Sir, Your Wife Ran Again

"Ring, ring, ring... Ring, ring, ring..."

Marilyn Gu sprang up from the bed and grabbed the chicken-shaped alarm clock beside her, which was ringing incessantly. "It's already ten to eight? Oh my God! I have a meeting to attend today. I'm done for! My boss is going to kill me. Why couldn't you ring louder?"

If the alarm clock were a person, it would slap her. After all, she was the one who had set the alarm clock for seven o'clock. How could she ignore it and then blame the alarm for not ringing louder?

Marilyn Gu realized she didn't have time to put on makeup, so she washed up quickly and rushed out feeling frustrated and looking exhausted.

Checking her phone quickly, she saw that her fat manager had sent her more than a dozen messages, warning her that if she didn't come on time, she would be fired.

There was no time to wait for the bus. If Marilyn Gu was lucky enough, she could hail a taxi from across the road, and make it to her office in fifteen minutes. The elevator up to her floor would take one minute, leaving her just enough time to reach her desk before the manager's appointed time.

Marilyn Gu quickly calculated her journey while waiting for the traffic light to change. It showed ninety seconds more. Looking at the people who stopped beside her, she gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and made the split-second decision to dash across the sidewalk.

Just then, a car suddenly turned right and crashed into her!

The last thing Marilyn Gu heard was screams from the people who had been waiting on the sidewalk with her, followed by a sharp pain on the right side of her body. Her arm fell down feebly and her world turned dark. Her body convulsed and she collapsed on the ground.

The crash was so loud that the driver's heart jolted. He quickly looked in the rearview mirror to check his boss, Kendrick Si's expression. As expected, Kendrick Si's face had turned dark. He glared at the driver furiously.

The driver shivered in his seat and shrank from his boss's gaze. "Mr. Kendrick, I'm really sorry. I, I didn't mean to hit the lady..."

Without waiting to listen to the rest of his explanation, Kendrick Si scrambled out of the car. He picked up Marilyn Gu, who seemed paralyzed. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, she clung on to his collar and babbled, "I...I'm afraid I can't make it."

Her words scared the life out of Kendrick Si. When he was about to respond, the unconscious woman slowly closed her eyes and said weakly, "Please ask my manager if I can get a leave first, or my bonus for this month will be gone."

Kendrick Si was speechless.

Suddenly, someone from the crowd yelled, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take her to the hospital!"

Kendrick Si snapped out of the shock and rushed her to the hospital. The doctor examined her thoroughly, and, apart from the fracture on her lower arm and some bruises, she was fine.

"It's not very serious. I'll give her something to reduce the swelling and relieve the pain. We can discuss the surgery after she wakes up," advised the doctor, looking at the X-ray.

"If there is nothing wrong with her, why did she faint?" Kendrick Si inquired with a straight face.

The chubby doctor stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "As per my years of consultation experience, this patient has obviously fainted out of fright. But she has been in a coma for very long. It's not normal," he said grimly.

Kendrick scowled at the doctor irritably.

As the doctor turned to check Marilyn Gu's condition, the "unconscious" patient smacked her lips and turned over.

"So she is asleep?" The corners of Kendrick Si's mouth twitched.

"As per my years of consultation experience, I would say yes," remarked the doctor.

Kendrick Si was amazed at the answer. How could a person sleep so soundly after being hit by a car and having a fracture?

"Maybe the patient is too tired. Let her sleep a little longer. She will wake up when she has slept enough." The doctor pushed his glasses up and said, "Young people nowadays have a hard time at work."

"I'm sorry, manager. I didn't mean to be late. I'll get to work right away! Ouch!" The doctor's comment seemed to have flicked a switch inside Marilyn Gu. She sat up in deathly stillness and winced in pain. Holding her right arm immediately, she squeezed her eyes close. The pain reminded her that she had been in a car accident.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere else except your arm?" asked the doctor with concern, as he walked up to her.

As soon as Marilyn Gu saw the doctor, she panicked about the hospital bills. However, she quickly formed a plan in her mind. Seeing as there was nobody else in the ward, apart from the doctor, she assumed that the person who had hit her had fled. This meant she would be responsible for paying the medical fees. Studying the doctor's concerned face, she thought he was waiting for her to wake up so that he could ask her for money.

She should have slept a little longer!

With a serious look on her face, Marilyn Gu said softly, "I'm sure the bastard whose car hit me has escaped. I could tell from his face that he is not a good guy."

"The 'bastard' is here." Kendrick Si stated acidly, "I didn't run away."

Marilyn Gu didn't notice him because the chubby doctor was blocking her line of vision. The handsome man had thin, arched eyebrows and mesmerizing eyes. His white shirt was slightly wrinkled and the sleeves were rolled up. Despite his slightly ruffled appearance, he looked elegant. His thin lips were slightly curved. He was studying Marilyn with interest.

"I don't know if Manager Chen is your boss," said Kendrick, raising Marilyn's phone, which had a broken screen. "But he called and said that you were fired," he informed her flatly.

Marilyn almost fainted again. Life was certainly full of ups and downs. She was planning to blackmail the driver for running away after the accident to get temporary financial help. However, she never expected to be out of a job so quickly!

The only thing she wanted to do right now was beat up the driver in front of her. She had such a difficult life after graduation. Finally, she had found a decent job but now it was all ruined by this accident!

"Two thousand and five hundred dollars a month. Isn't that the salary for a waitress nowadays?" Kendrick shook his head and said, "No matter what, I will compensate you for the expenses."

"Of course you have to bear all the expenses!" said an outraged Marilyn, not sounding like a weak patient at this point. "Besides, who told you to answer my phone without my permission? Give it back to me!"

Playing with Marilyn's pathetic phone, which was worth no more than a thousand dollars, Kendrick asked, "I want to check my future wife's phone. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Marilyn choked and sputtered, "What did you say? Who is your future wife? I would advise you to keep shut up!"

"When I said I would compensate you for the losses, I included the job that you lost, which means I will support you in the future. In exchange for that, you have to marry me."

Marilyn wondered if this man had a mental problem. How could he ask a stranger to be his wife? He looked like a decent man but he spoke utter nonsense!

Rolling her eyes, Marilyn responded to his absurd offer, "Firstly, I have a boyfriend. Second of all, I can find a job myself and don't need you to support me. So could you just pay my medical fees and leave immediately?"

Kendrick crossed his arms across his chest and smiled mockingly, "Firstly, you will break up with your boyfriend right away. Second of all, you can't find a job without me and you will starve to death. Lastly, you were the one who broke the traffic signal and crashed into my car. My driver was startled because of you. If I want, I can slap a lawsuit on you instead!"

Marilyn pounded her bed in anger. What a monster!

"Are you insane? You're blackmailing the person whose arm you broke! What kind of a man are you?"

Marilyn was so furious that her cheeks had puffed up, like an angry globefish. Suppressing the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Kendrick looked at her with a straight face and said, "I've already given you a way out. You will only benefit from it. I'll ask you again. Do you agree to marry me?"

Marilyn roared angrily, "No!"

"Okay," said Kendrick with a dangerous look in his eyes. His thick eyelashes concealed the emotions in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "Mark my words, you'll beg me to marry you."

With that threat, Kendrick threw Marilyn's broken phone on the bed, turned on his heel, and left.

The chubby doctor, too, walked out of the ward. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "What a dramatic scene! It was right out of a romance novel where the domineering CEO falls in love with the poor girl!"

Marilyn hurriedly turned on her phone and saw numerous calls and messages of concern from her best friend, Hilda Zhang. The rest of the notifications were from her colleagues gloating over her, one from her manager criticizing her, and there was a phone call that was answered by Kendrick.

Marilyn stared at her cell phone miserably. She felt so awful about being humiliated like this.

The last message on the screen was from Hilda Zhang. She said that Marilyn was fired by the company because she was absent from an important meeting for no reason. Her desk had been cleaned up and her stuff had been thrown outside.

Marilyn was about to reply when another call came from Hilda Zhang. "Marilyn, what's going on? Why aren't you answering my calls?"

Marilyn relayed the entire ordeal to her friend. Hilda Zhang was enraged. "Damn it! What kind of a psychopath have you met? I'll come to your ward as soon as I finish my work at noon and help you deal with that jerk!"

Marilyn sighed and hung up the phone. Before she could calm herself down, another text message popped up from the hospital, urging her to pay the fees. As fearless as she had been when she faced Kendrick, now she felt like a coward. After all, an empty pocket would discourage anyone. Her father's hospitalization fee still hadn't been paid, and now her own fees were added to that burden. What a miserable life!

Just then, her belly rumbled inappropriately. She searched her pockets and her bag to find a few extra dollars. All she found was two dollars and ten coins, which was certainly not enough to buy even a bowl of rice.

She started making some phone calls to borrow money but her acquaintances either hung up on her or refused outright. With no other option left, she decided to call her boyfriend.

The two had quarreled some time ago but not broken up. Marilyn was extremely busy with her father's matter and her boyfriend had never even bothered to check on her through it all. On the contrary, he mocked her in his WeChat moments.

Gritting her teeth, Marilyn dialed the number. "Hello, it's me. Do you have any money? I want to..."

It was very noisy on the other side of the phone and the sound of girls laughing in the background came through. Tim Cao snapped impatiently, "What do you want? Didn't we break up? Why are you calling me now?"

"What! When did we break up?" Marilyn's eyes widened.

"Haha, my dear lady, you are so funny. You are so busy with your career that you don't even have time to check WeChat moments? I updated my status to 'single' on my WeChat moments yesterday. Please give me a like," Tim Cao sneered. "You are abstinent like a holy maiden. Have you ever let me touch you even after being together for so long? God knows who you had been with before! Now that you're in trouble, you're remembering me! Do you think I'm running a charity? How about this? You spend one night with me and I'll pay you for it. What do you think?"

"You bastard!" Marilyn was trembling with anger. She tried her best to yell at him, but was too choked up to talk.

"Then you aren't getting a penny out of me. Go to hell!"

Before Marilyn could say anything more, Tim Cao turned to the girl with the high-pitched voice in the background, and rudely hung up the phone.

Marilyn held the phone for a long time, shaking violently. She was unable to calm down.

Four years ago, she had attended a party where someone got her drunk. When she woke up, she found herself lying naked on the bed in a hotel. She had quickly put on her clothes and run away without even turning back to look at the man's face. This incident had left a scar in her heart. She was so ashamed that she had never dared to mention it to anyone.

From then on, the touch of anyone from the opposite sex disgusted her. She was not the holy maiden that Tim Cao thought she was.

"Miss Marilyn, may I come in?" asked a middle-aged woman, peeking into her room. The door was slightly ajar.

Marilyn wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "Come in, please."

That kind woman came in with a lunch tray in her hand. "Our boss has asked me to bring food for you."

Marilyn was in a premium ward, so with the click of a button, a small table rose automatically on the bed. The woman set down the bowls of food in the tray on the table one by one. A delicious aroma filled the room.

"Who is your boss?" Marilyn asked with a nervous gulp.

"Mr. Kendrick. It was his driver who hit you." She smiled sweetly, "He asked me to ensure that you eat the chicken soup and venison soup. These are some fruits that are high in calcium. It's all very good for your health."

Marilyn frowned as that arrogant face came to her mind. "No, thanks! I'm not hungry now."

"You'd better eat. His private nutritionist has customized this meal for you," coaxed the woman gently, pushing the table toward Marilyn. "Our boss wants to treat you well, and what he said today is also true. It's just that he is blunt and honest. That's why you may not have liked his tone," she explained.

The aroma of the food rose to Marilyn's nostrils and her lips were unable to hold her saliva in. But she shook her head resolutely and said, "Take it back. I won't accept anything from him, even if I'm starving to death, and nor will I be his wife. I don't know him at all!"

The woman sighed and was about to try persuading her again, when suddenly there was a sound outside the door. Hilda shot into the room like a small cannonball. "Marilyn, where is the bastard who wants to take advantage of you! I'll deal with him!"

Marilyn turned to Hilda and winked at her. Then she pointed to the middle-aged woman next to her and signaled secretly. Hilda, who had been friends with her for many years, immediately understood what Marilyn meant.

She turned to the woman and remarked, "Wow! Your boyfriend is so considerate that he asked someone to bring you food? You are so lucky!"

Marilyn hurriedly waved her hand and replied, "Oh, no, no! She is with the driver. He has just sent me a meal. My boyfriend hasn't come yet."

"Well, he must be very worried about you. I'm sure he'll be here soon. I'll call him and check,"

said Hilda, pretending to be calm. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. Pretending to talk to Marilyn's boyfriend, she said, "Yes, yes, we are in the hospital. It's on the ninth floor. You will be here soon? Okay, come up quickly! Marilyn misses you so much, she is almost in tears."

Hilda acted exaggeratedly, ignoring the confused questions from her father who she had called under the pretext of talking to Marilyn's boyfriend.

The two girls were indeed skillful actors and they seemed to have convinced Kendrick's maid, who stared at the entire exchange with her mouth open.

She smiled awkwardly, but stayed put beside Marilyn, not intending to leave. She seemed to be determined to see what Marilyn's boyfriend looked like.

But Marilyn had broken up with her boyfriend. How could she produce one out of thin air?

Marilyn rolled her eyes and said, "I'd like to have some water with my meal. Can you please go buy me a bottle of water? And bring some cold drinks for my friend as well."

Marilyn racked her brains and gave her the names of several cold drinks, which would not be found in the hospital's store. If she managed to send this woman away from the hospital, she could plot her escape.

Although the woman was suspicious, her boss had told her to fulfill any demands made by Marilyn, so she reluctantly nodded and left.

After the woman walked out of the door, Marilyn and Hilda looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Shut up! Stop laughing. What should we do now?" Hilda grabbed her friend's hand and asked, "What if that freak really harasses you?"

"I think he's just talking nonsense. He's out of his mind because he's desperate for a wife. I have to inform my father now, or he will be upset," said Marilyn worriedly.

Hilda nodded understandingly and said, "Okay, give him a call and I'll go pay the hospital fees. After that, we'll get out of this place!"

Marilyn quickly took out her broken phone and told her father she wouldn't come home as she was caught up with work and that she would stay over at her best friend's place.

Marilyn's father bought her story and hung up after exhorting her for a while.

When Hilda returned after settling the fees, the two sneaked out of the hospital like thieves.

Not long after they left, the mole planted in the hospital by Kendrick told his assistant that Marilyn had run away. Pushing up his glasses, the assistant nervously relayed the information to his boss, who was going over some documents, "The woman you took to the hospital this morning seems to have left. The fees have also been paid. Is she some sort of a superwoman? How could she become okay in such a short time?"

Kendrick tightened his grip on the pen and roared, "How dare she run away again?"

"Mr. Kendrick, I don't understand what is on her mind," remarked the assistant, scratching the back of his neck. He added, "She would rather blackmail you for twenty thousand than marry you?"

Standing near the big glass window, Kendrick looked down at the heavy traffic. His arrogant expression held an imperceptible disappointment.

He had missed her so much for the last four years. This was his last chance. How could he let her go so easily?

"You'd better find a way to bring her back now. If you can't, don't bother coming back," warned Kendrick.

The assistant was scared and stumped at the same time. It was his boss's bride-to-be, how could Kendrick ask him to deal with her? However, the assistant had no choice but to think of a plan if he wanted to save his job.

After racking his brains for a while, the assistant's eyes lit up. "There's one way! She needs money for her father's treatment, so we can use that as a bait. We'll ensure he doesn't get treatment, that way she'll be forced to come to you!"

Kendrick glanced at him coldly. "If you're suggesting we put her father's life in danger, I will assume that you don't value your own life either."

"I'm not that heartless, Sir. We will tell the doctor to refuse her fees but we will pay secretly and ensure that the treatment continues," explained the assistant.

This idea was not bad. Her father's treatment would not be delayed but at the same time, she would feel that the situation was urgent. The assistant was not completely stupid. Kendrick nodded in agreement and asked his assistant to execute the plan.

Meanwhile, Marilyn and Hilda had finally managed to collect her father's medical fees with the money they got from Kendrick and were rushing to the hospital.

"Shouldn't we be worried about the swelling on your hand?" asked Hilda, looking at Marilyn's arm with concern.

"My hand is not a big deal. Let's figure it out later. We'd better pay my father's medical fees first. He will be in big trouble if the medicine is stopped."

When they reached the hospital, the clerk searched on the computer for a long time. Being unable to find the records, she returned the money in confusion. "I'm sorry, lady. There is something wrong with this patient's data. It seems that the hospital has blocked his treatment. You'd better speak to the attending doctor," he suggested.

"How is that possible? We have been paying the medical fees on time. How can we be blacklisted? My father's treatment can't be stopped. He's almost recovered now. I..."

"I don't know. Maybe you have offended someone. Go and ask the attending doctor," said the man behind the counter impatiently and turned to attend to the others who were waiting for him.

He assumed that they must have not paid the fees on time and that was why they were blacklisted. He didn't want to talk to these rascals anymore, no matter how pitiful they pretended to be.

"Forget about him! Let's go and find the attending doctor together," Hilda snapped at the clerk and ushered Marilyn to the doctor's office.

After hearing their situation, the doctor frowned and said, "Little girl, it's not that we are making things difficult for you. You have offended someone you shouldn't have."

"That's impossible. We always abide by the law and never provoke anyone. How can we offend anybody?" Hilda defended Marilyn.

"Do you know a Mr. Kendrick?"

Marilyn was confused and was about to answer, when the local financial news was broadcast on the TV in the doctor's office. The CEO of the CF Group had attended a grand award banquet. The handsome, eligible bachelor's presence attracted many people's attention in and out of the industry.

The camera zoomed in to the face of the CEO. The face on the screen belonged to the same cold and arrogant bastard, who was in the hospital this morning!