My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Too Poor to Live Happily

Damien Vaughn was so angry with Cecelia Archer that he stormed out of the hospital.

He had barely left when a nurse came by to press for payment of the medical bills.

"Hello, Ms. Archer. The one hundred thousand deposit for medical fees has been used up as of today. So..."

Cecelia was shocked. ’Was this room that expensive? We’ve only been here a few days! And the one hundred thousand is already gone?’

The nurse handed her a stack of bills. "All the itemized charges are here. Please take a look."

Cecelia looked and saw that the room alone cost nearly ten thousand a day. Add to that the two imported medications Candy needed daily, and the total was around twenty thousand a day...

’If I had known this room was so expensive, I never would have agreed to stay here in the first place!’

Thankfully, she still had some money left, enough to last a few more days. Cecelia moved Candy to a general ward.

Then, she started frantically sending out her resume to cover the upcoming medical expenses.

The afternoon quickly passed. At three o’clock, Cecelia was refreshing the webpage, applying for every single position she could find.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the ward and asked the family member of another patient amidst the noisy chatter.

"Excuse me, is the little girl who was just transferred today in this room?"

The voice sounded familiar to Cecelia. She turned her head and saw it was Miss Young, the woman who had been on a blind date with Damien Vaughn that very morning.

Their eyes met. Annabelle Young smiled and walked toward her, carrying several large gift bags.

Cecelia was very surprised. "Miss Young, what are you doing here?"

After leaving the hospital that morning, Annabelle Young had complained at length to her cousin, Brandon Jacobs, about how embarrassed she was. Brandon, however, was rather nonchalant about it.

"That’s just how Vaughn is. He doesn’t waste words, has a sharp tongue, and loves to roast people. He’s like that with us, too. A total straight-shooter. If you’re expecting him to sweet-talk you, you can forget about it. It’s actually pretty good that he engaged in some back-and-forth and didn’t just let your words fall flat."

"Anyway, I’ve told you how it is. If you want to keep trying, then give it a shot. If not, I won’t force you."

Annabelle had been feeling quite discouraged, but after hearing Brandon’s explanation, she suddenly felt much better.

"Did he say anything about me to you?"

Brandon said, "Of course not. You’ve got the looks, the figure, the education, and your family background is excellent. What’s there for him to be dissatisfied with? Besides, do you really think a guy like him would badmouth a woman behind her back?"

Her cousin’s words instantly rekindled Annabelle’s fighting spirit.

’That’s right,’ she thought. ’He’s Damien Vaughn, the dream man every woman in Veridia wants to marry.’ freēwēbnovel.com

’If he was a smooth-talker who was sweet to every woman he met, how many girlfriends would he have by now?’

’His cold demeanor is exactly what makes him a catch! I’d be able to rest easy after marrying him. What was I even thinking!’

Thinking about how she had stormed off in a huff after less than two minutes, without even adding Damien Vaughn on WeChat, Annabelle regretted it so much she wanted to slap herself.

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask Brandon for Damien’s WeChat directly, and she couldn’t think of a good excuse to see him again. After racking her brain for a long time, she thought of Candy.

She hadn’t expected them to have moved rooms in just a few hours, which sent Annabelle on quite a search.

The ward was cramped and crowded. Annabelle carefully navigated around the other patients’ family members as she walked toward Cecelia with a smile.

"Miss Archer! Oh, I finally found you. Why did you change rooms? I’ve been looking for you for ages."

"I didn’t realize your child was sick when I came this morning, so I didn’t bring a gift. I felt so bad about it, so..."

Cecelia was the one who felt embarrassed.

’She and Annabelle Young were practically strangers; I don’t even really know her. Why would she feel the need to visit?’

"Miss Young, you’re being too kind..."

She tried to push Annabelle’s hands away, too embarrassed to accept the gifts, but Annabelle insisted on placing them on Candy’s hospital bed.

"They’re not for you, they’re for the child. What are you being so formal for?"

"Miss Archer, I felt a connection with you the moment I saw you this morning. If you don’t mind, let’s be friends."

Cecelia: "..."

’Why would she want to be friends with me out of the blue?’

But there was no reason to turn her away, so she could only invite Annabelle to sit down.

After some conversation, Annabelle got the gist of Cecelia’s situation. She was a single mother with a seriously ill daughter. She had no real relationship with Damien Vaughn; he had met Candy by chance but cared about her a great deal.

Annabelle understood: Damien Vaughn was a very compassionate person.

’Since he’s so compassionate, he must like a compassionate partner, too.’

After some thought, she decided to approach it from the angle of compassion.

"Cecelia, I know it’s easy for me to say, but you really shouldn’t have moved Candy to a different room. The VIP ward might be a bit expensive, but the environment is much better for a child’s recovery. Just look at this place..."

The ward was less than fifty square meters and held four beds. Each bed had a patient and at least one family member staying with them. Add in the friends and relatives who came to visit, and the tiny fifty-square-meter space was packed with people.

The weather was still hot, and forget about ventilation—it was a struggle not to be overwhelmed by the smells the moment you walked in.

Annabelle had only been sitting for a few minutes and already felt like she reeked of the ward’s odors.

Her words made Cecelia want to crawl into a hole from shame.

She knew this place was bad and not conducive to Candy’s rest, but...

"Thank you for your concern, Miss Young. I will do my best to earn money and provide a good environment for my child, but right now..."

"What about right now? Are you having financial difficulties?"

For the sake of her future happiness, Annabelle was going all out.

’Worst case, I’ll buy one less handbag and be a good person for once!’

"If you have difficulties, you should tell me! No matter how hard things get, the child shouldn’t have to suffer. You’re taking care of your daughter full-time right now, so you have no income. Your savings won’t last much longer, will they? It’s okay, I can help you. How about two hundred thousand? You can take it and use it for now."

As she spoke, she took a card out of her purse. When Cecelia saw it, she felt even more ashamed.

"Miss Young, I can’t take this money!"

"It’s not like we’re completely broke, but even if we were, I have no right to take your money for free. Please, don’t do this."

"I can’t rely on handouts for the rest of my life. I have to stand on my own two feet. I appreciate the kind offer, I really do. Thank you."

Seeing her firm refusal, Annabelle had no choice but to put the card away.

"Well, have you thought about what you’ll do if things continue like this?"

Cecelia said, "My friend is coming tomorrow to help me take care of Candy, so I can go look for a job."

"A job? What kind of job? Have you found one already?"

Cecelia answered honestly, "No. But I’m not picky. I believe that as long as I look hard enough, I’ll find something soon."

Annabelle’s eyes darted. "What did you do before? Have you ever worked in sales? Want to give it a try?"

"Sales? Miss Young, you mean..."

Annabelle said, "My family has a jewelry counter at Walden Trade Center, and we’re currently looking for a salesperson. Someone young and beautiful like you is perfect for selling jewelry. It’s a respectable job, the commission is high, and it’s not tiring. Since you need a job, why don’t you come work for me?"