Chapter 3
Hamson froze. He furrowed his brow and asked, “Are you saying I can stay at your house?”-
After careful consideration, Roxanne responded directly. “You’ve gone bankrupt and have nowhere to stay. How could I let you be homeless? I didn’t marry you for your money. Now that we’re married, we’re a family, and family should help each other. Come on, I’ll take you to my house.”
She agreed just like that? Harrison was shocked in his heart. He had prepared himself to be rejected by her. And he was ready to use this experience to prove to his father that his daughter-in-law wasn’t what he imagined. He even thought she would regret marrying him. Now it seemed that she was indeed an extraordinary woman, just as her father had described.
Harrison really hoped to be rejected by her, so he asked, “What about the money I borrowed from you?”
Roxanne answered seriously, “I need to think about that.” Ten thousand was not a small amount.
Harrison said, “If you find it troublesome, then you don’t need to consider it. After all, we haven’t known each other for long.”
Roxanne said, “I’ll give you an answer tomorrow morning.”
Roxanne thought of something and asked, “Mr. Rodriguez, apart from going bankrupt, do you have any debts?”
They were legally married now. If he had any debts, she would have to repay them together with him. She was very nervous about this.
Harrison also sensed her tension. He felt it was a bit too much to deceive her about going bankrupt, and he didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. So he said, “No, my assets are enough to repay the debts, but I don’t have a penny now.”
“That’s good,” Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief and immediately encouraged him, “You have hands and feet, find a job. As long as you’re willing to work hard, there’s still a chance for a comeback.”
Harrison didn’t say anything, just nodded and looked at her a little longer. She seemed genuinely hard to dislike.
Roxanne asked, “Where is your luggage?”
“The house was suddenly seized,” Harrison said, “I didn’t bring anything with me.”
Roxanne took him and said, “Let’s go, Ill buy you a few sets of clothes for changing and some daily necessities.
Harrison looked very refined. She had intended to buy him some better clothes. But now it was already 10 p.m., and the large shopping mall across the street had already closed. At this time, only the street stalls were still open. So she took Harrison to the Night Fair.
There were various stalls here, selling fried noodles, fruits, and they were all loudly calling out their products. If it weren’t for Roxanne, Harrison would never have come to a place like this.
At this Night Fair, Harrison felt very uncomfortable. He even regretted agreeing to his father and marrying Roxanne, who lived in such an environment. In a year, his father would no longer interfere in his marriage, and he would endure it until then.
Roxanne first bought daily necessities for Harrison and then picked out two sets of sportswear. The two sets of sportswear only cost a total of 160 bucks, very cheap.
After inquiring about the price, Roxanne turned to Harrison and asked, “This is the only stall still open at this time, so I only bought these two sets. Is it okay?”
“You want me to wear this?” Harrison furrowed his brow tightly, and his gaze revealed a sense of dissatisfaction.
Roxanne originally wanted to say that since he had gone bankrupt, he shouldn’t be so picky. But she also thought about not hurting his self-esteem in public. After all, men cared about their pride. So she chose a more tactful approach and said, “I understand that it’s difficult to transition from a luxurious lifestyle to a modest one, but considering your current situation, let’s just make do with these clothes. They are still wearable.”
Harrison realized that he had been too picky. Besides, Roxanne had spent money to buy these clothes. If he continued to be picky, it would be unfair. Seeing him fall silent, Roxanne made the payment through her mobile phone and said to the vendor, “Make sure to give me clothes for someone tall, otherwise, he won’t fit.”
The stall owner was a round-faced woman in her forties. After packing the clothes, she kept staring at Harrison and said, “Is this your husband? He is really handsome” She had been doing business here for over ten years and had never seen such a handsome man come by. He might even outshine the celebrities on TV. Those celebrities wore makeup, but the man in front of her was real, all-around handsome.
Although Harrison often encountered women’s admiring gazes, being stared at by a middle-aged woman made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. He took the clothes and held Roxanne’s hand, quickly leaving. Roxanne understood that he didn’t want to be scrutinized like that, so she hurried along while still holding his hand. However, after a few steps, she pulled her hand out of his. As a single woman, it was the first time in seven years that she had touched a man’s hand, and she didn’t like the feeling. It was as if her personal space had been invaded. So when she pulled her hand back, she seemed a bit angry. “I don’t like people casually holding my hand. Next time, unless I give you permission, you’re not allowed to do that.”
Harrison didn’t respond immediately but felt that he had been rejected by her. Weren’t his previous girlfriends hoping to receive this kind of attention? Although he felt a bit disappointed, Harrison politely apologized, “I’m sorry!”
“Let’s go then,” Roxanne urged him. “It’s already late, and I have to work tomorrow.”
They walked through a few alleys and arrived at a seven-story building. Harrison looked at Roxanne and then at the dilapidated building. “You live here?”
His tone was clearly contemptuous. When Roxanne bought clothes for him earlier, he had already shown some dissatisfaction with the street vendor’s goods. Indeed, the suits he wore looked very refined, and he had probably never worn such cheap clothes before. But now that he was bankrupt, his house and car had been seized by the bank, and he had no money at all. Since he had already reached this point, what right did he have to complain?
Although Roxanne was somewhat dissatisfied with his behavior, she maintained basic politeness. “Mr. Rodriguez, were your previous two houses located in beautiful neighborhoods with greenery, community facilities, security guards, and readily available property services?”
Not only that, but there were also maids, personal nutritionists, cleaners, gardeners, drivers, and bodyguards… However, Harrison understood that he should now accept his bankrupt status, so he didn’t complain anymore.
Roxanne continued, “Mr. Rodriguez, when you go bankrupt, you should accept the reality of bankruptcy. The living environment here may be inferior, but at least it’s a place to live. I believe if you had other options, you wouldn’t choose to move in with me. Since that’s the case, you should accept the current situation. Go back and rest well, and think senously about what you should do next.”
Harrison listened to her words and replied, “Thank you for your reminder. Indeed, he should accept the current situation because he had promised his father and agreed to a one-year deadline. He just had to endure it for the sake of his freedom one year later. Roxanne’s rented apartment couldn’t really be considered a home. Although it had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room, all the space combined couldn’t compare to the size of one of the bathrooms in Harrison’s mansion. However, he didn’t show any signs of discomfort.
There was only one bedroom, and he gentlemanly offered to sleep on the sofa. That night, they spent the night separately in the bedroom and the small sofa.
Roxanne woke up around four or five in the morning. She had been pondering a question all night: should she lend Harrison the ten thousand bucks he requested? After buying the house, she had just enough money left in her bank account for daily expenses. If she lent the money to Harrison, she would be financially tight it would affect her plans for renovating the new house, which she had worked hard to save up for. She had been looking forward to moving into the newly renovated house and having a decent home. She really didn’t want to lend him the money, which was intended for the renovation, to Harrison. Moreover, she had only known him for less than 24 hours. Was it reliable to lend him the money?
She spent the entire night troubled by this question, so she woke up at four in the morning, consumed by her worries. At around seven o’clock, she got up and cooked some pancakes. Harrison was awakened by the noise and joined her for breakfast after washing up.
On the table, there were two plates of pancakes. One plate had only some syrup, while the other had an additional cube of butter. This was because there was only one cube of butter left in the fridge. Considering that Harrison was a man and needed more energy. Roxanne gave him the one with the butter.
Harrison had never had such a simple breakfast before, but since Roxanne had reminded him the day before, he didn’t complain anymore. He simply asked, “Aren’t you going to use the butter?”
“I’m not a big fan of butter,” Roxanne replied, taking a bite of pancakes.
Harrison watched her. When she ate, she made some noises. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it couldn’t be described as elegant either. Was she really so unconcerned about her image in front of him? At least she shouldn’t make the sound of slurping the noodles so loudly, right? He was used to women in social settings behaving elegantly and with grace in front of him. Roxanne’s behavior made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Trying to ignore the sound of her eating. Harrison elegantly picked up the pancakes. At that moment, Roxanne stopped and said directly, “Mr. Rodríguez, I have a question for you.”
“Hmm.” Harrison looked at her and said, “Go ahead, ask.”
Roxanne asked, “What did you borrow that 100,000 bucks for?”
Harrison thought for a moment and came up with a random excuse. “The company was sealed off, and the employees need their salaries urgently”
Roxanne understood and said, “Give me your Paypal account. I’ll transfer it to you now.”
“Are you sure?” Harrison put down his chopsticks and looked at her. I’m bankrupt, and if you lend me this 100,000 bucks, I might not be able to repay you for a while.”
Roxanne had thought about it all night and had made up her mind. The reason she hastily married Harrison wasn’t solely because of Oliver’s confession putting her in a difficult situation. Part of it was because she had been single for seven years and was tired of it. She also wanted to find someone to live with, even if it wasn’t for love. She could share hardships and support each other, keeping each other company. Since she could remember, her parents had divorced, and no one wanted to start a new family with her as the burden.
9/2
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She had been abandoned by her parents. At the age of 21, she was abandoned again by her wealthy and handsome boyfriend. Having experienced the cruelest abandonment and witnessed the most malicious sides of human nature, Roxanne still believed in the good. What if Harrison was a person with potential?
Roxanne firmly said, “Take it to pay the salaries, and then handle your employees properly. Look for a job for yourself and start over. As long as you work hard, everything will be fine.”
Harrison was shocked. “Aren’t you afraid?”
“Afraid of what?” Roxanne countered.
Harrison reminded her, “I could take the money and run.”
“You’ve already married me. Where could you possibly run to?” Roxanne countered once again.
