Chapter 3

"Take your medicine, Willa." James, surprisingly, still kept his patience. "I'll leave right after you take it. I won't bother you."

I sat back down.

James was silent for a moment, then got up to get the medicine.

The clatter of pill bottles shattered the icy silence as James prepared my dosage.

He placed the pills in my palm and handed me a glass of water.

I took only the pills, popping them into my mouth one by one, then forced them down dry.

James withdrew the glass, asking with a bitter smile, "Willa, do you really hate me so much?"

I sneered. My silence was answer enough.

My body instinctively resisted being in the same space as him.

When I stood to leave, his patience finally snapped. He pressed me back into the chair.

"Stay. I have a gift for you," he said, holding me by the shoulder with one hand while taking the gift box from Emily with the other.

The jewelry box was suddenly flung open, and inside lay a top-tier jadeite bangle.

"Is this the Collins family's heirloom bracelet?" Emily exclaimed.

I stared quietly at the bracelet, which symbolized the Collins family. Hannah had always worn it, and rumor had it that it was worth over 1.5 million dollars.

Hannah, born into a prestigious family and a graduate of a top university, married into the Collins family with many expectations. Upon giving birth to Wyatt, her first son, she received this ancestral bangle.

She cherished it dearly, as if it were the most precious thing in her life.

But when the Collins family acknowledged James, Hannah kept striking her heirloom bangle against the wall, over and over.

My mother, worried she might hurt herself, asked me to hold her hand.

Wiping away her tears, she said that when I married Wyatt in the future, she would pass this bangle on to me.

She said she would guard it carefully so that no one could take it away.

Then she asked if I thought the bangle was beautiful.

I said it was, whether worn or not. Only then did she smile, a smile sadder than crying.

James lowered his eyes. "Didn't you say it was beautiful back then? Now I've brought it for you."

"James, have you succeeded?" Emily stared at the jade bangle in disbelief.

"Finally, Emily, they've agreed to let me marry Willa!" he replied, his voice bright with excitement. "Once we're married, I'll get Gabriel's remaining shares."

"Oh, that's wonderful, wonderful!" Emily threw herself into James' arms. "I knew you'd beat Wyatt!"

Emily said softly, "All these years, you've had to endure so much disdain. I know how hard it's been for you. Back then, no one looked up to us! But now we're stepping on them hard. It's so satisfying..."

Their chatter was annoying.

I pried James' hand away and headed for the stairs.

James pleaded softly, "Willa, would you put it on for me? I went through so much just to get this."

I ignored him and went straight upstairs.

"Mrs. Collins!" Emily burst out, "How could you? How long will you torture him?"

"Emily!" James snapped. "Don't speak to Willa like that."

I turned around, looking calmly at the anger and pity on Emily's face.

"Until the day he dies," I said.

Emily's mouth fell open in shock, her face agonized as she looked at James.

He clenched his fists, forcing a strained smile.

"Willa, I won't die, and neither will you. We'll be together for the rest of our lives."

"It's been five years. You still can't forget Wyatt? What does he have that James doesn't?" Emily grew impatient. "Can't you just settle down with James?"

I sneered at Emily, fixing her with a steely gaze. "In. Your. Dreams."

James's face darkened as he lifted his hand.

Emily didn't dare speak again.

I drew the thick curtains, and the world fell into darkness again.

I sank into the mattress as my consciousness began to fade.

In a daze, I seemed to see my parents waving at me.

"Willa, we miss you so much. Do you want to come to us?"

I tried to speak, but my throat felt as if it were being choked, and only whimpering sounds came out.

Suddenly, a cold, mechanical broadcast voice rang out.

"Famous photographer couple, the Gomezes, die in an avalanche accident. Who will take over their million-debt company and their beloved daughter?"

"Collins Group announces unconditional takeover of the Gomez family's assets, with its reputation and stock prices soaring."

"Collins Group announces that Wish Girl will be suspended indefinitely! Thank you for your love. Farewell!"

Then a man leaned over, and his glasses reflected my tear-streaked face.

"Willa, surely you don't want to see your parents' hard-earned company go into bankruptcy liquidation, do you?

"The money in your family's account isn't enough to pay the creditors, let alone the wages owed to 538 employees. Those people demanding money will tear you apart and publicly shame your parents!

"I can help you, help your parents, help your family's company, help those 538 families.

"You just need to get engaged first, and then get married when you're better.

"I know you hate James. It doesn't matter. Love and hate mean nothing in business."