Chapter 4: Don't Make Me Despise You
"Zara Berry, I'm not asking you!" Brianna retorted without taking a look at her but kept her eyes fixed on Liam. "Liam, I really need the money now. I will pay you back as soon as I make any."
Liam looked rather awkward, "Brianna, you know how the company is doing now. If it's a few thousand dollars, I can help you, but fifty thousand! How do I get you that much money?"
Fortune Construction Company was expanding and did need money for new investments. Though fifty thousand dollars wasn't a casual amount, it wasn't a large sum for Liam either. If he really wanted to help, it wasn't a problem at all.
Brianna tried to reach Liam's arm, but Liam slapped her hand away and shouted at her, "Enough! Don't make me despise you."
Brianna stumbled and fell over, the pain was so sharp that she finally broke down, crying, "Liam..."
However, Liam ignored her completely and turned around to leave. Brianna quickly got herself up and stumbled towards him, finally managing to hold onto his leg. "Liam, please... Please help my Mom. I will pay you back. I swear..."
"Pay me back? How? Without me, you and your mother can't even survive, let alone making money for the surgery." Liam looked at Brianna up and down and added, "Brianna, you know what, if you do what I say, you won't need to worry about money. Take it as a compliment. If you help me get the contrast signed with Scott Anderson, I will give you one million, and I will make sure your mother gets the best treatment."
This is the man I've been with for so many years? How can he say this to me?!
Brianna stared at Liam and suddenly found herself looking at a strange face. The gentleness and affection she used to see had completely vanished. She let go of his leg and collapsed onto the ground.
Liam and Zara walked into the house without taking another look at Brianna.
Scott had been in the car parked in the distance, watching Brianna. He glanced at his assistant Levi, and Levi got out of the car at once. He walked towards Brianna, holding an umbrella. "Brianna Warren, if you agree to be his woman and do whatever he wants, then he will find your mother the best doctor and get her the best treatment and cover all the cost."
"I'm not a toy. I'm not his possession! I will pay him back!" Brianna cried.
"Brianna Warren, to be honest with you, it's rare that Mr. Scott Anderson finds a woman that he's interested in, but when he does, he's sure to have her. Also, if you don't do what he wants, I can assure you that you won't be able to find any job." Levi persuaded.
Although Brianna wanted to retort, she knew deep in her heart that she could do nothing about Levi’s threat. Slowly, she got up and followed Levi to the car.
When they arrived at Scott's villa, "Get a hot bath and get changed," Scott ordered.
Brianna shivered and stood still. Is he asking me to sleep with him tonight?
Scott seemed to have guessed her thoughts, "I don't force a woman to have sex with me, especially someone who's injured. It won't be fun anyway."
Relieved, Brianna went for a bath and got changed. After that, Brianna decided to go to see her mother. Just as she went downstairs, Scott called after her, "Brianna Warren, from head toe, every part of you belongs to me now. Without my permission, you are not allowed to go anywhere."
From head to toe?! Isn't he a tyrant? Brianna thought, but she dared not to object, for he somehow carried such irresistible air of authority. "I'm just thinking of going to see my Mom." She replied meekly.
"Your job is to please me. You don't need to worry about your mother."
"But she's my Mom. I'm her only family..." Tears started to fill Brianna's eyes again.
Impatiently, Scott answers, "Alright, alright. You can visit her once a week, and you completely belong to me except this once a week."
"Can I live with my Mom?" Brianna pleaded, and Scott replied with a sneer. "You have sold yourself to me, Brianna Warren. Are you trying to bargain with me? Also, you are not allowed to see that dumbass Liam Williams again."
"Why? Scott Anderson, you..."
"You know he's an asshole anyway. Why would you want to see him again?" Scott retorted sharply.
"He is...He..." Brianna hesitated, and tears filled her eyes.
"He's an asshole," Scott added.
"When I was ten years old, he saved me and ended up in the hospital for a few months. He and his family have been very kind to me, and in the past years, he has been paying for my Mom's treatment... It's been so many years, and I..."
"What I know is that because he saved you, your father treated him and his family very well, too well perhaps. Your father made his father the boss of a construction company out of a labor worker. When your father died, and your mother was seriously injured, your family's company went bankrupt, and you gave all the money that your father saved for you to that asshole's father for expanding their company. Now that their company has grown, they have all sorts of excuses not to give you the money for your mother's surgery."
"Did you investigate me?!" Brianna was shocked, hearing Scott speaking the cruel truth.
"Shouldn't I know what I'm buying before I make the purchase?" Scott replied matter-of-factly.
Brianna looked down onto the floor and said helplessly, "Sure."
Scott glanced at Levi, and Levi said to Brianna, "Brianna Warren, I have something to show you, and you will know what a real man Liam Williams is."
It was a video recording of Liam having sex with a girl.
"This happened on the same night when he drugged you and used you as bait to seduce Nelson Berry. If Mr. Scott Anderson didn't take you to the hotel room, surely you know what Nelson Berry would have done to you..." Levi explained.
Brianna found it impossible to believe that the man in the video was the same man she was in love with all these years.
"Brianna Warren, you probably have no idea at all, but this stingy asshole is actually very generous to his women. He's only stingy to you and your mother." Levi added.
Brianna closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face, which annoyed Scott. He held her chin tighter again and said, "How pathetic are you?! Why are you even crying for that asshole?!"
Brianna sobbed, "Right! I'm pathetic! What about you?! You bought me with money! What does that say about you?” She retorted without thinking, yet she regretted it right afterward. She was scared.
As expected, Scott Anderson's face turned stern immediately. He was furious. He lifted his arm up, about to slap Brianna, but Brianna raised her arm up instinctively, and Scott caught sight of her injured right hand. He heaved a sigh, and the angry feeling seemed to disappear. He said patiently, "I don't like to see women cry."
"Don't look at me then." Brianna retorted.
Scott sneered and gripped her chin even tighter. "Brianna Warren, you think too much of yourself, don't you? You are shouting at me for an asshole?! You wanna die?"
"No, I don't!" Brianna said subconsciously, then she thought of her mother in the hospital and regretted what she had just said. Meekly, she added, "I'm sorry. I should not have spoken to you like this. It won't happen again."
Scott took a thoughtful look at her and went upstairs to his bedroom. Brianna hesitated for a bit, then followed Scott upstairs, but she stayed in the room next door.
It was still early morning, and Brianna was asleep when the hospital rang. She was told that her mother had another mild attack and was now in a coma. They had to decide what to do next as soon as possible.
In a panic, Brianna rushed to ask Scott for help and found him eating breakfast quietly in the dining room.
After listening to Brianna's panicking explanation, Scott said casually, "Sit down and have breakfast."
"My Mom is..." Brianna retorted instantly but was cut short by Scott impatiently, "Sit down and have breakfast. And don't let me see you cry again."