Chapter 60
Sarah tried hard to persuade Wilma. After all, her father and two brothers had promised her that they would give her 6,000 dollars out of the 60,000 dollars.
The 6,000 dollars was equivalent to her one–year salary!
However, no matter what Sarah and Luke said, Wilma did not agree with them. In the end, Sarah said ruthlessly, “Daniel and Edward said that if this deal went off because of you, they’d blame you for life if Henry and Richard couldn’t afford to buy a house or marry a wife!”
Wilma was angry and anxious. “You guys… Do you guys have any conscience? Have you forgotten how Rosalie treated us before?”
Sarah smiled. “Mom, let the past be the past. We should focus on the present. You can’t risk all of us and ruin the future of the younger generations just for her. Besides, Rosalie is part of the reason why Henry and Richard can’t find themselves a wife. A girl from a good family will never be willing to get married to them after hearing that one of our family members was once a prisoner! If Henry and Richard don’t have a marital home, it would be even more impossible for them to get married.”
Wilma gritted his teeth for a while. Then, she looked at her third daughter with tearful eyes. “W–Won’t you feel ashamed in front of your sister?”
Sarah did not take the question seriously. As Rosalie’s mother had been dead for so many years, Sarah’s affection toward her had diminished as time flew by. Furthermore, money was more practical than the relationship between her and her late sister.
Rosalie was surrounded by several cousins in the front hall. Fiona Haberly, her elder cousin said with a faint smile while snacking, “Grandpa said that he has asked your father about you. Your father said that you are just a sweeper now. Is it true?”
Fiona was only one year older than Rosalie. However, when they were younger, Fiona would be downgraded when people compared her to Rosalie. Rosalie was a top student since young. On the other hand, Fiona could not even get into any university. Eventually, she went to work after graduating from high school and then married a blacksmith in the neighboring town.
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At that time, Zachary, the son of a wealthy family, was still Rosalie’s boyfriend. Thus, when Fiona compared her husband to Zachary, she would feel defeated and ashamed.
Upon seeing Rosalie facing her downfall, Fiona naturally wanted to belittle her.
“Yes. I work as a sweeper now,” Rosalie said indifferently.
“Poor you. What’s the use of going to a university like you when you’ve ended up sweeping floors? Haha. But, in the future, you might not need-” Before Fiona could finish her words, Henry Lopez, Rosalie’s cousin, winked at her.
Only then did Fiona stop continuing her sentence. Then, she looked at Rosalie with an expression as if she was going to watch a show and thought, “Humph! No matter how good she is at studying, she’ll have no choice but to marry a dimwit soon. I want to see what Rosalie would look like after she gets married to the dimwit.”
At night, Rosalie finally met Wilma at the New Year’s Eve dinner. As soon as Wilma saw her, she held the latter with teary eyes for a while.
“You must have suffered a lot, didn’t you? It’s all because of my weak body. I couldn’t help you when something happened to you back then.” Wilma choked.
Before Rosalie could answer, Fiona said, “Grandma, the law was playing its role. That’s why she was imprisoned. She was guilty and deserved to be punished!”
Wilma glared at Fiona, who then shut up resentfully.
Rosalie shook her head and said to Wilma, “Fortunately, I didn’t suffer a lot. Besides, I’m released now. I’ll visit here often and be more filial to you and Granddad in the future.”
Upon hearing her words, Wilma felt even more sad.
Luke and the others were afraid that Wilma would spoil their plan, so they hurriedly asked everyone to sit down and have New Year’s Eve dinner together. During dinner, Daniel, Edward, and Sarah kept persuading Rosalie to have some wine.
“Today is a special day. It won’t hurt if you drink some wine. You should come back and visit your grandparents more in the future,” Sarah said with a smile.
Rosalie replied with a smile, “I’ve stopped drinking, Aunt Sarah. You
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should know that I was charged with drunk driving when I got into that car accident. I would never dare to drink again.”
Upon hearing Rosalie’s words, Sarah instantly choked and could only laugh awkwardly.
Daniel coaxed, “It’s New Year’s Eve today, Rosalie. You can have a glass or two. You don’t drive now anyway.”
“That’s right. If you don’t drink it, we’ll feel disrespected!” Edward also said.
Wilma suddenly shouted, “That’s enough! Your consciences have been swallowed by dogs. Do you really want to push Rosalie into the fire?” Instantly, no one spoke at the table. At the same time, Rosalie looked at Wilma in surprise.
Wilma said to her, “Rosalie, they have ill intentions toward you. They want to marry you off to the dimwit of the Foster family. In return, they’ll obtain 60,000 dollars. They-”
Before Wilma could finish her words, Luke interrupted, “What’s wrong with the Foster family? She thought, “Did I treat her badly? “The Foster family doesn’t think that she has been in prison. What kind of good family do you think she can marry now?”
“That’s right. The 20,000 dollars given by the Foster family can be used to buy houses for Henry and Richard. You owe them, Rosalie. If you hadn’t been in jail, they would have found a good date.” Fiona added fuel to the fire as she spoke.
Rosalie stood up and glanced at her relatives coldly. “I won’t marry him! I don’t owe you guys any favor. I’d rather owe an outsider but you guys a favor!”
She turned to Wilma and said, “Grandma, I’ll pay you a visit next time.” After finishing her words, she intended to leave. However, Daniel and Edward Lopez, her uncles, stopped her.
“You’re not allowed to leave! No matter what you think, you’re going to get married!” Daniel said fiercely.
Rosalie looked at her cousins, Henry and his younger brother, Richard Lopez, sitting not far away. She remembered that when they were young, they used to play together and had a good relationship. “Do you guys also want me to marry a dimwit?”
Henry replied, “You should feel glad the Foster family is willing to accept
you. Otherwise, do you think you can find yourself a quality husband?” Meanwhile, Richard shrank and said awkwardly, “I–I need to have a marital home when I get myself a wife later. I have no other choice.”
“I shouldn’t have had any expectations for Henry and Richard. In the end, I ended up feeling disappointed again,” Rosalie thought and laughed at herself. She took a deep breath and declared to everyone. “I won’t marry that dimwit!”
The next moment, Luke slapped her in the face. “How dare you refuse to marry! There is no room for bargaining!”
In the VIP ward of the hospital, there was a round table full of New Year’s Eve dinners. However, only two people were eating.
Jonathan slowly ate the food in front of him. Meanwhile, Leonard, sitting opposite him, watched the nurse serve food to his plate.
