Chapter 58 Cousin-in-Law Owes One Hundred Thousand Dollars!
Mary got out of bed and walked toward William's black jacket.
The ringing continued in the ward.
Just as Mary picked up the jacket, about to retrieve the phone from its pocket, William suddenly entered. Briskly, he snatched the jacket from her hands and said with a calm smile, "I'll take this to answer a call."
With that, William turned and left the ward.
He looked at the phone and indeed, it was a call from Mary.
He had no choice but to hang up.
That was close!
In that moment, William felt as if he was in another world, his forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.
It wasn't time to reveal his identity to Mary yet.
It wasn't that he wanted to hide it, but once Mary knew, she and Sarah, and even the entire Smith Family, would be in danger.
William was the only one who knew of this danger. He had seen what that woman was capable of.
Her hand in pushing him away from the family, directly or indirectly, was undeniable.
In the ward, Mary held her chest with one hand, listening to the dial tone on her phone, her delicate brows furrowed. Was there a problem?
She made another call, but it was still busy.
Helplessly, Mary took a deep breath and gave up.
After all, asking for help was still something she found hard to initiate.
At that moment, William re-entered and explained. "There's an emergency at the company; they need me back."
Mary didn't pay much attention. Her mind was preoccupied with irritation, and she just nodded in acknowledgment.
Sarah 's surgery could not be delayed any longer. She couldn't place all her hopes on Jeffery; if push came to shove, Mary would have to turn to him.
However, before leaving, William lingered. "Mary, don't worry about Sarah's surgery. I've arranged for a well-known doctor from back home to do it. They've already provided a treatment plan, and in a few days…"
"That's enough, I know."
Mary cut off William coldly. She didn't distrust William, but she wondered, could the doctor he found be of any use?
William was taken aback, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Mary seemed to realize her attitude was problematic and explained with slight irritation, "William, don't get me wrong, thank you for your concern for Sarah. I'm just a bit frustrated."
William naturally understood Mary's current mood, especially since she was his wife.
Who else would she vent her spleen on if not him?
"I know, Sarah is my daughter too. If you have any ideas, you can discuss them with me," William said with a smile.
Mary returned the smile and nodded. "I know, but you have things to do at the company, right? You should go take care of it."
William nodded, and just as he was about to leave, Margaret barged in furiously.
Without a word, she pointed at William's nose and scolded. "William, how dare you speak to me like that just now? Have you grown wings? Do you no longer see me, your mother-in-law, as worthy in your eyes?"
The world had turned upside down!
This good-for-nothing son-in-law even dared to shout at her.
Did she, the mother-in-law, have no dignity left?
She must put him in his place!
William knew that offending Margaret would bring him no good, so he could only bow his head and apologize. "Mom, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
"What's the use of being sorry? What were you doing just now?"
Margaret was relentless, her face full of scorn and anger, spitting as she scolded. "Good, let's settle it in front of Mary today. When exactly are both of you getting divorced?"
William was truly annoyed, his expression changing slightly.
Mary also came over, sighed helplessly, and asked. "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you causing a scene so early in the morning? Can't you let me have a moment of peace?"
Mary knew her mother's temper all too well.
Making a fuss and throwing tantrums were her specialties.
She never really treated William as a son-in-law.
It all stemmed from the incident of her getting pregnant before marriage, which made her unable to lift her head in front of her family.
Thus, over the years, Mary and William moved out and bought a small place to live.
Usually, they all indulged Margaret. Even when she was being unreasonable, they just bore with it.
"What do you mean I'm making a fuss? You don't know, this good-for-nothing just threatened me outside!"
Margaret stretched out her hand, pointing at William's nose and scolded. "I don't care what both of you think, but in this house, it's either him or me."
Mary felt helpless and gave William a look, pretending to scold. "William, how did you speak to my mom just now? Apologize now!"
William had no choice but to bow and apologize. "I'm sorry. "
Margaret then, like a victorious rooster, lifted her chin, looking down on them. She said a few more harsh words.
William also quickly apologized a few more times before he could finally leave.
Seeing William gone, she turned and took Mary's hand, speaking earnestly. "Mary, I'm not criticizing you, but why do you insist on being with that good-for-nothing? Are there no good men left in this world? I think that Matthew is not bad. He comes from a good family, looks handsome, and importantly, treats your father and me well."
Mary felt very helpless, knowing that her mother's visit would bring nothing good.
"Mom! Stop it, I don't want to think about these things right now," Mary said helplessly. She back into bed, and turned to her side.
But Margaret chattered on. "If you don't like Matthew, Jeffery is also an option. I've seen him busy himself around these past few days. It's hard to find such a man."
Seeing that Mary didn't respond, Margaret huffed in annoyance.
"You’re a stubborn girl, what's so good about William? He can't earn money, has no social connections, and his few friends are as poor as church mice. Such a man is nothing but a social outcast.
"I don't care whether you agree or not, you're my daughter, and I'll decide for you. You must get a divorce!"
Margaret made up her mind. For her daughter's lifelong happiness and her own happiness in the latter half of her life, she had to take matters into her own hands.
Mary, tired of listening, covered herself with the blanket and ignored her.
Margaret muttered a few words, then briskly picked up her purse and left the hospital.
William, after leaving the hospital, was ready to head back to the company.
Sarah was still being taken care of by someone at the company; these past few days had been hectic, and he couldn't manage everything.
Riding his electric bike and halfway there, William's phone rang. To his surprise, it was a call from Nancy.
What did she want with him?
Upon answering, Nancy's cold voice came through. "William, come to Starlight Bar, you have ten minutes. If you dare to be late, I'll complain about you to Mary!"
With that, the call ended.
William, still unclear about what had happened, could only sigh helplessly and ride his electric bike to the Starlight Bar.
When he arrived, he found that in the bar's lobby, seven or eight youngsters were surrounding Nancy and her four friends.
Two boys and three girls.
Among them, two of the boys, whom William knew well, Todd and Dominic, had injuries on their faces, swollen cheeks, and bruised eyes.
Judging by the situation, this group had been cornered.
As soon as William arrived, Nancy stood up and scolded imperiously. "Thirteen minutes! Weren't you supposed to be here in ten minutes?"
"Sorry, there was a traffic jam," William said with a smile.
"What's a traffic jam for that piece of junk electric bike of yours? You did that on purpose, don't you? I'll tell Mary that you're flirting around!" Nancy retorted sharply, appearing quite unreasonable.
Todd and Dominic also looked down on him with a few disdainful comments.
"Nancy, why did you call this good-for-nothing here? What can he do?"
"What can this idiot do?"
William frowned slightly and said nothing, then turned and walked away.
He didn't come here to be insulted!
At this, Nancy panicked and shouted. "William, if you dare to leave now, I won't let you off! Just a few words in Tyler and Margaret's ears, and you think you can still have good days in the Smith Family?"
Sure enough, as soon as she said this, William stopped, turned around, and stared darkly at Nancy.
"What do you want me here for? To join you kids in your nonsense? I don't have time for this." William said flatly.
At this, the seven or eight people surrounding them all chuckled coldly.
One of them, a youngster with a slanted fringe and red hair, wearing a floral shirt with a wide open collar revealing a chest tattoo, smoking a cigarette, looked at William with a sneer. "This guy seems to have quite the attitude. Nancy says you're her cousin-in-law, right?"
William's brow furrowed. This person had the air of a ruffian about him, and it seemed Nancy and her friends must have provoked someone.
Most likely, it was about money.
"What's the matter? Speak up and let them go. I have other things to do," William said.
"Fuck! How dare you speak to Brother Enrique like that?"
"You're quite arrogant. You playing around?"
"You still haven't apologized to Brother Enrique!"
Suddenly, the few youngsters behind the named Brother Enrique, all with fierce expressions, pointed at William and cursed.
Nancy was also terrified and stood up, pointing at William and scolding. "William, are you crazy? How can you speak to Brother Enrique like that? Apologize to Brother Enrique now!"
This was really bad!
William, who was usually so meek, was now being so assertive.
If they offended Brother Enrique, they wouldn't even be able to leave the bar!
However, Brother Enrique just smiled, had his men push Nancy back, and said to William. "One hundred thousand dollars! Nancy owes us one hundred thousand dollars. Just give us the money, and you can take her with you."
One hundred thousand dollars?
Immediately, William looked at Nancy in astonishment, but she nonchalantly turned her head away, showing no sign of shame. She said, "What are you standing there for? Go get the money, I have classes in the afternoon."
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