chapter 5 The Marriage Clause

"I had to rush in immediately when I got your call. Where's my mother? What happened to her?”

Jenny questioned the cop after arriving at the station.

"Calm down, Miss Jenny.

You're getting yourself worked up,” One of the cops said, attempting to console her.

"Don't you dare tell me to be calm? You had my mom locked up and expected me to stay calm? Where's my mother? I wanna see her immediately.” She gripped his shirt and screamed so loud other cops were alerted.

"She had a seizure. But she's fine now. Our medical team quickly administered first aid treatment.

You never mentioned your mom was asthmatic. What if she had died?” The cop asked.

“Wait a minute! My mom is asthmatic. Where's she? Take me to her immediately,” she was surprised to discover about her mother's condition.

All these years they lived together, her mother never mentioned anything as such.

The news about her mother being asthmatic came as a shock to her.

"Don't tell me you weren't aware of her condition! This is shocking. But why would she hide that from you? Let me take you to her immediately,” the cop led the way to where her mother was.

A designated, small, and isolated room meant for prisoners with rare conditions. There she saw her mother lying on the bed, looking so pale and helpless.

“Mother!!” she rushed to where her mother was and held her hands.

“Why didn't you tell me you had asthma?” She kissed her forehead and cried.

“I didn't wanna disturb you. You've done a lot for me already. I intend to get proper medical treatment. That was one of the reasons I stole the check. I was hoping we could get a better life too.

We deserve better than this life we are living. It has never been the same since your Dad passed away.”

Meg wept and held Jenny's hands so passionately. “I'm sorry for involving you in my shit. But please promise me one thing, that you'd get me out of here. I don't wanna go to jail! We can't afford a lawyer at this point. We can't even stand these rich people. Please, do something.”

"I promise, Mom. I promise to get you out of here. I promise to get you a better life. The lifestyle you've always wanted. You'd stop working as a janitor at the bank. You are approaching your 50s. You don't deserve the hardship,”

Jenny pledged as she placed her head on the bed and wept inconsolably.

The cop that accompanied Jenny couldn't hold his emotions as he leaned forward to embrace her. “She needs to rest. I wish there was something I could do. It's so unfortunate to be found in a situation like this. You need to leave now. Your mom would be fine,”

Walking out of the station, Jenny kept thinking about the crazy proposal Alvin offered. Marrying Fabiola is one hell of a nightmare, but losing her mother is her biggest fear. She returned to the company amidst the troubled soul.

Arriving at her office, she stopped at Alvin's office entrance and muttered. “Am I making the right decision? I can't watch my mom get jailed while I do nothing. She deserves a better life. Marrying that monster for three isn't a big deal. Jenny, you can do this,” she assured herself and knocked before going inside.

“How's your mom? What happened to her?” Alvin asked.

"She's great. I'll marry Fabiola for three years and file for divorce afterward. But it comes with a condition,”

“A condition?” he widened his eyes.

“Yes, a condition. Aside from dropping all charges and repaying the loan, she also gets an additional $50k for putting her through the trauma,” she requested with confidence.

“You must be insane to think I would agree to that. Are you trying to blackmail me? We had an agreement. Why are you snitching?” he became furious.

"My sanity is intact. We both know you need this more than I do. Aside from my mom being prosecuted, I've got absolutely nothing to lose.

So, are you in?.”

“You a bad bitch. We have a deal. By tomorrow morning, I want the contract ready and signed. I don't trust you a bit. Do have a nice life,” he reluctantly agreed and dismissed her.

Exiting the office, she met Josh holding a briefcase. Apparently, he just cashed out the check for $1 million. She attempted to dodge him, but he appeared too fast and stood in front of Jenny, creating an obstruction.

“What do you want from me? Haven't you done enough already? Please let me go,” she begged.

“Are you getting married to Fabiola? I just overheard you talking about some contract marriage with the Boss. How did they make you do this? Do you realize the consequences of this action?”

“How dare you talk about consequences? Did you even think about the consequence of your action when you got my mother arrested and told Alvin? Did you? If you hadn't reported, none of these would be happening.” Jenny flared up.

"Come on. You can't blame me for what's happening, would you? I already told you a thousand times that the bank manager told Carlos about it. I wasn't even aware she was your mom. You know I care about you and wouldn't do anything to hurt your feelings. Please, you have to believe me,” Josh pleaded and acted all emotional and teary. There was nothing he could do anymore. The deed has been done already.

"I don't even know what to believe anymore. Even if you are telling the truth, how do you fix the brokenhearted? I'm sorry, I just have to do this. I can't allow my mom to rot in jail. I need to do something,” she tearfully said and walked away with a broken heart. Josh was pained and blamed himself for everything. He would have handled the situation with wisdom if only he knew Megan was her mother. Now he's about to live with guilt for the rest of his life. Quietly, he motioned to the office with the briefcase containing the $1 million.