so hard.

But Florentia no longer cared about any of that.

The moment she returned to her room, she immediately called Matthew Hayes and arranged to meet him the next day.

While she was on the phone, Hunter walked in just in time to overhear her scheduling the appointment with Matthew.

The tension in his expression eased slightly.

Ever since the day of the accident, he felt that something about Florentia was different.

“Honey.”

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You’re not still mad at me, are you? I missed you so much.”

Florentia caught the faint scent of freesia perfume lingering on him.

She never used that fragrance.

The disgust nearly overwhelmed her.

She forced down the nausea churning in her stomach and spoke in a soft, spoiled tone,“Why is Whitney staying here? You know we’ve never gotten along. Make her leave.”

“Mom’s health isn’t good, so she came to help take care of her.”

In truth, Hunter didn’t really want Whitney staying there either. He was afraid something might slip out. But Valda had insisted on bringing her over.

Florentia felt even more disgusted now.

If Hunter hadn’t silently agreed to it, there was no way Valda could’ve made decisions for him.

“Honey, I want to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?” Florentia asked.

Hunter lowered his voice. “Don’t you work at Swiftline Magazine? Whitney’s staying in the country this time, and she wants to join your company. See if you can talk to your editor and arrange a position for her.”

Florentia almost laughed from anger.

Hunter clearly knew she and Whitney had never gotten along.

Ever since the Gray family found Florentia and brought her home, Whitney openly and secretly sabotaged her countless times.

Wasn’t it bad enough having Whitney around the house already?

Whitney even wanted to invade her workplace too.

“What happens at the company isn’t up to me. Isn’t she a war correspondent? There are plenty of major media companies in the country that would love to hire her. Why does she have to work where I do?”

Florentia’s expression turned cold as she pushed Hunter away.

Her eyes locked onto his.

“I’ve noticed you seem especially concerned about Whitney’s affairs lately. Don’t tell me you really do have some shady relationship with her?”