My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: President Vaughn Personally Comes to the Rescue

"The snow won’t stop anytime soon. You’ll get lost on the plains; you can’t get out on your own."

Albedo rushed over and grabbed Cecelia Archer’s arm, translating his brother’s words for her.

"Let’s go together, miss. My brother can take you back."

In just a short time, the snow was already over her shoes. Cecelia Archer knew very well she couldn’t get out of this place by herself.

But Abel’s health...

"I have a compass on my phone. It should be fine."

She insisted on trying by herself.

Abel had already straightened his clothes and started walking outside.

"Say no more. I’ll get the cattle ready. Let’s go together."

Albedo said, "You helped us. We can’t just leave you behind. Let’s go together, miss."

Just like that, the three of them herded a group of cattle, facing the vast, snowy expanse as they stepped onto the boundless plains.

It was so cold, so tiring. They walked for what felt like an eternity. Cecelia Archer felt like she was losing feeling in her legs. The sky grew darker, but their destination was still far away.

Her head started to spin, and every step felt like she was treading on cotton. Her body grew stiffer and stiffer.

"Miss, are you running a fever? You’re dressed too thinly. Here, let me give you my coat!"

Seeing she was growing weaker, Albedo tried to take off his felted wool coat for her, but Cecelia Archer refused.

"I’m fine. I can keep going. Don’t worry about me."

"But you..."

"I won’t die. My daughter is still at home waiting for me. Even if I have to crawl, I’ll crawl back to Veridia. I won’t die here."

Albedo stayed by her side, holding her hand, and they stumbled and fell again and again.

The snow was already past their calves, making it harder and harder to walk. Just as Albedo was regretting leading her here, Cecelia Archer suddenly heard someone calling her name.

"Cecelia Archer! Cecelia Archer!"

Looking up, she saw many figures appearing faintly in the snowstorm not far away.

One of them, particularly tall and dressed all in black, was at the very front. After getting a clear look at her face, he broke into a sprint and charged toward her.

’It looks like Damien.’

’Just like that male model "ex-husband" who always seems to appear out of thin air whenever I’m in trouble.’

Cecelia Archer knew she had a fever; she was even hallucinating.

This was Frostfall, hundreds of miles from Veridia. How could he possibly be here?

Ultimately, she had been reckless and was now reaping what she sowed.

’I’m sorry, Mr. Lee. I’m sorry, my colleagues. I’m sorry, President Vaughn.’

Unable to hold on any longer, just before the tall figure reached her side, Cecelia Archer collapsed.

When she woke up, she was in a hospital.

Her vision was filled with a dry, warm white. She didn’t know how long she’d been lying there. Her whole body ached. She tried to lift a hand to sit up, but the moment she moved, she heard Mr. Lee’s voice.

"You’re awake? You’re finally awake! You nearly scared me to death, Cecelia Archer!"

"You didn’t just scare us, you scared President Vaughn too! I mean, in a godforsaken place like that, if something had happened to you, how could the Vaughn Group’s reputation ever recover?"

"For you, President Vaughn had the entire county’s police force mobilized! He even flew over on a private jet immediately to look for you himself! Cecelia Archer, oh, Cecelia Archer, you’re usually so smart at work. How could you mess up so badly at such a critical moment? I’m about to retire, and my lifelong reputation was almost ruined because of you!"

Cecelia Archer looked up and saw that Mr. Lee’s eyes were bloodshot. She had no idea how long he had been waiting by her bed.

His cheeks and the tip of his nose were bright red from the cold, and he still hadn’t fully recovered.

She was overcome with guilt, more ashamed than she had ever been in her life.

"Are we back in Veridia now? I’m sorry, Mr. Lee, I..."

Mr. Lee looked at her, speechless.

"Yes, we’re back in Veridia. Because you left the group without permission, the flight was delayed. You can’t expect a big group like that to wait for you indefinitely, can you? President Vaughn brought us back himself on his private jet."

"Then he personally brought you to the hospital, stayed with you for quite a while, and just left. Honestly, you..."

’What?’

’President Vaughn flew to Frostfall specifically for me, not only went out onto the plains to find me himself, but also personally brought me back, took me to the hospital, and stayed with me for a while?’

Cecelia Archer’s ears burned, and she felt too embarrassed to even lie still.

"I’m sorry. Today was all my fault. I’ll explain everything to President Vaughn and accept any punishment the company gives me. I’ll do my best not to get you into trouble. I’m truly sorry, Mr. Lee."

"You think you can just say you won’t get me in trouble and that’s that? I’m your direct supervisor... Forget it! You were doing a good deed, after all. It’s a miracle nothing worse happened. Say no more. I failed to supervise you properly, so I deserve to be punished by the company."

As Mr. Lee spoke, he stretched his body.

"Our colleagues have all gone home. I was worried something had happened to you, so I followed you all the way to the hospital and stayed with you this whole time. Ouch, these old bones are starting to ache."

"Since you’re awake and seem to be mostly okay, I’ll head back first. President Vaughn was furious today. He told me to submit a self-criticism report to him tomorrow, so I need to go home and figure out what to write." ƒreewebɳovel.com

"Alright, I’m not blaming you. I was just worried about you. That’s all I have to say. Get some rest. The time you spend in the hospital will count as leave. Come find me to sign the leave request form whenever you’re discharged."

With that, Mr. Lee left the hospital room.

Cecelia Archer lay alone on the soft bed, replaying every word Mr. Lee had just said. She imagined how anxious everyone must have been after her "unexplained disappearance." Overwhelmed with shame, she used her phone to write a self-criticism report and a letter of resignation.

An hour later, she left the hospital. She sent the self-criticism report to the group chat and the resignation letter to Mr. Lee’s private messages, then left the Stratton tech group.

She had caused her boss and colleagues so much trouble; she was too ashamed to continue working there.

She had also caused President Vaughn a huge amount of trouble, wasted his time and money, and had him pay for her medical bills. She didn’t have the face to ask for her salary anymore.

’Hopefully, my resignation will mean Mr. Lee gets chewed out a little less.’

Damien Vaughn had been busy the entire day.

For Cecelia Archer, he had flown from Veridia to Frostfall early in the morning, endured a drastic temperature change, and trekked through the snow for over an hour to find her.

When he finally found her, she was frozen half to death. He rushed her back on the private jet for hospitalization, watched as the doctors saved her life until she was out of danger, and only then did he hurry back to the office to deal with the work that had piled up during the day.

He hadn’t had time to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner. After finishing his work, he personally rushed back to the hospital, wanting to see if Cecelia Archer had woken up and if she had any frostbite.

But when he got there, he learned that she had discharged herself. She had already been gone for several hours.

He pulled out his phone, wanting to see if she had sent any words of gratitude after waking up.

But when he opened the group chat, he saw... a self-criticism report?

She had already left the group chat, leaving only a long-winded report that filled the screen with apologies and guilt.

She had resigned.

She took the blame and resigned without her supervisor’s approval, and even proclaimed she wouldn’t take a single cent of her salary...

It was hard to describe the feeling Damien Vaughn had when he saw that report.

He had never once thought of punishing her.

From the moment he learned she was "missing," he felt nothing but worry and concern, and an overwhelming urgency to find her as quickly as possible.

He had even felt a little admiration for her when he found out she had left the group to save someone.

Up until a minute ago, his mind had been completely occupied with her health and well-being.

But what did all his deep concern get him in the end?

’Heartless and ungrateful! To just leave without a word!’

Since she clearly thought so little of her job at the Vaughn Group to give it up so easily!

Since she disliked getting paid so much and loved acting so high and mighty! Fine! Let her be high and mighty!