Chapter 305


    “What do you mean two million? Are you crazy!” Josephine stood up abruptly. A glint of rage shed


    across her eyes as she looked at my mother. It was clear that she could no longer put up with my


    mother''s outrageous behavior.


    Furthermore, my heart sank when I noticed Michael was furrowing his brows as well. I knew that two


    million meant nothing to Michael, but my mother used our marriage to extort such a huge sum of


    money from him. I could not help wondering if he was feeling sorry for me.


    “Mom, don''t you think this is too much?”


    Seeing that Michael did not respond after a while, I frowned and looked at my mother with displeasure.


    I was not expecting her to ask for such a ridiculous amount of money.


    “Is two million too much? I raised you from a young age and spent so many years taking care of you.


    You wouldn''t be where you are right now if it weren''t for your parents. How is it too much to ask for two


    million? I don''t think the Shaw family will have a problem fulfilling my request even if I''m asking for


    twenty million.”


    My mother''s tone wasced with annoyance when she realized I was taking the Shaw family''s side.


    She looked at me with rage-filled eyes and scolded me as if I was an unfilial daughter.


    Nheless, I was dissatisfied with my mother''s actions. She had gone overboard by requesting a


    two-million betrothal gift. To put it into perspective, in the countryside, betrothal gifts of ten to eighty


    thousand were already considered excessive.


    “How dare you have the audacity to ask for two million as a betrothal gift? Do you really think your


    daughter is worth that much money? This is ridiculous!” Josephine jumped from her seat and snorted


    coldly.


    She cast an unhappy gaze at my mother and was visibly upset by the shocking request.


    I was well aware of Josephine''s dislike toward me. She had always suspected that I got together with


    Michael because I was after his money. Now that she was saying these things about me in front of my


    parents, I could not help but feel heartbroken, despite it being the truth.


    “Based on your words, it seems to me that Michael isn''t sincere about marrying Anna. How could you


    try to settle things in such a half-hearted manner when my daughter is already pregnant with your son''s


    child?”


    This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    My mother was unwilling to back down and stood her ground against Josephine. She appeared to be


    hell-bent on obtaining the two-million betrothal gift. However, Josephine had already expressed her


    disapproval of my rtionship with Michael. Coupled with the fact that my parents were being greedy, I


    was afraid that our marriage ns would fall through because of the discord between our families.


    “You are clearly trying to extort us!”


    Josephine was so enraged that her words were stuck in her throat for a long time. When she finally got


    her words out, she bellowed furiously at my mother without a single care about her image.


    “Don''t say that, Mrs. Shaw. Since my daughter is going to marry into your family, it''s only appropriate


    for your family to prepare a betrothal gift. How could you call that extortion? Perhaps the Shaw family


    can''t keep their promise and is intending to walk away from this marriage? My daughter is clearly


    carrying Michael''s child. If you decide to back out, I don''t think it will be good for your family''s image if


    word gets out, don''t you think so too?”


    My mother was not dumb and began to threaten Josephine. When I witnessed her behavior, I got chills


    down my spine. She was clearly ckmailing the Shaw family using my marriage.


    “Y-You...”


    In the face of my mother''s threats, Josephine was so angry that she could not even utter a single word.


    At this point, there was nothing but anger on her graceful face.


    While I could not tolerate the banter that was going on, I also knew that my parents would not


    compromise, even if I were to advise them. The longer I remained there, the more humiliation I brought


    upon myself.


    Aftering to that realization, I stood up while holding back the tears in my eyes and left quickly.


    When Michael noticed I was leaving the room, a slight frown formed on his face. In the next second, he


    began to chase after me, leaving my parents and Josephine in the private room.


    Although I had been preparing for a long time, I still felt ufortable about it. Furthermore, my


    parents'' behavior did not leave me with any options. I did not know what to do right now or how to deal


    with Josephine in the future.


    When I walked out of the hotel, I could not hold back my tears anymore. Why did it turn out this way? I


    finally have a chance to be with Michael, and I also have a feeling that happiness is just around the


    corner. How did it be like this? Why is it so difficult for me to lead a simple and happy life?


    Michael was following behind and caught up to me. He then grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop in my


    tracks. However, I was crying profusely at this point.


    His eyes were filled with distress when he saw the teardrops streaming down my cheeks. I looked up at


    him, bing more and more aggrieved.


    “Why did this happen? Why are they doing this to me? What did I do wrong?”


    I threw myself into Michael''s arms and hugged his waist tightly as I expressed my sadness.


    He sighed helplessly and gently patted my shoulder. I could tell he was heartbroken to see me this way.


    “Don''t worry. I''ll take care of this.”


    Michael''s voice was not loud, but he sounded confident. Even though I knew he could solve the


    problem for me, I still felt wrong. My parents treating me like a cash cow was a hard pill to swallow.


    After all, they used my marriage to get more money for themselves.


    Is my happiness truly unimportant in their eyes? Do they have anything else in their minds besides


    money?


    While looking up at Michael with my tearful eyes, I asked, “Will you give them the money”


    “You''re not doubting my ability to fork out that sum, are you? Anna, am I really that incapable in your


    heart?”


    Michael lowered his head to look at me and spoke to me in a soothing tone. He used that tone because


    he did not want me to be too upset about this.


    Despite the fact that he did not directly answer my question, I knew he was nning to give my parents


    the money they had requested.


    I also knew that if the two of us wanted to be together in peace, we would have topromise and


    relent. However, I was unable to ept this kind of fate. Moreover, if he actually gave it to them,


    Josephine would despise me even more.


    “Two million is not a small amount at all. Furthermore, we don''t ask for that much money in the


    countryside.”


    I lowered my head slightly, feeling a twinge of guilt in my heart. How can I not feel guilty about it?


    Because of me, Michael has to fork out two million. Moreover, he helped my father pay for his surgery


    as well. The surgery cost hundreds of thousands, and now my parents are requesting a betrothal gift


    worth two million!


    “You''re priceless in my heart. Two million is nothing to me.”


    Looking at the guilty expression on my face, Michael let out a nonchnt chuckle. What he said


    caused my heart to skip a beat. I didn''t know what to say for a moment, so I just hugged him even


    tighter.


    In Michael''s heart, my baby and I were most important to him. I was well aware of that fact, but that


    was not the reason for my parents'' greed.