Chapter 8 Asking For Money

Janet's POV:

As soon as I arrived at the Lind family's villa, I immediately got out of the taxi and rang the doorbell.

Now that I had done my part and got married, the first thing I did was ask my adoptive parents for the money they promised to give me.

Fiona sat elegantly on the sofa, sipping her coffee. "You came so early. Didn't you get along with Ethan?" she asked, giving me a slight grin and taking my hand in hers. "Tell me all about it."

She didn't mention the money she had promised me and instead asked about Ethan right away.

I had no intention of wasting my time with such nonsense. I went straight to the point and replied, "I'm here for the money. We had an agreement. You said you'd give me money as soon as I got married to that man!"

"Don't worry, Janet." Fiona remained smiling and spoke softly. "I will give you the money. But you're aware of what's currently going on in our family, right? Your father recently made an investment in a new type of business, but it turned out to be a sham. The man behind it took all the money and fled with his mistress, leaving your father with nothing. It's not easy to do business these days. People keep coming up with new ways to steal from the rich. Oh, your poor father... look at him. His hair is turning grey overnight. Our family has been having a lot of trouble recently. We're facing cash flow issues right now, so we can't afford to give you such a huge amount of money at the moment. Please show some understanding!" Fiona squeezed my hand tightly and said those words in a sad tone. She even managed to produce drops of tear from her eyes. She was nothing but a huge hypocrite!

Hearing her stupid excuses made me so furious that my body trembled all over. Fiona was truly a menace. My eyes fell on the jewelry set she was wearing. Those were a mix of diamonds and pearls, which were a lot more expensive than Hannah's medical bills, yet she told me she didn't have enough money to give me.

Bernie, who was silently sitting not far away, interrupted Fiona's speech. "To be honest, we aren't in such a difficult situation. We can still give her..."

"How much are you willing to give her? Do you want your life to be miserable? Jocelyn is going to study abroad and we need a lot of money for that. Think about it. I saved all of the money we have now. Now I scrape and pinch my way just to survive each day. Do you realize how much I've sacrificed for this family? Do you not think about my future and Jocelyn's?" Fiona choked on her tears and started wiping them while glaring at Bernie.

Her statements left Bernie speechless, so he instantly shut up.

"But you promised me. You must give me the money as soon as possible." Despite my dissatisfaction, there was nothing I could do.

After all, Fiona and I only had a verbal agreement. I didn't sign on any paper, so it was impossible to get the money now.

Fiona wiped her tears away and smiled again. "All right. We will give you the money as soon as we've gathered enough. I still have a few thousand dollars left. You can take them first."

How could a few thousand dollars be enough?

I bit my lower lip and was about to speak when Jocelyn's loud voice interrupted me.

"What's this? You just got married, didn't you? Why are you here by yourself? Does Ethan already hate you and refuse to accompany you home?" With a mocking smile, Jocelyn walked up to me.

"I married him in your place. We both know you have a bad reputation. If he hates me, Jocelyn, that only implies he hates you," I shot back, bitterly.

Jocelyn gritted her teeth and tried to pour water on me.

I dodged in reflex. I already expected Jocelyn would do that. It reminded me of the times when we were children. Whenever she was losing in an argument, she would attack me.

"Get out of my house this instant!" Jocelyn yelled furiously, pointing at the door.

"I wouldn't have come back if you didn't owe me money," I said with a sneer.

Fiona stood up and no longer had the gentle expression on her face. "How could you talk to your sister like that?" she scolded. "I don't have a daughter like you. Get out!"

At that moment, I immediately stood up and headed for the door, feeling extremely disappointed with my family.

When I opened the door, I saw Ethan standing outside with a surprised look on his face. He was dressed comfortably. He wore a jacket with a pair of jeans and some sneakers. Behind him was a man who was carrying many bags in his hands, panting heavily.