As Brent finished his scrumptious breakfast and put his chopsticks down on the table, Nancy hesitantly said,"You have made a sufficient recovery. The doctor said you can leave the hospital tomorrow. So you can head back to our hometown then, okay? I don't have much here as I have spent even the last bit of my saving to save you and nurse you back to health." Nancy then took out ten thousand and handed it to Brent.
"I'll send you some more money later when I do have some but for now this should do. Please find a wonderful wife and have a happy life ahead. But if you continue to gamble like your father, I'll give you the cold shoulder and will fail to acknowledge your existence," she warned him.
Brent took the money and counted it shamelessly in front of her. 'Only ten thousand! Do you think I'm a beggar?' he thought to himself with growing anger but he did not let his expression reflect his feelings.
"I don't want to go back, mom. I want to stay in Y City. It seems good enough for us. Please, help me get a job here," he implored Nancy, as he held her hand almost like a child requesting for candy.
"What? Did I hear you right, you don't want to go back?" For a moment, Nancy could not comprehend what he meant when he said that. "Do you think it's easy to find a job here? Listen, let me make something clear, it is not easy to live in the city. I think it is better if you just go home."
"Mom... " Brent didn't give up. He kept giving Nancy mournful looks to draw out some pity. "I have considered this idea and thought about it carefully for days now. It is simple, if I go back to my old life, surrounding the same people I used to gamble with, they will definitely come back to pester me and will boggle me down no matter how hard I try to go the other way. You know, it's hard to shake off these people. I might as well stay in Y City and start afresh that way I could give our relation also a new beginning. Mom, I promise I'll make money and provide for myself. This way I will not be looked down upon anymore."
Brent then let out a wry smile and went on,"I really want to turn over a new leaf. Please believe in my future and support me. That is all I ask of you."
"But... " Nancy hesitated with a frown because she doubted his motivations.
But in all honesty, she was concerned about Brent joining the company of his old bad friends. And if her fears came true later, she would really have no means to save him yet again.
'But if he stays in Y City, what can he possibly do to sustain himself?' Nancy wondered, trying to figure out a way for Brent to make a living in the modern city.
"Mom, why don't you ask the family you have been working in for a favor? They are so rich and generous that I am sure they will help us. After all something of this proportion must be just a piece of cake for them." Brent put across his idea which seemed almost prepared and thought-over.
Nancy spared him a warning look. "I have caused them a lot of trouble on your account. I could not possibly ask for any more favors after the things they have already done for me. I just cannot..."
"Humph, you've been working for them for years. Why can't you ask them a favor? Besides, you are just asking to help find a job, not asking them to support me or put up with me. Don't act as though I'm trying to freeload here." Brent shrugged casually.
"Oh, you just shut up!" Nancy stopped him in a strict voice, but actually she didn't have the heart to force him.
After Brent was discharged from the hospital, Nancy put him up in a hotel to recuperate for some days. Upon noticing Nancy's return at work, Autumn curiously asked,"Nancy, has your son been discharged?"
"Yes, he is doing quite well now." Nancy nodded gently, and smiled. "He has almost recovered and is now staying at a hotel. I'll go over and cook for him every evening."
"Oh Nancy, you should not have come back. Please go take care of your son first and come back to work after he completely recovers," Autumn urged her warmly.
"How could I take any more days off?" Nancy expressed as she chopped some vegetables. "I have already troubled Mr. Lu and you so much due to Brent. Only if I come back to work sooner will I feel less guilty about this entire episode."
With a warm and comforting smile, Autumn said,"You don't have to stress so much. I don't blame you at all for what happened. I understand a mother's love and responsibility for her children is of utmost importance."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride