Chapter 63 Worthy of Happiness
Josephine gripped her phone tightly, waiting anxiously.
After 20 minutes, there was still no reply from Lewis.
The hope on Mrs. Jinkins’ face gradually faded. She held Josephine’s hand. “Josie, thank you for trying to help me. I really appreciate it. Thank you.”
Patrick had finished a plate of orange slices. He turned his head and asked, “Have you got the money yet? The Alvarez family is so rich – don’t tell me you can’t even cough up five hundred thousand dollars?”
Josephine looked at Mrs. Jinkins. She chewed her lip and dialed Lewis. The call connected, but it was not Lewis who picked up.
“Josephine, Lewis is busy. Text him instead.” It was Sierra.
Josephine’s heart sank. She was in despair.
Sierra hung up and placed Lewis’s phone on the table. “That mute called you. I have no idea what for.”
Lewis picked his phone up and looked at his messages. He blinked and decided to ignore it before tossing it aside.
Sierra smiled widely. She approached him, hugged his arm, and said, “I’m going to sign a contract with my manager this afternoon. You promised you’d make me a star. You won’t go back on your word, right?”
Lewis placed the documents he was holding down. He held Sierra’s hands and smiled a little.” Have you packed?”
Sierra glared at him curtly. “Yes! Do you want me gone so badly?”
Lewis lowered his gaze and looked at her pretty manicured nails. “It’s not that I want you gone. You are just not suited to work here.”
“You’re pushing me away!” Sierra retracted her hand swiftly.
Lewis looked at her and calmly said, “Do you know how many people have complained about you being here?”
“So, what?” Sierra huffed boldly. “You’re the one who let me do whatever I want! If they hate me, you have to bear half of the responsibility!”
Lewis raised an eyebrow, declining to comment.
Sierra tackled and hugged Lewis. Then, she planted a kiss on his face. “I’ll be leaving, then?”
“Be safe.”
Sierra let him go, turned around, and returned to her desk. She picked up her belongings and left. All she could think of was being a star and chasing the glamor that came with it.
In fact, Sierra was not a fool. For as long as Lewis did not agree to marry her, she had no security or protection. Thus, she would rather take advantage of Lewis’s network and resources to gain something for herself. That was considered a way to protect herself too.
All those years, Lewis had been treating her too well. If Lewis were to dump her one day, she would not have anything left. The most practical thing to do was to have money in her own possession.
She had pretended to be an ingénue just to appear innocent and without malice in front of Lewis. Just as Lewis said, those that wore their hearts on their sleeves were the easiest to control.
That was why she was living very comfortably at that moment. Lewis would give in to all her demands. She could get whatever she wanted.
She could not even be bothered to cause Josephine any trouble because she would not gain anything from it. On top of that, it really was unnecessary.
If she wanted to get married to Lewis, the problem lay with Lewis, not Josephine. Josephine
never had the right to decide on her marriage to Lewis. Thus, unless Sierra was crazy, she would not make trouble for Josephine.
Josephine had given up on asking Lewis for money. She had no choice but to text Avery.
Avery soon replied. “Josie, why do you need so much money? All my credit cards have been frozen. I don’t have that much money. Wait, don’t worry. Let me ask my brother.”
Avery called Tyler. The moment Tyler heard Avery asking for 500 thousand dollars, he hung up without hesitation. His younger sister would never learn her lesson. It was as if she had not learned anything from her experience of interfering in Josephine’s affairs.
Patrick was sick of waiting. He stood up and said, “Mrs. Alvarez, can you or can you not give us the money?”
Josephine looked at Mrs. Jinkins. She felt conflicted and filled with deep desperation. She wanted so badly to magically produce 500 thousand dollars at that moment.
Patrick took one look at her and knew that it was pointless. He grabbed Mrs. Jinkins by the arm. “Alright, Mom, let’s head back. She was only saying that to seem nice. Do you think she would really fork over five hundred thousand dollars for you?”
Mrs. Jinkins said, “Even if she could get the money, I would never let her give it to you!”
Patrick was instantly infuriated. “Mom, I’m your actual son here! Why are you siding with outsiders?”
“You are my son, yes. I carried you in my womb for nine months, but you are more like an outsider to me!” Mrs. Jinkins said dejectedly. She glared at Patrick loathingly. “The thing I regret the most in this life was giving birth to you!”
“What the hell did you say?” Patrick growled fiercely, showing his true colors. He raised his hand, about to slap Mrs. Jinkins.
Mrs. Jinkins was not afraid of him at all. She leaned in and yelled, “Slap me! I dare you to slap me! I should not have given birth to you!”
Patrick’s wife stopped him. “That’s enough. Let’s take our mother home.” Then, she facetiously stepped forward to help Mrs. Jinkins. “Mom, let me help you.”
Mrs. Jinkins shrugged her off. “I’ll walk on my own! I don’t need your false kindness!”
Then, she picked up her walking stick. Before she left, she turned to look at Josephine. “Josie. I’ve prepared the vegetables. All you need to do is sauté them for a bit. You must remember to eat on time. Your health isn’t that great. Don’t keep starving yourself.”
Tears welled up in Josephine’s eyes, blurring her vision. She tugged Mrs. Jinkins’ hand like a child not wanting to let go of their favorite toy.
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