Chapter 7

She had been so worried about Luke until she knelt to beg Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins. She insisted that she did not want anything from the Jenkins including their money as she only wanted to see if Luke was well.

Alas, all she got was Mrs. Jenkins’ mocking response. Then, she was kicked out of the hospital and never even got to see Luke.

As if things could not have been worse, her elder brother was then admitted into the hospital due to a sudden heart attack.

The worst thing was that during the heart attack treatment, he was diagnosed with symptoms of schizophrenia. The doctor said that her elder brother had possibly been traumatized by something that triggered the heart attack and the mental illness.

Now, he could not speak properly anymore although she did not know what happened. The only thing she could do was to think of a way to get the money for his medical fees.

When their parents passed away, her elder brother had been 16 years old and she had only been 10 years old. None of their relatives wanted to take them in, so her elder brother had dropped out of school to make a living to care for her and put her in school.

She could hardly remember her parents since her elder brother took over their role ever since she was young. To her, he was her only family. If she could save him, she was willing to sacrifice anything.

At that time, she had suppressed her thoughts about Luke and only thought about getting funds. She sold their tiny home, but due to its size and location, it only fetched over a hundred thousand which was still far from her brother’s medical fees.

Therefore, she had relinquished her dignity to approach Mrs. Jenkins.

She would never forget the condescending look that Mrs. Jenkins had thrown at her. It was as though she was literally saying that she only wanted the Jenkins family’s money!

Mrs. Jenkins had thrown $100,000 on the floor.

Then, she told her that the money was hers, but she was not allowed to contact Luke ever again or tell Luke about their past!

Susan knelt and picked up the money one note at a time while Mrs. Jenkins’ sharp and mocking gaze felt like daggers from behind her. Her heart ached and her dignity crumbled.

No matter how painful or difficult it was, all she knew was that she could not let anything happen to her brother.

Pathetically, she knelt to pick up the hundred thousand dollars before leaving the Jenkins residence and her love.

However, the total amount was still not enough to treat her elder brother’s illness. At that point in time, Mrs. Shaw had appeared in front of her. Apparently, Julian Shaw had been dealt with many difficulties. A fortune-teller had said that he would have quite a treacherous year, and to get through that year, he would have to marry someone with a compatible character. That was how Susan was identified after Mrs. Shaw hunted for someone suitable.

So, she married Julian and the Shaw family took care of her elder brother’s medical bills.

She heard that Luke had completely forgotten about her. Then, shortly after that, she heard that he had gotten engaged.

She thought she could handle that kind of pain. However, after witnessing how affectionate Luke was towards Mandy, she realized she was not that strong. Even so, she would never reveal her weakness in front of Mandy Ainsley.

With her hands clasped tightly, she calmly said, “I wish both of you nothing but the best.”

“Wish?” Mandy smirked at Susan. “To thank you for that wish, I’ll give you a present, alright?” Before she could respond, Mandy took up the coffee cup all of a sudden and poured it on Susan’s head.

The dripping coffee blurred Susan’s sight. She wiped her face and glared at Mandy angrily, ready to say something.

Mandy shrieked, “You’re too much! I can’t believe such a shameless woman exists in this world.”

Luke, who was waiting outside, rushed in when he heard the shrill commotion. He glanced at Susan, then looked at his fiance nervously, “Mandy, what is it?”

Mandy was trembling as she pretended to confess, “Luke...I had a feeling this woman was interested in you just now, so I told you to wait outside so as not to embarrass her. After you left, she actually admitted liking you and wanting to pursue you. I told her that we’re engaged, but she said being engaged doesn’t mean that we’re married. Even if we’re married, we could get a divorce. I felt extremely angry, so I flung my coffee at her. Am I really bad for feeling that way?”

After saying that, she slumped into Luke’s embrace and started crying.

“You’re not a bad person. My dear Mandy, you’d never be bad. You did the right thing to deal with this kind of woman.” Luke patted Mandy’s back and comforted her.

Susan sat there, feeling the pain in every inch of her heart. As her jaw muscles stiffened, she could not take it anymore. “You’re lying. I never said those things to you.”

“Do you mean I’m accusing you?” Mandy shifted from Luke’s arms and seemed agitated.

Susan clearly saw a trace of pride in her eyes, but she replied, still clenching her teeth, “No matter what it is, I’m standing by my words.”

“Luke, she...she still doesn’t want to admit it!” Mandy looked at Luke as if she was wronged.

Seeing her sad face, he could not help feeling sorry for her, so he turned to stare coldly at Susan. “Miss Shelby, I want you to apologize to Mandy for your actions.”

Susan looked at him in a daze. He trusted Mandy blindly without finding out about the truth and was even demanding for an apology!

She felt smothered as if she could not breathe properly. With whatever energy was left in her, she repeated, “I said, I didn’t say those words!”

“We don’t even know each other. If you really didn’t say that, why would I have splashed you with coffee? Am I that unreasonable a person?” Mandy said as she looked at Susan smugly, knowing that she could not explain herself.

Susan had promised Mrs. Jenkins that after taking that the $100,000, she would never mention their past to Luke.

“You…” Susan was pale as a ghost and no words came out from her mouth.

“Miss Shelby, I’m giving you one last chance to apologize to Mandy.” Luke stared coldly at her.

Susan looked at him being so indifferent and felt that the world was playing a cruel joke on her. He used to be protective of her. She had been the happiest woman alive then. Now, he was being protective of another woman.

“You...really don’t believe me?” Susan looked at Luke with emotions hidden in her eyes.

Those eyes…

Luke was slightly stunned. He did not know why but he had a feeling he could not quite describe.

Had they met before?

Luke went silent for a while until Mandy got nervous. She tugged at Luke’s arm affectionately. “My dear, are you okay?”

Luke recollected himself. Looking at Mandy’s beautiful face, he allowed a faint smile to appear on his lips. When he had been bedridden, it was Mandy who had taken care of him, and she was the woman he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

Thus, Luke stared back at Susan dangerously. “Should I believe you and not my fiancée?”