By the time she snapped out of it, Leslie was already dragging her out of the venue.


    “I''ll go with you,” he said.


    “|... | didn’t get a loan,” she exined.


    “| know. You wouldn''t have to marry me otherwise.”


    He pushed her into the car.


    “What''s going on?” Aurelia had heard of the word “usurious loan” when she was young.


    Her neighbor at the time was addicted to gambling and borrowed money from the inte.


    At first, he managed to win and his family of three was happy for a time.


    However, he soon started losing.


    Reluctant to give up, he went for another loan.


    In the end, he lost his house and his wife left with their child.


    As for what became of the neighbor, sheter learned that he had his leg broken by one of his creditors and no one knew what


    happened afterward.


    From Aurelia’s perspective, getting a usurious loan was the same as getting a death sentence.


    ata


    There was no way that she would ever get a loan.


    She really didn’t know what was happening.


    Just as her expression paled and sank deep into her thoughts, someone handed her a bottle of water.


    “I''m right here.”


    Leslie didn’t raise his voice, yet it was powerful enough to calm her.


    She took a sip of water.


    “Thank you, Mr. Synder.”


    Leslie didn’t say much, but there was a hint of unreadable emotions in his eyes.


    At thepany, Aurelia noticed two vans parked downstairs.


    From the scary expression on the drivers‘ faces, she was sure they were the debt collectors.


    The driver nced at Aurelia and she stiffened.


    However, Leslie blocked the driver’s line of sight and pulled her into the elevator.


    “Are you okay? Do you need...” he asked.


    “lcan handle it.”


    Aurelia clenched her fists and looked at Leslie.


    “I''m not just acting tough. | genuinely can. | won''t let those people harm me.


    Leslie nodded.


    Watching Aurelia, he felt a strange tightness in his chest.


    It hurt a bit, but he chose to respect her.


    With him around, they couldn’t cause much trouble here.


    When they reached the office door, Aurelia saw her colleagues huddled in a corner.


    Meanwhile, a group of burly men stood inside, acting aggressively.


    “It''s only right to repay debts!”


    “If the 200 thousand wasn’t paid back today, none of you get to leave.”


    A tattooed man kicked over a paint bucket, and red paint flowed down the corridor toward the colleagues.


    Kimberly spotted Aurelia right away and pointed at her.


    “Aurelia owes you money, not us! Go to her!”


    Millie trembled in fear and said, “Yeah, it’s all her fault.”Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    The tattooed man turned to look at Aurelia at the door and smirked.


    urend at


    “The main character has finally arrived. Let''s calcte how much you owe. You borrowed 180 thousand from our website, and


    agreed to repay five thousand per day, and it’s been overdue for three days. With interest, you now owe us 200 thousand.”


    The amount coincidentally matched the price of Aurelia’s emerald ne.


    Was it just a coincidence?


    Aurelia found it strange, and surprisingly, Millie stepped forward.


    “Aurelia, aren’t you going too far? You borrowed money from such a shady website just topete. with me. These are loan


    sharks and you''re risking your life! Your mother is still in the hospital, and you are this greedy and vain?”