My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 8: Mocked at the Street Stall

Editor: Henyee Translations

Candy ended up needing three stitches. She had also lost quite a bit of blood, which made Damien’s heart ache.

Part of him wanted to stay by her side, buy her pretty clothes, spoil her with good food, and somehow make up for everything she’d gone through that day.

Unfortunately, a mountain of work was waiting for him back at the office.

"Mr. Vaughn, the finance team still has several documents waiting for your approval," Ryan reminded him. "And the sales team is still waiting on those contracts."

Damien had already broken his own rules by walking out of a meeting full of senior executives to rush to Candy’s side. He couldn’t neglect his responsibilities any longer. Reluctantly, he left Candy in Ryan’s care.

Ryan stayed with her while she received an antibiotic shot, made sure she finished her meal, and was preparing to take her shopping for some new clothes.

Just as they were leaving the hospital room, however, they ran into someone unexpected.

"Doris!"

"Candy?" Doris Morton stopped in her tracks. Her eyes immediately landed on the bandages wrapped around Candy’s arm. Then she looked at Ryan. "What happened? What are you doing in the hospital? And who is he?"

Candy briefly explained what had happened.

The more Doris listened, the angrier she became. So Candy had been hurt badly enough to end up in the hospital? Someone needed to answer for that. Just as Doris was about to ask more questions, Candy grabbed her hand.

"Doris, can you please not tell Mom everything?" Her voice was small and pleading. "I don’t want her to worry."

Doris felt both angry and heartbroken. But Candy wasn’t finished. "It’s okay." She offered a weak smile. "A nice gentleman already took care of it for me." Then she added, "Please don’t tell Mom. I don’t want to cause her any more trouble."

In the end, Doris thanked Ryan for everything he had done. Then she took Candy home with her and sent Cecelia a message.

The moment she got off work, Cecelia rushed straight to Doris’s apartment. Only after arriving did she discover that Candy had been injured. Her heart immediately dropped.

Candy, meanwhile, took all the blame herself.

"It was my fault." She lowered her head guiltily. "I wasn’t paying attention and ran into the corner of a desk." Then she quickly added, "Luckily, Doris took me to the hospital right away."

She wrapped her arms around Cecelia. "Mom, I don’t want to go back to that daycare anymore." Her eyes brightened hopefully. "Can I just stay here and play with Doris instead?"

Doris, however, was already fuming.

"Wow, Cecelia Archer." She folded her arms. "You’ve got some nerve. You moved out. You enrolled Candy in daycare. You found your own place. And somehow you didn’t tell me any of it." She pointed at herself. "What am I now? Some random acquaintance?"

Knowing she was completely in the wrong, Cecelia immediately switched into apology mode. She and Doris had been friends since middle school.

Doris was her only true best friend. Over the years, she’d never hidden anything from her.

Except for the marriage certificate.

Everything had happened so suddenly and absurdly that she hadn’t even known how to explain it. More than anything, she hadn’t wanted Doris to worry.

"I was going to tell you today." She raised her hand. "I swear. I just didn’t expect you to find out first." Then she smiled sheepishly. "I’m sorry, okay? It won’t happen again."

Doris snorted, "You’d rather stay in a hotel than come to me." She rolled her eyes. "Looks like you’re rolling in money these days."

In truth, Doris’s family circumstances were somewhat better than Cecelia’s.

Both of her parents were alive and healthy, and her family was comfortably middle-class. After graduation, they had supported her dream of working in fashion and helped her establish her own design studio.

Unfortunately, the fashion industry was fiercely competitive. She was still trying to make a name for herself. At the moment, she was practically living out of her studio, so there simply wasn’t enough room for Cecelia and a child.

"That’s not it at all." Cecelia laughed helplessly. "Everything’s been chaotic these last few days. I haven’t even had time to look for an apartment." Then she grabbed Doris’s arm. "And besides, you know far more people than I do." Her smile turned pleading. "I’ll need your help finding a place. So don’t abandon me now, okay?"

Although Doris continued grumbling, her anger quickly faded. Before long, she’d forgiven her.

The three of them ordered takeout and ate together.

After dinner, Doris immediately started making calls. Soon, she had found a one-bedroom apartment for Cecelia.

After paying three months’ rent upfront along with the security deposit, Cecelia’s savings dwindled rapidly.

Thinking about Candy starting school in September—as well as the money she’d promised her brother for the home renovations—a headache began forming behind her eyes.

"I can’t survive on my salary alone." She rubbed her temples. "I need another source of income." Then she looked at Doris. "Can you help me think of a side hustle?"

Doris thought for a moment. Only one idea came to mind.

"The Riverside Night Market gets incredible foot traffic." She pointed toward a rack of clothes in her studio. "I’ve always thought about setting up a booth there myself."

Then she shrugged. "But honestly, my pride won’t let me." A grin spread across her face. "If you don’t mind, take some pieces from my collection. No upfront cost. Anything you sell is yours. Anything you don’t sell, just bring back."

That didn’t seem fair.

Even between best friends, business was business. If Doris was helping her, she couldn’t simply take advantage of her generosity. Besides, it was only a market stall. There was nothing embarrassing about honest work.

"Deal." Cecelia extended her hand. "I’ll run the stall. You help watch Candy. We split the profits fifty-fifty."

The very next evening after work, Cecelia borrowed Doris’s small cargo van, loaded it with merchandise, and headed to the night market. The weather looked uncertain. Worried it might rain later, she left an umbrella in the van just in case.

After setting up the stall, she began greeting customers, recommending outfits, and helping people browse. Whenever business slowed down, she pulled out a textbook and studied.

Cecelia had once been a medical student. But after becoming unexpectedly pregnant with Candy—and being framed by someone with malicious intentions—she had been forced to leave school during her junior year.

Medicine had always been her true passion. Even after years spent working in completely unrelated industries, she still carried her old textbooks everywhere. Whenever she found spare time, she studied. She didn’t know whether any of that knowledge would ever be useful again.

But passion was passion.

Even reading a few pages brought her peace.

As darkness settled over the city, she managed to sell several outfits. She had just become absorbed in a Chapter of her textbook when a familiar voice interrupted her.

"Excuse me, how much are these?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Cecelia looked up. Immediately, her expression froze. The last person she wanted to see was standing in front of her.

Claire Clark.

Her former roommate. Her former classmate. The woman responsible for destroying her future and forcing her to leave medical school.

Claire looked very different from the girl Cecelia remembered. A fitted designer dress accentuated her figure. Her makeup was flawless. Chestnut waves framed her face. A limited-edition Hermès handbag hung casually from one arm.

Every inch of her radiated luxury and confidence.

Had the memory of Claire’s betrayal not been burned into her mind, Cecelia might not have recognized her at all.

The transformation was dramatic.

Their eyes met. Before Cecelia could even say her name, Claire spoke first.

"Cecelia Archer?" A mocking smile appeared on her lips. "Is that really you?" She laughed softly. "I heard you dropped out halfway through junior year after getting pregnant by some rich guy." Her gaze swept over the market stall. "So what happened? Did you have the baby? A boy or a girl?"

She tilted her head. "The kid must be pretty big by now." Then her smile widened. "But what are you doing running a market stall?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Did the father dump you?"

Cecelia never imagined she’d meet Claire again. And certainly not under circumstances like these. Nor had she expected Claire to start spreading vicious rumors the moment they met.

But that wasn’t what shocked her most.

Standing beside Claire was Damien Vaughn. The man whose name appeared on her marriage certificate.

Claire looked glamorous and radiant. Damien was tall, handsome, and effortlessly distinguished. Standing together, they looked remarkably well-matched.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, something twisted painfully inside her chest. How did they know each other? What was their relationship? Were they involved?

The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. More bitter than it should have been.

Just yesterday, Damien had transferred one hundred and forty thousand dollars as a wedding gift as though he were completely serious about their marriage.

And today, he was shopping with another woman.

A woman like Claire.

Cecelia felt a surge of disappointment. Suddenly, she regretted ever asking Damien for help. If she had known he surrounded himself with people like Claire Clark, she would rather have struggled on her own than allowed him into her life.