Chapter 367 They Were Truly 'Wonderful' Parents!
"Yeah, the guy is the security guard from your neighborhood, but I think there's someone else pulling the strings," Seb said.
"Security guard?" Sharon furrowed her brow and pondered for a moment; she had never had any interactions with the neighborhood security guard.
Plus, it seemed weird for a security guard to say "welcome back" to her.
Seeing her frown, Seb added, "Don't stress about it. I'll take care of it. During this period, I will have the driver pick up and drop off Demetrius. You will commute to and from work with me. That way, I could ensure your safety.“
Thinking about the texts from last night, Sharon felt a chill. She nodded. "Okay, I'll do what you say."
After breakfast, the driver took Seb and Sharon to the company. On the way, Seb asked Sharon if they should keep their relationship on the down-low.
Sharon thought for a bit, then looked at him and said, "No need. Even if we try to hide it, it won't last long. Let's just go with the flow."
Seb's eyes flickered. "Alright."
When the car stopped in the basement, Seb and Sharon got out together. It was almost work time, and they ran into a bunch of Silvercrest Group employees on the way.
Seeing Sharon and Seb together, everyone widened their eyes but didn't dare to gossip. They just looked down and pretended not to notice.
If Seb hadn't banned any talk about his relationship with Sharon in the company, there would've been gossip by now.
In the elevator waiting area, even though there were more than twenty people, it was eerily quiet, with no one talking.
Seb looked at Sharon and saw she was calm, which made him feel a bit better. "Come to my office for lunch."
Sharon was surprised and wanted to say no, but after thinking about it, she nodded. "Okay, but my experiment might run late, so I might be late."
Seb said, "No problem. I have an important meeting today too. I'll wait for you."
Soon, the elevator arrived. Seb and Sharon got in.
Seeing that no one else followed, Seb frowned. "Aren't you taking the elevator?"
The nearest female employee quickly waved her hand. "No need, Mr. Smith. It's still early. We'll wait for the next one."
Seb said nothing more and closed the elevator.
Sharon thought for a moment and then said, "You told everyone in the Silvercrest Group chat that they'd be fired if they talked about us before. That probably scared them, so no one dared to speak or take the elevator with us."
Seb said, "That's exactly what I wanted. I don't want you to be the subject of office gossip."
Seeing his domineering attitude, Sharon felt a bit helpless. "You can't silence everyone."
Seb raised an eyebrow. "I never intended to silence everyone, just most of them."
Sharon wanted to say more, but they had already reached her floor. So, she just said, "I'll go to work now."
Seb spoke, "Alright, call me if you need anything."
"Okay."
Even though Seb had forbidden any talk about his relationship with Sharon, the whole company knew they had arrived together by mid-morning.
This time, no one dared to mock Sharon to her face. Even Miguel kept his mouth shut. If someone recorded him mocking Sharon and sent it to Seb, he'd be in big trouble.
Near noon, Sharon called Ariana into her office.
"Ariana, what's going on today? Why are you making so many mistakes in the experiment? You're usually very meticulous," Sharon asked.
Ariana was usually very careful and rarely made mistakes in her experiments. But today, she had made several mistakes and was often distracted. She even almost added the wrong reagent, which could have caused an explosion.
Ariana shook her head and looked down, feeling guilty. "Sharon, I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. I promise, I won't make any mistakes this afternoon."
Seeing her tired face and the dark circles under her eyes, Sharon decided not to push it. "Alright, go have lunch and get some rest."
Ariana replied, "Okay, thank you, Sharon. I'll finish organizing the documents first."
Sharon didn't say anything else and left the office to find Seb on the top floor.
Not long after Sharon left, Ariana's phone rang. Her face went pale when she saw the number on the screen, and she didn't answer. But the phone kept ringing.
Ariana picked up her phone, intending to block the number, but hesitated at the moment she was about to add it to the blacklist. Soon, the phone rang again.
Taking a deep breath, Ariana answered, "I transferred all my money to you last night. I have no more money!"
"Ariana, your brother Orval has been captured by debt collectors. They said if the money isn't paid by midnight, they'll cut off one of his hands. Only you can help him. Can you really just watch him suffer?" Ariana's mom, Blanca Stout, said, her voice cutting into Ariana's heart like a knife.
Ariana's parents had always favored Orval over her. They wanted her to drop out of school after middle school to work and pay for Orval's education. If it weren't for her grandmother's strong opposition, she wouldn't have had the chance to attend high school or go to college.
Ariana paid for her college tuition and living expenses entirely by working various part-time jobs. At her poorest, she had only a few dollars, and even a single loaf of bread had to last her three meals. But she never felt bitter because she knew that dropping out in middle school would have made her life much harder.
Apart from her part-time jobs, Ariana spent all her time studying, aiming for scholarships and to escape her family.
It wasn't until she secured a spot in graduate school that her parents finally realized the value of her education. Ariana in graduate school gave them something to boast about in the village, and her new status turned her from a financial burden into a desirable match in the marriage market.
Whenever she visited her grandmother, her parents would either set her up on blind dates or ask about her future salary, hoping she would contribute all her earnings to the family. When she resisted the blind dates, her parents once went so far as to tie her up and put her in a man's bed. If she hadn't fought back with all her might, she would have been violated.
Eventually, she offered to give them half her monthly salary, and they finally relented. Now, they had tricked her out of all her savings. They were truly shameless and ruthless.
"I saved up $40,000 over the years by scrimping and saving, and you used it all to pay off Orval's gambling debts, lying that it was for Grandma's medical bills. If Grandma hadn't found a way to call me, were you ever going to tell me the truth?" Ariana demanded.
"What could I do? Orval is my son. Do you want me to watch him get beaten to death by debt collectors? Ariana, you can't be so heartless!" Blanca retorted.
Ariana sneered, "I'm heartless? Orval chose to gamble and can't pay his debts. If he loses a hand, he deserves it. Don't call me again!" She hung up the phone.
As she put down her phone and prepared to continue organizing documents, she noticed a figure at the door and turned sharply. Ariana's expression changed when she saw it was Kirk.
"Mr. Marshall, when did you get here?" Ariana asked.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
