Chapter 2 Chapter 2 The will

　　Her entire being was shuddering the moment she came out. She took every step cautiously, fearing that she would stumble upon the road. Her mind was in a mess. In one minute, she thought of agreeing with Solomon Grantham, but in the next minute, her inner voice told her not to accept the proposal. She didn't know how she reached the hospital.

　　"Where have you been all this time? Why did you take so long?"

　　Her mother approached her and asked in a low voice the moment she entered the ward.

　　Zara came out of her trance and looked at her. Then her eyes moved to Brian sleeping on the sickbed. He looked so pale and weak. The boys of his age were so lively and full of vigor. But Brian couldn't enjoy his life because of his illness. If he was in good health, he would have started dating a beautiful girl. However, he was lying on the sickbed, not knowing whether he would survive or not.

　　Zara's heart ached when this thought crossed her mind. A few drops of tears escaped from her eyes. Wiping her tears off, she asked, "How long is he asleep?"

　　Charlotte sighed and gazed at Brian, "Almost an hour." She turned her head to look at Zara and asked, "You went to see the doctor. What did he say?"

　　Zara didn't reply immediately. Her eyes were still on Brian. Slowly she moved her eyes to her mother, "I need to talk to you."

　　"Go on."

　　"Not here."

　　Zara walked out of the ward.

　　Charlotte sensed something wrong, and her heart started pounding. She followed her in a hurry.

　　The moment they came out, she asked, "What is it? You are freaking me out?" She observed Zara's limpid eyes carefully, searching for something.

　　Zara sat on the chair outside the general ward and said, "The doctor said Brian needs a heart transplant." She paused to look up at her, "the sooner the better."

　　Charlotte sat next to her and gazed at her in a complicated way, "But. his number is still below hundred. How do we manage that?"

　　Zara hung her head down and looked at her hands on her lap. "I got a proposal from Grantham."

　　"Grantham?"

　　Charlotte exclaimed, utterly mystified. "What proposal?"

　　Taking a deep breath, Zara explained everything to her.

　　A smile shone on Charlotte's face after hearing her and said excitedly, "It's good. I mean, it's great. The older master is like our savior. You should accept his proposal." Contentment was evident in her expression.

　　However, Zara felt a twinge in her heart to see her mother so happy. It seemed that her mother only cared about Brian and didn't think about her. Zara couldn't restrain herself from asking, "You want me to accept his offer! Mom, he is asking me to marry Nicholas Grantham. that womanizer. Who knows with how many women he has connections with? I don't want to marry him." She gawked at her with pain in her eyes.

　　Charlotte's smile vanished straight away. Her expression turned somber. She cast a displeasure gaze at her and said sternly, "Don't forget that your brother is lying on the hospital bed. He will die if he doesn't get the heart transplant. Do you want that? You get the chance to save him, and you want to refuse it. Furthermore, you will be the daughter-in-law of the Grantham's. Countless young ladies dream of it, and this opportunity came to you on its own. Don't you feel lucky? And for the young master of Grantham's. He is doing this because he is still a bachelor. Once he gets married, he will be loyal to his wife."

　　She paused for a moment and took a good look at her before continuing further, "You are a woman. Can't you win his heart? After all, he is a man, made up of blood and flesh, not of rocks. I hope you will make a wise decision."

　　Charlotte rose from the chair and walked into the ward after dropping those words.

　　Zara remained seated numb. She looked serene from the surface but a battle was unfolding inside her. Her mother's words resonated in her ears over and over again. Judging from her current financial situation, accepting Solomon Grantham's offer was the best for her. In this way, she could save Brian.

　　But what about Nicholas Grantham?

　　Zara's heart palpitated again the moment his name passed through her mind.

　　Was her mother telling the truth? Would he change after marriage? Could she win his heart?

　　End of flashback.

　　Zara came out of her trance and sighed deeply. She looked down at the pink diamond ring on her ring finger. A self-deprecating smile surfaced on her face. She agreed to this marriage thinking that one day she could win his heart. Brian would receive the treatment, and she would become the daughter-in-law of Grantham's. It was a win-win situation. But her all hopes shattered when Nicholas asked her to sign the contract for two years.

　　Two years.

　　She had to stay as his legally wedded wife obediently for two years, and at the end of the term, he would give her 50 million dollars as alimony. During this period, she couldn't make any demands to him, she couldn't date anyone, she couldn't go out of the villa without his permission and so many other terms that she didn't remember.

　　She could have rejected this proposal and walked out of this arrangement, but thinking of Brian she couldn't do that. She thought this arrangement was not at all bad. She would be free after a couple of years. And what's more, she would get 50 million, which was a big amount for her. She could start her life over again.

　　But why did her heart still hurt?

　　It was so painful that she felt stuffy and found it difficult to breathe. Her husband should stay with her on the wedding night. However, she didn't know where he was and with whom he was. A few drops of tears finally escaped from her eyes. She sniffed and wiped off her tears.

　　After removing the makeup and the wedding gown, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. She forgot the track of time and took longer than usual to finish the shower. She stepped out of the washroom in a state of trance, changed into her old cartoon pink pajamas, and lay on the bed. She tried to get some sleep but ended up staring at the ceiling in a daze. Who knew after how long she finally drifted into sleep.

　　...

　　Loud music was on in the car's stereo. A beautiful blonde woman was swinging her hands with the beats of the music and humming the tune. The car was running at its moderate speed on the four-lane busy road of the city. The night was young, and their enjoyment had just started.

　　The man driving the car had a grin on his face. He was glancing at her from time to time while driving. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his plump slightly red lips. He kissed her back, but pulled back soon, "I am driving, babe."

　　Bang.

　　Half of his words remained in his mouth when a huge lorry rammed the car. The car flew a few feet up and rolled in the air before it crashed on the ground.

　　Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

　　Other than this buzzing, he could hear nothing. His head hurt. He was half-conscious and couldn't understand what happened just now. When he turned his head on his left side, he saw the woman sitting on the passenger seat was lying unconscious. The glass of the windshield had broken, and her head hung outside. Her face was covered with blood.

　　Blood. Blood. everywhere, only blood.

　　"Sasha."

　　A scream shook the quiet room. Nicholas sat up on the bed abruptly. His face was covered with sweat beads while his breathing was irregular. His hair was disheveled, and a few locks fell on his forehead. His back was drenched with sweat. Horror

　　and pain blended like color pallets in his expression. This dream had been haunting him every night for the past year, but the intensity of the pain and the fear in his heart were as fresh as before. It seemed that the incident happened just last night, not a year ago.

　　Beep. Beep. Beep.

　　The beeping of the alarm pulled him out of his trance. He rubbed his forehead and ran his finger through his hair. Turning off the alarm, he picked up the phone from the side table and unlocked it. A beautiful young woman's photo popped up on the screen. His gaze was so gentle while staring at the photo. He caressed the photo and murmured, "Sasha."

　　He didn't know where she was and how she was doing. She just disappeared from his life. He had forgotten the count of how many times he watched her photo and called her name. His pain only increased day by day, instead of reducing.

　　He was angry and frustrated at the same time for not being able to find her. But he hoped that one day he would certainly find her out. With this thought, he kicked the quilt down and got out of the bed. He went to the washroom, slamming the door behind him.

　　...

　　In the Grantham manor.

　　Solomon Grantham was discussing the will with his lawyer in the study. At the end of the discussion, the lawyer finally couldn't control himself from asking, "Are you sure that it will be wise? If the master doesn't like his wife, it is not good for both of them to stay in such a loveless marriage. They will only suffer in the end."

　　Ethan Smith peered at Solomon Grantham incredulously. His gray hair and the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes were telling how long he had been a lawyer and how much experience he had.

　　Solomon was sitting sullenly on his seat, holding the lion-headed walking stick. He took a few seconds to respond, "You have not met this girl, and that's why you say that. She is perfect for Nicholas. I know that brat very well. He can't deny me, so he agreed to this marriage, but I am certain that he is planning to divorce her. He didn't stop looking for that girl Sasha. I can't let injustice happen to my granddaughter-in-law, which is why I decided to give her half of the property if this brat Nicholas is thinking of getting a divorce from her. This is the only way to stop him."

　　His grip on the walking stick tightened while his gaze became sharper and sharper.

　　"But what if that girl wants a divorce?"