A Contract Marriage With My Boss

In the hospital corridor, the atmosphere was like ice.

Serena felt her chest tighten and wondered how this sudden news would change her life.

"Are you deaf? I'm telling you again! THE WEDDING is in the THREE DAYS later!"

The women yelling angrily was Michelle, Serena's stepmother.

She stood there with distant and disgusted expression even on her exquisitely made-up face, her voice full of ruthlessness and mockery, looking very impatiently at the quiet and silent young woman in front of her.

Serena froze in place with her head down, the news like a pot of cold water suddenly poured over her head, catching her off guard.

She slowly looked up at the hideous woman in front of her and snapped softly,

"Me?"

Faced with Serena's insensitivity, Michelle couldn't hide her displeasure.

She scowled as if Serena was a lowly, insignificant person, her words filled with coldness and sarcasm,

"Don't you dare put on a pity face! Thank your good father for that! Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to marry Matthew Harrington, bitch!"

Harrington?

Serena knew that the Harrington family were the richest family in all of Hustleburg, if not the country, synonymous with wealth and power.

It sounded like the perfect marriage.

But it was Matthew.

Word on the street was that he suffered from a severe health condition and was on the brink of death.

It had been a long time since he'd been seen in public, and the rumors seemed to hold a grain of truth...

And the so-called 'good father' Michelle was talking about had no qualms about using her like a cheap commodity for a good cause.

Serena chuckled softly at the realization.

She had once believed that her father was deceived by her stepmother, and that he had distanced himself from her out of necessity.

But now, it was clear she had been overly naive.

Michelle noticed the change in her expression as she raised her hand to remove her sunglasses and looked at Serena with disdain,

"What, happy now? All right, it's as good as it gets for someone like you, a bitch."

Serena looked up with a mocking expression and retorted, "It's about time you fought for something good for your own daughter, isn't it?"

It was the first time Serena tried to fight back, she felt the fire burning inside her, but in the very next second...

SLAP--

A resounding slap struck Serena's face, causing her head to snap to the side and her cheek to burn for a brief moment.

Michelle didn't hesitate to raise her voice to threaten her, "Who the HELL do you think you are? The way you're talking to me RIGHT NOW, you should have been DEAD long ago!"

“I'm warning you. We've already promised them. When the time comes, even if we have to tie you up, we'll do that!"

Serena lowered her gaze, her hand gently caressing her numbing cheek, her courage and anger seemingly shattered by the blow.

Michelle, perhaps thinking that verbal threats were not enough, raised her chin slightly and swept her eyes in the direction of the hospital room,

"Bitch, I strongly advise you to be on time, and If you attempt to escape, I will have the dialysis tubes removed right now and then I will have Alex FUCK you!"

Alex, Michelle's son, had long lusted Serena's beauty.

If Michelle hadn't wanted her husband to get suspicious, she would have let Alex rape her!

Serena's fists clenched, a mix of anger and despair surging through her like a tidal wave, but with an underlying sense of powerlessness.

Michelle had a firm grip on Serena's vulnerability, and she couldn't fight back.

She needed their support to cover her grandmother's medical bills, which was the root cause of her inability to escape this hell.

Just yesterday, Serena had turned down the opportunity to pursue her J.D. to work and earn money more quickly.

But evidently, her grandmother couldn't wait any longer.

Serena gazed down at her shoes, took a deep breath, and finally gritted her teeth, accepting her fate. "I'll be there."

"Wouldn't it have been easier if you had been this reasonable from the start? That old woman in there might have suffered a little less, and it would have been easier for you," Michelle sneered, as if expecting Serena's capitulation, and she donned her sunglasses once more.

"After you get married, your punk husband will be responsible for the remaining medical bills."

With that, she turned and sauntered away, leaving behind an air of arrogance.

Only when Michelle's figure had completely vanished at the end of the corridor did Serena turn around.

Suddenly, her legs felt weak, and she bent over, leaning against the doorframe.

Through the window, she saw her grandmother on dialysis, barely clinging to life.