"Are you stupid, or are you faking you don’t know?" Scott sneered. "Why were you drugged last night? Your fiancé must have known about it. Didn't you know what was going to happen when he took you to see Nelson Berry? If I hadn't suggested you come to my club, do you think you would be able to escape again?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I trust Liam." Brianna retorted.
"Ha-ha. You trust him?" Scott said in disdain. "If he really loves you, he won't use you as bait and for numerous times. He even drugs you to make you sleep with other men for the sake of his so-called business cooperation proposals. What's more, he's fucking Nelson Berry's daughter anyway. Do you really not know?"
Nelson's daughter?! "Enough. This is nonsense. I don't believe you. I thought someone like you with fame and power would know how to respect others."
"Didn't he just leave you here so that you can sleep with me in exchange for a chance of cooperation?" Scott sneered.
"Enough, Mr. Anderson. Stop this nonsense." Brianna couldn't take it anymore and wanted to leave.
Just then, Brianna's phone rang. The screen showed the name of Brianna's neighbor, Mary. It gave her a worrying feeling, and her heart beat faster. "Hello, Mary." She answered the phone.
"Brianna, your mother just had a heart attack and has been taken to St. Rose Hospital!" Mary said worriedly.
Scott heard the voice coming from the phone clearly, and just at that moment, a car slowly drove over. It was Jacob who came for Scott. Scott opened the door for Brianna, suggesting that Brianna get in the car.
She hesitated a bit, but she was too worried about her mother to reject help now. "Thanks, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Morgan."
"No problem. You are mine anyway. I shall at least help a bit." Scott replied indifferently.
"I'm not yours," Brianna said clearly.
"You have agreed, and that's why I helped you last night. Keep your word, Brianna Warren." Scott spoke a bit sternly.
As he was actually doing her a favor now, Brianna bit her lips and restrained her anger and frustration. She remained silent.
On the way to the hospital, Scott was abnormally quiet and left Brianna alone. Brianna kept her eyes fixed on the traffic, praying to get to her mother as soon as possible. She was tearful and terribly worried.
The doctor had just come out of the emergency room when they arrived. "Dr. Smith, how's my mother?" Brianna ran towards the doctor and asked worriedly.
"She's safe now, but it's getting worse, Brianna. It's been too long. She needs coronary bypass surgery soon. If she has another heart attack, I don't think she will be as lucky as this time." Dr. Smith sighed.
Tears ran down Brianna's cheeks. She wiped them away and tried to speak calmly. "Thanks to Dr. Smith. I will sort out the money as soon as I can."
Dr. Smith nodded and left. The chief nurse reminded her, "Brianna, please remember to pay for today's bills."
"I will, thanks." Brianna nodded.
Brianna went to the cashier to pay but was told that there wasn't enough money on her bank card.
"I will need time to borrow some. Can I pay tomorrow, please?" Brianna pleaded.
"We are not a charity organization." The cashier replied coldly.
She tried to call Liam, but it just wouldn't go through. Helplessly, she rang her friend Angela Davis.
"Hey, Brianna," Angela spoke, sounding a bit upset.
Brianna knew that Angela wasn't well off either, and her family was all greedy and stingy, especially her mother-in-law, so she tried not to ask Angela for help. However, she didn't have a choice this time.
Brianna hesitated before she said, "Angela, I know it's not easy for you, but my mum's in the hospital again, and I really need money. I don't have anyone else to ask for help..."
"How much do you need?" Angela asked without hesitation.
"About one thousand dollars."
"Ok. Give me a minute."
What Brianna heard next from the other end of the line was Mrs. Jones shouting angrily, "What?! My son has married a useless dumbass. You can't even look after your own parents and younger brother, and now you are helping a friend?! A friend?! Do you think I own a charitable foundation or something, huh?!"
Brianna couldn't take it anymore. "It's alright. I will think of another way, Mrs. Jones, please don't treat Angela like that. Take care, Angela." She hung up.
"Brianna? Hello?"
Not long after Brianna hung up the phone, she received a notification message from the bank saying that Angela had transferred five hundred dollars to her account. It's probably all her personal savings.
A sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky, and angry thunder followed. Brianna looked up to see the thick heavy clouds above. A storm was brewing.
She checked on her mother and hurried outside the hospital afterward to hail a taxi and headed to Liam's. She wondered why he was not answering his phone.
The rain was pouring down when she arrived. As Brianna got out of the taxi, another car pulled over behind her. She turned around to see Liam holding an umbrella, about to open the door for someone in the car. But he paused as he spotted Brianna.
"Hey Brianna, what are you doing here?" He asked, sounding a bit displeased.
"I've been calling you, but you didn't answer..." Brianna replied and looked at his car. She noticed a woman sitting in the front seat. "Who is she?"
Liam looked away and answered, "No one. She's..."
The woman opened the door and stepped out of the car. Liam hurried to her with the umbrella immediately. "I'm Zara Berry, Liam's girlfriend, Nelson Berry's daughter." The woman in a tight red dress spoke proudly.
"Girlfriend?" Brianna stared at Liam in disbelief, "Liam! What about me? What am I to you?!"
Liam looked at Brianna coldly, "Well, I guess that's it for us. Zara is my girlfriend now, and my parents and grandma all love her. You know your mum is a huge burden and who knows how much more money it will cost. My grandma doesn't really want me to marry you anyway, and I don't want to upset her."
Recalling what Scott said to her while listening to Liam's ridiculous explanation, Brianna couldn't help finding it bitterly amusing. She mocked herself. So everything that Scott Anderson said is true. He's been dating Nelson's daughter, and I've been a fool! And he is probably the one that drugged me, using me to please Nelson!
Angrily, Brianna lifted her hand and was about to slap Liam on his face, but Liam gripped her wrist instantly. "Be sensible, Brianna! We are grown-ups. Also, I've spent a lot of money on your mother in the past years. Now, please leave in peace."
"You've spent a lot of money?! Liam, you bastard! Before my dad passed away, how much help have we given you?! I even gave you the 500 thousand dollars that my dad left for me for the company, which would never have grown so successful without that money!" Brianna retorted.
"I have looked after you and your mother for a few years. Come on, Brianna, let's not start this meaningless argument and end up embarrassing yourself." Liam said impatiently.
Brianna tried her best and lifted up her chest, took a deep breath, and despite the immense pain and shame she was feeling, she said, "Liam, can you lend me fifty thousand dollars? My mum has just had another heart attack, and I can't even pay for tonight's surgery. Dr. Smith says she needs cardiac bypass surgery soon, or..."
As Liam had been paying for Brianna's mother's treatment in the past years, so Brianna had never asked for a salary while working for the Williams' Fortune Construction Company.
Also, Brianna thought that they were engaged anyway and what she was earning was for both of them.
Zara sneered and mocked, "Aren't you ashamed, Brianna Warren? Liam has dumped you, and you are still asking him for money."