When she went downstairs, her phone rang again. Victor Henson's name kept flashing on the screen.
Willow didn't even hesitate—she hung up.
A little over ten seconds later, his message came through. Just a single punctuation mark: ?
Willow paused, then replied: The rain's too heavy. Can't get a cab. Running over right now. Wait for me a bit longer.
After the message sent, there was no reply. Just like always.
Willow gave a self-mocking smile and silently added his contact to the blacklist.
When she stepped outside, the rideshare she'd booked in advance was already waiting.
When Victor had called her, the rain was coming down hard. She'd waited forever and still couldn't flag down a car, so she'd had to book a rideshare ahead of time, with the pickup location pinned near the club. She'd been afraid his stomach condition would flare up and the medicine wouldn't work—and by then, it would be too late to find a car.
Now, looking back at everything she'd done, the words pathetic hanger-on kept spinning through her mind.
She figured it was probably because her life had been too comfortable lately. Made her head go soft. Made her single-mindedly determined to create trouble for herself.
When she was ten, her parents had taken her out for a day trip. On the way back, they got into a car accident. She was the only one who survived.
The Sullivan family made it clear they didn't want her. Said she was a girl—what use was that? Called her a jinx. Between the lines, the message was obvious: don't bother coming back.
It was her uncle and aunt who took her in.
Her aunt couldn't have children of her own. All these years, her uncle and aunt had treated her like their daughter. Whatever she wanted, they gave her—except for Victor Henson.
Her aunt had said the Henson family was a dragon's den, and Victor didn't look like someone who could protect her.
Willow hadn't believed it back then. She'd even kept talking up Victor's good points to them.
But now? Now her face burned with humiliation.
The curtain of rain blurred the lights and scenery outside the window, and it gradually blurred the chaos in her heart too.
After getting her hand bandaged at the hospital, she took a cab to the hotel.
When she pulled out her phone to pay, a pop-up notification appeared with a piece of news:
#The person in power at Farley Group suddenly returned to the country today#
She scrolled down. There was an extremely blurry photo attached.
Willow didn't pay it any attention and opened the payment app.
She'd heard that the young Mr. Farley her aunt had found for her—though he carried the Farley name—didn't have inheritance rights. So after she married in, she probably wouldn't have much contact with whoever was actually in power.
Thinking about the marriage alliance now, her heart didn't ripple much anymore.
Her uncle and aunt had been so good to her. She should be sensible too.
Early the next morning, when Willow returned to the Mason residence, Georgia had already laid out all of Jesse Farley's photos and information in front of her.
His looks were decent. His whole vibe gave off a spirited, ambitious energy—like a young man ready to take on the world.
Among the Farley family's younger generation, he ranked third. Word was he'd just come back from studying abroad, and his personality was supposed to be pretty agreeable.
Even without inheritance rights, with the Farley name backing him, his future would be smooth sailing. Not a bad deal.
"There's a banquet tonight. You'll come with me—it's the perfect chance for the two of you to meet."
Georgia paused after she finished speaking. After hesitating back and forth, she finally told Willow something else about Jesse Farley.
Only then did Willow understand why someone with her status could marry into one of Harbor City's top-tier wealthy families.
Jesse Farley had gotten involved with some woman at a nightclub—and gotten her pregnant.
After she gave birth, the woman tried to leverage the child to climb the social ladder. The Farley family would never let someone like that into the family, and they didn't want to make a scandal of it either. So on one hand, they paid the woman off and sent her away. On the other hand, they found Jesse a well-educated, sensible wife—one who would be easy to control.
"This situation—if you can't accept it, then forget the whole marriage. Don't blame your aunt. I only just heard about it myself."
Even though Willow wasn't her biological daughter, Georgia had truly loved her for over ten years.
If they hadn't already reached the point of having no other choice, she really wouldn't have resorted to this.
"Aunt, I can accept it."
Money and status. And she could become a mother without going through the pain of childbirth. Aside from not having love, she'd have everything.
This marriage was perfect for her.
