Sarah to marry someone, Mackenzie will be free.
making a bet with herself.
commanded Mackenzie coldly from inside her office.
As boisterous and wayward as Beatrix was, even she couldn’t help but shudder when she heard her sister’s voice. Swiftly, she entered the room while sticking her tongue out. “Morning, Mackenzie!”
smile.
frigid countenance.
“As your sister, I have the responsibility of overseeing your happiness, Mackenzie! It’s only normal that I need to expose my brother–in–law’s flirtatious acts when I
genuinely didn’t know Roselynn was Emmanuel’s sister.
she would refer to by a nickname.
In any case, everyone in the Quillen family and Terence Group knew Mackenzie was a human lie detector.
lie any further.
Hence, Beatrix immediately tried to placate her sister. “I’m doing this so you’ll have something to talk about
“Yes, Ms. Quillen!” Lexi nodded.
“Understood!” Beatrix stuck her tongue out.
Despite her promise, she’d still investigate Emmanuel if she saw him spending time with other women.
Emmanuel.
Chapter 42
“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!
Chapter 43
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.”
J
With a broad smile on his face, Joel Chamberlain
probed, “What brings you here, Ms. Quillen?”
Chapter 44
“It’s none of your business!” Mackenzie snapped before
walking off.
“Haha, see you next time, Ms. Quillen!”
Despite Mackenzie’s arrogance, Joel had no choice but
to maintain a cordial smile.
After all, the Quillen family wasn’t one he could afford
to offend.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel had laid Alessandra down on
the bed of a single ward. After that, he massaged her
acupoints to alleviate the pain.
Soon, a doctor who specialized in internal medicine
arrived.
His name was Darren Chase and was acquainted with
Emmanuel.
The sight of Emmanuel treating his mother elicited a
furrowed brow from Darren. As a doctor of modern
medicine, he wasn’t familiar with traditional medicine.
In spite of his disdain for gynecologists like Emmanuel,
he maintained a polite smile on his face. “Dr. Lowe, why
did you bring the patient here when you know how to treat her yourself? It’s not like you’re unaware of how
busy the hospital is.”
Turning around, Emmanuel anxiously explained, “The condition of my mom’s kidney is really bad, not to
mention that she only has one left that’s functioning. I
decided to bring her here since she needs modern
medicine to reduce the inflammation and
round–the–clock care.”
Even though Emmanuel was trained in traditional
medicine, he wasn’t averse to modern medicine.
Instead, he was someone who believed in the
effectiveness of combining the two.
When it came to inflamed kidneys, the injection
techniques of modern medicine were more efficient
and effective than relying on the herbs of traditional
medicine.
“In that case, come with me and complete the
admission paperwork on your mother’s behalf.”
“Sure.”
Emmanuel instructed the nurse to hook Alessandra up
to a drip before heading out with Darren.
When he returned, he was surprised to see his mom
3/3
standing outside alone with the mobile drip stand.
“Mom, what’s going on? Why are you standing
outside?”
Surprised and feeling bad for her, Emmanuel hurried to
her side.
Bearing the pain in her kidney, Alessandra gave him a
helpless look. “A hospital staff came in to inform me
that the ward has been reserved by someone else and
kicked me out of it. On top of that, they’re unable to
find a room for me!”
Emmanuel’s brows knitted in response. Throughout the
two years he worked in the hospital, such a situation
was a rare occurrence.
Thereafter, he went to see the nurse in charge of the
wards.
“Dr. Lowe, the wards are allocated by the attending
physicians. Dr. Chase has assigned it to someone else,”
the nurse explained.
Emmanuel was outraged by the answer.
He could clearly remember that the hospital didn’t
have a policy for reserving wards. Moreover, his mother
had clearly come first with Darren’s knowledge.
Therefore, he wondered how the room was allocated
to someone else right when he went to complete the
paperwork.
Consequently, when Emmanuel requested to see
Darren, the latter found an excuse not to come.
At that moment, two burly men in suits who looked like bodyguards emerged from the ward.
“Haha, Mr. Chamberlain has reserved this ward, so stop
causing trouble here and move along!”
“That’s right. You can’t afford to bear the
consequences of interrupting his rest.”
In a fit of rage, Emmanuel barged into the ward. Upon
reading the man’s medical file, he was further
infuriated.
This so–called Joel Chamberlain is only suffering from an inflamed prostate which can easily be cured by
medication. There’s no need for him to be hospitalized, yet he insists on taking over Mom’s room. This is
outrageous!
“Hey, kid, who are you? What are you doing?” Joel
questioned in an intimidating voice when he saw
Emmanuel.
Suppressing his fury, Emmanuel replied politely, “Mr.
Chamberlain, your condition doesn’t require any
hospitalization. On top of that, my mom came here
first. Can you let her have the ward back? Thank you.”
Joel was momentarily stunned before guffawing out
loud. “Is this a joke? Who the hell are you? Why should I
give you the room?”
I arranged to be hospitalized on purpose so that I can
enjoy the company’s medical benefits. Getting paid for
doing nothing just feels great!
As his fingers balled into fists, Emmanuel couldn’t
come up with a solution to the impasse.
Meanwhile, a loud crash was heard outside the ward,
followed by a commotion.
With no time to argue any further with Joel, Emmanuel
rushed out of the ward to be greeted by the sight of
Alessandra grimacing on the floor.
“Mom! Mom!”
Chapter 45
“Haha! Do you think pretending to be dead will work on
me?” Joel swaggered out of the room and saw
Alessandra lying on the ground in pain. Not only did he
not show any sympathy, but he also remarked
sarcastically, “It’s not going to work, but I might pray for
you if you were to die here!”
The medical staff at the scene couldn’t help but think
that Joel was inhumane and too arrogant.
A VIP ward was located at the end of the corridor,
which was reserved for their distinguished customers.
Since the Quillen family was one of the hospital investors, Mackenzie was also staying in that VIP ward.
Upon hearing the commotion, Lexi couldn’t stop herself
from exiting the ward and checking things out. After
that, she rushed back into the ward and exclaimed,
“Things don’t look good, Ms. Quillen! Emmanuel’s mom
is lying on the floor in the corridor.”
Mackenzie narrowed her eyes in response. After giving
it some thought, she endured the pain of her stomach flu and went to the entrance to check the situation out.
At that moment, Emmanuel was clenching his fists, but
he wasn’t having a go at Joel. Instead, he was busy
trying to lessen the pain Alessandra was suffering
from.
“He’s a patient man! If it were me, I would’ve started beating that bald man up!” Lexi grumbled.
On the other hand, Mackenzie was smiling, and it seemed like she had a different viewpoint. “Have you
not heard about a saying, Lexi?”
“Huh? What is it, Ms. Quillen?” Lexi was slightly stumped.
“To lose patience is to lose the battle,” Mackenzie
revealed.
Lexi shuddered lightly, and she seemed to have
understood what Mackenzie said. Is Ms. Quillen *
admiring Emmanuel’s patience?
Indeed, if Emmanuel were to beat Joel up, he would
only worsen the situation. In fact, Alessandra could
even get kicked out of the hospital. When Emmanuel
chose to treat Alessandra, not only was he making her
feel better, but he was also avoiding unnecessary
conflicts. Hence, he knew his priority was to get a room
for Alessandra.
“Haha! You can play dead all you want! I’m never
letting you have this room!” Joel provoked Emmanuel
and Alessandra again before returning to his ward,
crossing his legs, and lying on the bed leisurely.
Seeing that, a lot of the medical staff were murmuring
among themselves.
Emmanuel, however, merely kept mum and brought
Alessandra away from there.
Since there wasn’t any empty ward in the internal
medicine department, Emmanuel had to bring
Alessandra to Department of Gynecology. Once he
settled Alessandra down, he looked forward to settling
scores with Joel.
Click!
The moment the commotion in the corridor subsided,
someone opened the door to Joel’s ward.
“Who the f*ck is it this time around?” Joel was
annoyed. Why is staying in this hospital such a hassle?
When he saw two beautiful ladies walking in, he
immediately got out of bed and smiled respectfully.
“Hi, Ms. Quillen. What brought you here?”
Mackenzie wasn’t in the mood to chat with him, so she
asked, “I want this ward. May I have it?”
“What?” Joel froze momentarily. What’s with this ward?
Why are so many people after it?
“Quick! Give me an answer!” Mackenzie shot him a
sharp gaze.
Joel shivered when he saw the look in Mackenzie’s
eyes. How can I say no to her?
Since Joel’s company was working on a collaboration
with Terence Group, he knew he was at Mackenzie’s
mercy.
“Haha! It’s an honor to be staying in the same ward as
you, Ms. Quillen!” Joel uttered.
“Cut the crap! Buzz off!” Mackenzie roared.
“Yes! I heard you!” Joel, who was behaving arrogantly
just moments prior, didn’t even dare to get changed
before running out of the room,
Obviously, he couldn’t afford to mess with Mackenzie.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel and Alessandra were at the front desk checking if any ward was available.
Suddenly, he received a text from a nurse on
WhatsApp telling him that a room was available in the
internal medicine department, and it was ready for
them.
Emmanuel was puzzled, and he quickly thanked the
nurse and brought Alessandra back to the ward.
When the nurse led them to the ward, they were
surprised to find it was the same room as before, but
Joel was nowhere to be seen.
“What happened? Who helped me?” Emmanuel asked
curiously. Someone must’ve helped me. Otherwise, this
wouldn’t have happened. That bald man said there.
was no way he would give up the ward. Yet, everything
changed all of a sudden.
The nurse shook her head in response, indicating that
Emmanuel would always repay others for the kindness he received. Since Claudette had helped him, he was
“Hey! Where have you been all day?” Mackenzie’s tone
“Yes. What do you need, exactly?” Emmanuel was getting irritated. This emotionless woman has never
paid much attention to me. Why is she acting so weird
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Whirlwind Marriage with the Beautiful CEO