Inside the office, Vanessa looked at Edward from behind and remained silent. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Edward said, “Enter.”
Susan looked into the room, entered, and said, “Mr. Ford, I need to take leave to go to the hospital to visit a friend’s mother.”
Edward raised his eyebrow, looked at Susan, and nodded, “Do you need the driver to send you?”
Susan was able to sense that Vanessa was staring intensely at her as soon as she entered the office.
“No no, no need. I’ll take a taxi. The hospital is not far away.”
Vanessa’s stare made Susan very uncomfortable and Susan quickly rejected and left the office. She was in a hurry to leave and just before she closed the door behind her, she heard Vanessa said softly to Edward, “Edward, can I meet your wife? I want to thank her for acting with you for such a long time.”
What she heard shocked Susan and she practically ran out of the office. The sound of the door close shocked the people inside.
Once she got into the taxi, Susan reflected on herself. Was that necessary? It was only one of his first loves who came back. Why should she be so afraid? What’s wrong with you? Ah… but she knew that Vanessa was different from the others but she didn’t know what Edward thought of her.
She thought that she could just spend the next five months being a secretary and a dutiful Mrs. Ford. She will then leave when the five months were up. Looked like… it’s impossible now. She needed to bring forward the plans.
At the hospital, Susan met up with Tina and went along with her to look for the hospital director. She spent a while discussing with the director about her mother’s treatment.
This new machine involved a new treatment technique as well as part of ongoing research. The hospital can subsidize part of the medical costs. But the remainder of the fees would require Susan to pay. Susan was nonetheless dumbfounded.
Although she had been married to Edward, Susan had sold or pawned the gifts given to her by him to pay for her mother’s medical bills and her other expenses over these years. This money had almost been exhausted.
Now, for her mother’s treatment, although she can depend on Edward to foot the initial expenses, subsequently… she may not be able to afford it. After all, she will soon divorce Edward.
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