Chapter 4
Archie’s financial situation was even more difficult than I had imagined.
He used an old phone worth a hundred dollars.
Every day he rode a beat-up electric scooter to various odd jobs.
But Archie was genuinely honest.
When he asked me out to dinner, he would always stubbornly insist on paying with what little money he had.
I found him quite interesting.
On the weekend, I invited Archie over to my place for a
barbecue.
While sprinkling cumin, my hand trembled and the seasoning spilled onto my fingers.
I was about to grab a napkin when Archie suddenly grabbed my
wrist.
He lowered his head and licked the spice off my fingertips.
Then his warm tongue traced along the lines of my palm.
Finally, Archie gave my wrist a gentle bite.
What happened next was completely unstoppable.
Archie was very considerate.
His touch was just right, and his rhythm was perfect.
When he had me so worked up I could barely speak coherently, he deliberately smirked and asked, “Isabelle, does Finley do this
too?”
I stammered, “No… he doesn’t.”
Archie chuckled with satisfaction and became even more enthusiastic.
While I was in a daze, I heard the doorbell ring several times.
But neither of us had time to pay attention.
It wasn’t until the next day that I saw Finley’s messages.
【Isabelle, you went to bed really early last night.]
【My mom asked me to bring you some freshly picked pomegranates. I waited at your door until midnight.】
【I left the fruit basket by your door. She said these were the sweetest ones she specially saved for you.】
I checked the date – it was time to pay Penelope’s medical bills again.
Penelope used to always smile when she saw me.
She even said Finley didn’t deserve such a kind girl like me.
Although I had broken up with Finley, I ultimately couldn’t bring myself to stop paying for Penelope’s medical expenses.
I decided to visit Penelope at the hospital one more time and explain the situation clearly.
When I reached the door of her room, I heard Penelope speaking in a low voice.
She was saying, “Finley, don’t blame me for pressuring you. You have to endure these humiliations.
“With rich women like Isabelle, you should sweet-talk her and please her.
“Once you get enough money, I won’t stop you from being with your professor Brody Henderson’s daughter.
“Isabelle has no right to become a member of the McLean family. She’s almost thirty – having children would make her a geriatric mother.
“First, swindle one or two hundred thousand dollars from her for my retirement.
“When you make something of yourself in the future, who’s going to remember this old woman?”
I turned around to find a doctor I knew to understand the
situation.
She said angrily, “That woman in room 302 is absolutely
outrageous.
“She recovered completely before Christmas, but she insists on occupying the VIP room.
“She knows our hospital has a bed shortage. Yesterday she even demanded I give her a full-body examination, and when I refused, she actually said ‘Ms. Grant will pay for it anyway.’
“If you hadn’t come to ask today, I would have really thought all of this was your idea.”
