Chapter <b>3</b>


    “I know Grandma Gloria asked you to help the Williamses, but…”


    Joe raised his brows, wondering if Skr thought the Williamses deserved a higher status.


    Though Jeffrey simply wasn’t fit for it, <b>Joe </b>would still agree to her terms if that was her condition for <b>the</b>


    marriage arrangement.


    “I hope you’ll stop helping them.” Skr dropped her gaze, fearing the malice in her eyes would throw him


    off.


    “Oh?” Joe was slightly taken aback. Nevertheless, he didn’t question any further.Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Seeing that Skr had signed the documents, he nced at his watch. “Let’s go.”


    “Alright.”


    The courthouse wasn’t busy, so they managed to obtain their marriage certificate quickly. Everything still felt unreal to Skr as she strode out of the courthouse <b>and </b>stared at the certificate.


    Joe’s voice rang from beside her. “Let’s exchange our numbers. I’ll send you my address; you <b>should</b>


    move in with me in two days.”


    Before Skr could refuse, he left promptly. She had nned to move in with Gloria. Not once had she ever considered <b>living </b>with Joe.


    However, she wasn’t against this particr arrangement. A harmonious facade of their loving marriage life would put Gloria at ease<b>, </b>after all.


    Skr checked the time. It was 3:30 pm, and she could still head back to Williams Residence to retrieve her belongings. She wouldn’t even step into their house again if it weren’t for the valuable items Vi had


    given her.


    Her phone rang on her way to Williams Residence. Without checking the caller ID, she answered the call


    swiftly.


    “Hello?”


    “Babe, Maisy called me earlier. She said you got into a fight with Jeffrey and Sadie at the hospital over her


    blood transfusion.


    “I feel like it’s quite inappropriate of you to do so. You’ll upset them, and Maisy needs your blood as well. Your rtionship with them will be strained if you leave them right away.


    “Where are you? I’lle find you, and you have to apologize properly to Jeffrey and Sadieter! We’ll head to the hospital tomorrow early in the morning.


    “Also, do you want to go watch a movie together after you’ve donated your blood?” Christopher coaxed her from the other end of the phone.


    Skr clenched her phone. She had loved Christopher with all her heart back then, and her feelings


    toward him had been unwavering from high school to college.


    The day he’d <b>graduated</b>, he’d imed that she was the love of his life and said he wanted to marry her.


    At this point, Skr hade to the conclusion that men’s promises were nothing but bullshit. Everything she had experienced in the year she had been paralyzed felt just like yesterday to her.


    Christopher was slightly enraged by Skr’s <bck </b>of response. “Babe, are you there? Is the signal bad on your end? Should I text you on WhatsApp instead?”


    “I’m breaking up with you, dumbass.” Skr could no longer bear being acquainted with Christopher. She hung up swiftly.


    Her phone began buzzing with notifications, yet shepletely ignored them. She hadn’t blocked Christopher yet because it wasn’t the right time to do so.


    Soon, Skr arrived at Williams Residence. Jeffrey and the others hadn’t returned because of the rush hour traffic. They probably wouldn’t be back for another 30 minutes.


    Since Skr had only moved in there about six months ago, she didn’t have a lot of things. One suitcase. was enough for her to pack her things


    When she descended the stairs, she saw an antique painting hung in a corner of the living room.


    The painting was hung in an extremely inconspicuous spot. Skr had spent three long months restoring it so she could give it to Sadie as her birthday present, but Sadie hadn’t been impressed.


    She had told the maid to hang in the least conspicuous ce in the living room.


    Skr had felt glum back then. Sadie had even looked impatient when Skr had offered to exin the origin and significance of the painting. In contrast, she had gleefully epted the designer bag Maisy had


    given her.


    Sadie certainly


    didn’t deserve the painting, nor did she deserve Skr’s sincerity.


    Skr strode toward the painting and took it off the wall carefully. After rolling it up meticulously, she stowed it away in her suitcase.


    Jeffrey, Sadie, and Maisy returned after 40 minutes. ncing around and realizing that Skr was nowhere to be seen, Sadie frowned. “Lucy, has Skre back?”


    The maid, Lucy Sanders, set her work aside <b>in </b>a haste and replied, “Ms. Skr returned half an hour ago, then she left again with a <b>suitcase</b><b>.</b>”


    “Left with a suitcase?” Sadie screeched.


    “<b>Yes</b>, Mrs. Williams.” Lucy nodded.


    Maisy was taken aback. She had assumed she would be greeted with a sheepish–looking Skr and her apologies. Hadn’t Christopher said that <b>he </b>would deal with her?


    “Did she run away <b>from </b>home?” Maisy inquired<b>.</b>


    Jeffrey was outraged. “If she has the guts to run away, then she shouldn’t bothering back! Such


    30


    insolence! I’m terminating her credit card now!” Skr had really brought shame upon him.


    “I’ll go check her room now. Maybe she’s just trying to scare us by running away. I bet she wants a car as well. She’s hopeless!” Furrowing her brows, Sadie dashed upstairs into Skr’s room.


    She rarely went into Skr’s room. When she opened the door, she was momentarily startled by the empty and in room. A sense of uneasiness prickled at her.


    “Mom, I think I’ll leave. I don’t think Skr wants to see me at home. She’lle back once I’m gone.” Maisy said, approaching Sadie. She noticed that Sadie was lost in her thoughts.


    Maisy


    sensed that things were spiraling out of her control. She should be the only one pampered in this family! Skr was always meant to be inferior to her.


    Snapping back to her senses, Sadie <b>turned </b>toward Maisy and said warmly, “Just imagine what it would be like if she were as sensible as you are. Just ignore her. She can go whenever she wants.”


    “Skr grew up in the countryside, after all. It’s normal that shecks basic courtesy since her adoptive mom only graduated from middle school.


    “Mom, she’ll be more sensible after we teach her. She’lle to respect you and Dad just like I do,” Maisy chirped.


    Sadie grew annoyed whenever she heard about Skr’s past.


    “Skr’s been studying in college for a few years now, hasn’t she? By right, she should be sensible and mature. The truth is, she’s just a narrow–minded and ungrateful whelp!


    “Don’t bother about her. Let’s go down and eat,” she said.


    In the cab, Skr took in the view of the bustling streets outside the window. Everything felt like a dream- she had really been reborn.


    “Miss, your phone has been ringing.” The driver chanced a nce at her through the rearview mirror. He thought she looked pretty. She appeared to be only in her 20s, but the sullen look in her eyes said otherwise. Had something happened to her? Her phone had been ringing incessantly.


    “It’s fine. It’s the scammers,” Skr replied, looking down at her phone. Christopher had been spamming her on WhatsApp.


    She could imagine how agitated he was right now, but that image in her mind soon ovepped with the image of him devouring Maisy. Her grip on her phone tightened, and the ringing stopped.


    Another call came in instantly.


    Skr’s <bshes </b>fluttered slightly when she saw that it was from Joe.