"What? You want to borrow money from me again?" Mackenzie furrowed her brows. "How much?" "Three thousand. Can you spare it?"
Mackenzie was annoyed at his request for a loan.
When she previously gave him an allowance, he
refused it out of his chauvinistic pride. Yet, he kept
borrowing money from her time and again.
Men are such prideful creatures! What a joke!
"I'll definitely pay you back once I receive my salary."
"Pay me back? How much do you earn? How are you going to keep your promise of giving me five thousand
a month?" Mackenzie asked sarcastically, causing
Emmanuel to fall silent.
1
Money really makes the world go round. Given how
little I make, I can't even pay back three thousand, let
alone give her five!
"I'll definitely think of something. I can even get a
second job!"
Upon hearing Emmanuel's answer, Mackenzie let out a
sneer before ending the call.
Emmanuel, sitting at home, sighed in resignation when the call–end tone rang out in his ears.
He had wanted to take his mother to the hospital for treatment and budgeted three thousand for the visit. Unfortunately, he had lent all his money to Frederick.
Ding!
The next moment, he received a fund transfer
notification of thirty thousand on his phone.
Mackenzie had tagged a message onto it: Mr. Lowe, if
you need money the next time, just say so instead of
hanging onto your pride unnecessarily.
Truth be told, she was happy to give him an allowance.
Not just because he needed money for household expenses, but he also deserved a huge reward for helping her out with the strategic warehouse project.
Nevertheless, Emmanuel felt that his pride was hurt
and gritted his teeth as he replied: Thank you, Ms. Quillen. I'll definitely return the money to you!"
Mackenzie was subsequently annoyed to receive his
message.
Why is he behaving like a stranger when both of us are
husband and wife?
Meanwhile, Alessandra had gone to Benny's house to
borrow money.
"Alessandra, I don't have any money to spare."
Benny avoided her like the plague when he realized
that she came for a loan. "We have just bought a new
house, while Jack needs to pay more than ten
thousand in monthly installments for his Porsche. How am I to lend you any money when we can barely cover
our monthly expenses? Why don't you check with
Chester instead?"
Grimacing while putting her hand on her upper
abdomen, Alessandra continued with a pale look on
her face, "Benny, I promise to pay you back within the
month, all right?"
If it wasn't for the excruciating pain in her kidneys, she
would never come to Benny for a loan.
She knew exactly what sort of person Benny was, let
alone their financial situation.
Benny owned a scrap metal business. Even though
business now wasn't as bustling as the good old days,
he had made more than ten million over the last twenty years. Hence, regardless of how much he had splurged, he would easily still have a few million left.
Unfortunately, Alessandra didn't expect him to remain as stingy as before. He was not even willing to lend her
a paltry three thousand.
"Alessandra, read my lips. I don't have any money to
lend you. Nothing you say will change that fact."
Irritated by her persistence, Benny bellowed, "Why
don't you ask your son for money instead? Isn't it
embarrassing that his mother needs to go around
borrowing money despite him being a grown man?"
Alessandra waved her hands frantically as she
defended her son, "I came here on my own accord. He
didn't ask me to do it."
"What's the difference? Your son is a
good–for–nothing!"
Once Benny got started, he couldn't hold himself back. "Look at my son. He's only twenty–seven and is preparing for his second baby. As for Emmanuel, he's
already twenty–eight but isn't even married. And now,
he can't even take care of his own mother! He's
nothing but a disgrace to the Lowe family!"
Alessandra swiftly turned around and replied, "Stop!
I'm leaving… I'll leave now!"
At that moment, she was struck by the cruelties of life.
Even though she failed to get a loan, she turned
around after a short deliberation. "By the way, Benny,
Manny is married and will come home early next
month. I would like to invite your family over for a meal
then!"
Alessandra just had to stand up for her son. Who says
he can't get a wife?
Benny was indeed jolted by the revelation before
breaking into a grin. "Good. I'll definitely come over with
a huge wedding gift!"
What kind of wife can he get with an annual salary of eighty thousand? She must be poor and ugly. When the time comes, my son can show off his beautiful wife instead!
Upon receiving the loan, Emmanuel went to pick up Alessandra in a taxi. "Mom, why did you come to Uncle Benny's house?"
Emmanuel asked Alessandra when she emerged from
Benny's residential area.
"I–It's nothing! I wanted to inform him of your marriage
and invite him over for a meal just to get to know each
other better," Alessandra lied with a sheepish smile.
In spite of that, Emmanuel knew that she must have
asked Benny for a loan. Moreover, she was hiding the
fact that she was rejected in order for him not to
resent his uncle.
Emmanuel had no illusions as to what kind of person
Benny was. Despite the latter's wealth, he had never
lent them a single penny. If that wasn't bad enough,
Benny's family, being cheap, would take whatever they
fancied every time they dropped by Emmanuel's home
for a visit.
"Mom, Mackenzie has given me thirty thousand. I can
afford to pay for your treatment now," Emmanuel
informed her once she got into the car.
"What? You borrowed another thirty thousand?"
The news shocked Alessandra.
Previously, Emmanuel had told her about the
sixty–thousand loan he had given to Frederick to pay for his mother's medical fees. She didn't blame him
since both of them were best friends. However, she didn't want Emmanuel to lose his wife on the account
of his friend.
"Manny, does this mean that you didn't give her any
betrothal gifts? Or even something to seal the
engagement with?"
"No, I didn't." Emmanuel shook his head with a wry
smile. "Mackenzie has plenty of money, so this is
something that isn't important to her."
"Are you silly?"
The exasperated Alessandra poked his head. "There's
no girl in this world who doesn't like presents. On top of
that, who marries without giving a betrothal gift? Even
if the girl is rich, you still have to gift her something to
seal the engagement!"
Emmanuel sighed in response. Not getting Mackenzie a gift wasn't his intention. He just couldn't afford it for the time being. If he ended up getting her something
cheap, he was worried that she would look down on
him because of that.
Just as Alessandra wanted to press her case, her
raging emotions caused her kidneys to hurt again.
Cold sweat broke out across her forehead as she held
her upper abdomen.
"Driver, please step on it!"
After urging the driver to hurry, Emmanuel tried to ease
his mother's pain by applying pressure on her
acupoints.
Upon their arrival at the hospital ten minutes later, he
dashed into the internal medicine department with
Alessandra on his back.
The scene caught the attention of many at the
hospital entrance.
Seated in the back seat of a Bentley, Mackenzie
coincidentally caught a glimpse of them.
Is the person Emmanuel carrying his mother? What
happened to her? Her condition looks more serious
than mine.
"Ms. Quillen, we have arrived at the hospital."
Lexi quickly alighted from the driver's seat and came
over to open the door.
A short while ago, Mackenzie suffered a gastric attack
during work. Thus, Lexi rushed her to the hospital and
was now offering to help her out of the car.
"I'm fine. I can walk by myself."
Mackenzie's reply caused Lexi to realize the faux pas
she committed.
Given the former's dominant character, she didn't want
to enter the hospital looking terribly weak, for fear of
creating an impression that she was a sickly woman in
the event someone recognized her.
In spite of her concerns, Mackenzie, due to her
outstanding natural beauty, was still immediately
spotted the moment she stepped into the hospital.
"Ms. Quillen, it's a pleasure to see you!"
A bald middle–aged man with two bodyguards behind
him approached Mackenzie.
In response, Lexi and Mackenzie's bodyguards came
forward to block his way.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Chamberlain."
Mackenzie was not only unwilling to shake his hand
but also kept her distance. Nevertheless, she
reciprocated with a greeting on the account the man
was an influential businessman.
"Haha, it's an honor that you still remember me, Ms.
Quillen." With a broad smile on his face, Joel Chamberlain probed, "What brings you here, Ms. Quillen?"