Earlier that afternoon, her stepmother had lured her to the hotel with a promise. As long as she convinced Zachary Gill to cooperate with their family, her elder brother's medical treatment would be covered.
She only learned the real arrangement after arriving. Her stepmother planned to marry her off to Zachary. The man was already over sixty.
Zachary had locked her inside the hotel room. While he was showering, she slipped out and ran into the hallway. She stopped near the door of an empty room to hide, but before she could react, another man pulled her inside and pinned her against the wall.
She never thought she would lose her virginity to someone she didn't know.
The entire night passed between tangled sheets and heated breaths.
Before sunrise arrived, Leyla slowly opened her eyes and realized the man beside her was already gone. Relief escaped from her lips.
Pain spread through her body while she picked her clothes up from the floor. She hurried to leave and never noticed the amber necklace slipping from her neck.
The moment Leyla stepped into the living room, she saw a tall man standing with his back facing her.
"You're awake," he said in a low voice.
Leyla froze where she stood.
Last night, the darkness kept her from seeing his face clearly. Even now, she could only see the back of his head, but his figure alone carried wealth and pressure.
Leyla immediately understood this wasn't someone she should provoke.
"There's a check for $1 million. Take it and don't appear before me again," Samuel Dawson said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
He never believed his grandmother arranged this woman beside him for marriage alone. In his eyes, she was probably sent to watch him.
Leyla straightened her back before answering, "I don't earn money that way!"
Her family never favored her, but she would never sell herself.
Samuel's voice grew colder. "Take the money and swallow the pill. I don't want an illegitimate child appearing one day and standing in my way."
"Why would I want to carry a stranger's child? I don't want yours either," Leyla retorted under her breath. Without waiting any longer, she picked up the pill from the table and swallowed it.
After that, she tossed a coin to the floor. "I'll cover the cost of the pill myself. That's what I wanted anyway."
The coin rolled all the way to Samuel. His expression darkened immediately.
"Take the check," Samuel said in a low voice. "There's nothing shameful about taking the money."
Leyla paid no attention to him and walked out directly.
No matter how badly she needed help, she wouldn't throw away her dignity.
Still, she needed money for her brother, so she planned to borrow some from her best friend, Averie Dawson.
Only after Samuel stood up did he notice the check still lying on the table. A cold laugh escaped from him.
In his eyes, this woman was probably pretending to refuse on purpose.
Samuel entered the bathroom to shower. Just as he was about to leave, Josh Reed, his secretary, approached him with an amber necklace in hand. "Mr. Dawson, the hotel staff found this while cleaning the room. Does it belong to you?"
Samuel casually lifted his gaze toward the necklace.
The moment he saw it, his eyes widened in shock.
Several emotions flashed across his face. "Find the woman from last night immediately."
Josh nodded before leaving at once.
...
Leyla had barely walked out of the hotel when she received a call from the hospital. "If your brother's medical bills aren't paid today, we'll have no choice but to stop his medication. He's still in the ICU. Without payment, we can only transfer him to a regular ward. If that happens, the possibility of brain death will become very high."
Panic filled Leyla's eyes at once. "Please give me thirty minutes. Just thirty minutes. I'll bring the money immediately. Please don't stop treating my brother."
While fighting back tears, Leyla ran toward the roadside to stop a taxi and quickly called Averie to borrow money.
If she had known things would turn out this way, she would've accepted the $1 million earlier. Her brother was still waiting for treatment, so what meaning did pride even have now?
Thankfully, Averie transferred $1 million to her account. She immediately returned to the hospital and paid the fees, but the doctor soon informed her that the money would only cover one week of treatment. After that, they would still need the same amount every single week.
A heavy feeling settled inside Leyla. The run from earlier left the taste of blood lingering in her throat.
She still needed to deal with her stepmother, but the pain in her back and waist hadn't eased yet. She didn't dare go confront her stepmother carelessly today. If her stepmother trapped her again, she wouldn't be able to escape a second time.
Right now, revenge no longer mattered to her. All she could think about was finding enough money to continue her brother's treatment.
Her phone kept vibrating nonstop. After picking it up, she saw message after message from Averie. Once again, Averie was begging her to marry her father.
"Please marry my dad. I'm seriously begging you this time. I don't want some random woman becoming my stepmother."
"If you marry him, you'll never have to worry about money again. Your brother can keep getting treatment too!"
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