Chapter 29 Scholarship Withheld
"JR?" Layla glanced at her work attire and shook her head. "I'm not sure."
She seemed to have heard that it was an expensive brand. But she didn't really know much about it as she couldn't afford it.
"Not sure? So someone gave it to you?" Molly sneered with a sarcastic smile. "I see how you got in here. Turns out you relied on connections."
"I got this internship on my own," Layla retorted.
"You're a City University student without any overseas qualifications or awards. What makes you think you deserve to be hired to work here?" Molly had determined that Layla must've been supported by someone high up in the company as she saw no ladylike qualities in Layla. She coldly sniffed, "I despise women like you the most."
"It's not like that. I..." Layla wanted to explain.
Impatiently waving her hand, Molly interrupted, "Don't bother explaining. I already know. It was suspicious how the IT guy came so quickly yesterday. Now I understand. I don't care who made you in, but you better not dissatisfy me, or you'll be fired. Understand? Don't think you can slack off just because you have someone backing you up."
Layla fell silent. No matter how she explained it now, it would be seen as making excuses and would only make Molly dislike her even more.
All she could say was, "I'll do better and prove myself."
Molly commanded, "JR is my favorite brand. You're not allowed to wear it anymore."
After that, she gave Layla a pile of work to do.
"Why the serious face? Did you get scolded again?" Alice asked Layla as she walked out of the office. "Wait. Is this outfit JR? It's Molly's favorite brand. Need tens of thousands of dollars to buy one. You're actually a rich woman?"
"No. It's just a knockoff," Layla replied.
"Really? A knockoff of JR? I couldn't find any online." Alice curiously touched it. "And the quality is really good. Looks similar to Molly's."
Layla didn't explain much, feeling a bit frustrated. She really wanted to change her clothes now.
She knew she was in trouble because of Samuel.
She felt she had a terrible misfortune and sighed helplessly in her heart, 'Now she sees me as a woman who only got in through others' help. Life here is gonna be tougher.'
Busy times always flew by, and it was already the end of the workday in the blink of an eye.
Just as Layla was about to clock out, Molly approached her. "This file, you..."
Before Molly could finish, Layla's phone rang. She picked it up.
"Is this Owen's family? This is the City First Hospital. Your brother got injured. Please come quickly."
"Sorry, I have an emergency." Layla left Molly behind and rushed into the elevator, flagged down a taxi, and headed to the hospital.
She hurriedly ran up to the fifth floor and peeked through the door before entering.
She saw Owen with bandages on his head and body. He had a bruised and swollen face, with a leg encased in a cast.
Luckily, it wasn't too serious.
Layla slowed her pace and caught her breath. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and then walked into the ward with a cold expression.
"You fought with someone again? Did you try to steal someone's girlfriend or provoke someone again?" she asked.
Owen had always been a little bully since he was young. Relying on his martial arts skills, he often caused trouble and ended up in the hospital. It had only been three months since she last came to the hospital to pay for his medical fee.
"None of your business." Owen's tone was unfriendly. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"You said it's none of my business, then why should I stay?"
"Are you doing this on purpose? Pay the medical expenses before leaving." Owen took Layla's help for granted.
But Layla felt very uncomfortable with his attitude. "I'm not your ATM. Go ask your mom."
"Hasn't my mom raised you? Just ask you for some money. What's the big deal?" Owen snorted.
Layla responded with a cold laugh. Less than a year after her mom left, his dad married Deborah and had Owen and Sarah. Deborah was exactly like those malicious stepmothers in TV dramas. Layla didn't owe them anything, so she was perfectly capable of ignoring Owen.
At this moment, a nurse came in with the bill. "Are you Owen's family? Pay his hospital fees immediately!"
"I'm not his family. Call his mom," Layla refused.
"Hey. This is the hospital, okay? If you don't pay, we can only discharge him forcibly," the nurse warned.
"Well, suit yourself." Layla crossed her arms and took a step back.
Owen became furious. "Layla!"
Seeing that Layla had made up her mind not to pay, the nurse called the security guard, who came in and dragged Owen off the bed.
"Let go of me!" Owen shouted.
"Layla, what's wrong with you?" Owen was desperate and cursed loudly. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life. "Let go of me! You're all gonna pay for this!"
Owen became aggressive towards the security guard, but he was pushed down and fell right in front of Layla. Unable to move, he could only glare fiercely at Layla with his bloodshot eyes.
He brought this upon himself. Layla reminded herself not to continue indulging him and not to clean up his mess again and again.
However, when Owen was desperately lying at her feet, staring at her with that hateful look in his eyes, her heart still twitched with pain. She couldn't just watch him being kicked out of the hospital.
As long as they share the same blood, Layla couldn't ignore his life. At most, she could only teach him a lesson.
Layla closed her eyes and resignedly said, "I'll pay."
Owen breathed a sigh of relief but continued to stare at her intently.
"But this is the last time I'm doing it," Layla added.
Owen was furious. He didn't believe it!
Layla followed the nurse to pay the bill and asked, "How much is it?"
"Eight hundred dollars," the nurse answered.
"Eight hundred dollars? Why is it so expensive?" Layla was stunned and confused.
"He said he wanted the best medicine and a good room," the nurse replied.
"But I don't have that much money."
"Security!" the nurse called.
"I'll find a way to pay," Layla hurriedly said. She thought about the eight hundred-dollar scholarship she hadn't received yet and negotiated with the nurse, "I'll pay one hundred and sixty dollars as a deposit now, and I'll settle the rest tomorrow, okay?"
"If you don't settle it before 5 p.m. tomorrow, I'll really kick him out, understand?" the nurse warned.
After the nurse left, Layla made a call to the school's financial office and unexpectedly found that they were still open at 8 PM. She rushed to the school, expressing her urgent need for money, hoping to get her scholarship tomorrow.
However, the staff replied, "Your scholarship has already been transferred to Emilia."
"Emilia?" Layla was shocked. "But she performs so poorly academically, and I've been receiving the scholarship for four years. It was supposed to be mine this year too. How could..."
Before finishing her sentence, she suddenly remembered the harsh words Vincent had said before. "Layla, I'll make you regret this!"
Layla's face turned pale, and she thought, 'Could it be him? The Sivan family holds a significant stake in City University. To take away my scholarship, he just needs to say a few words to the school. So despicable!'
Angry, Layla walked out of the office, and Vincent was waiting for her in the corridor.
She approached him angrily and questioned, "Did you have something to do with this?"
Vincent was smoking. With a retaliatory smirk on his face, he blew a smoke ring toward her and said coldly, "Yeah. So what?"
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