Chapter 8

Charles turned his head away and said in a stilted tone, "What does this have to do with you? Don't think too much about it. It's just that Enna and I can no longer get along." Enna glared angrily at Charles, put a hand on her hip, and pointed a threatening finger at him. "How do you still have the nerve to speak? I've waited on you hand and foot for three years! Even if I haven't done much worth being credited for, I've at least put in a lot of hard work! "All I wanted you to do was persuade your daughter to think twice about her divorce! Is that so wrong? Aren't I doing it for her sake? If she just gets divorced like this, how is she going to support the family?" Charles was an honest and kind man who could not bring himself to say anything malicious despite the fact that he was livid with rage. He gripped the arms of his wheelchair tightly. "That wasn't what you said just now!" he shouted. No father could bear to listen to someone say such demeaning things about his daughter. Enrica did not want her father to be put on the spot, so she walked over to him and pushed his wheelchair along while telling him, "Go back to your room first, Dad. I'll talk to Enna." Charles held her hand and looked at her with determination in his honest eyes. "Please don't feel pressured to do anything, Enrica. I can take care of myself, so if she doesn't want to stay, then just let her leave. I don't want to see you have to accept a compromise for my sake." The hand holding hers was very rough, but it made her feel a warmth she had never felt before. She smiled with feigned ease. "It's alright, Dad. Don't worry. Enna and I had a bit of a misunderstanding around noon, so she's angry with me too. It'll be alright once I've talked things over with her." Charles sighed heavily, but he did not say anything else and allowed Enrica to wheel him back to his bedroom. Once Enrica came out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her, Enna said with a sour face, "It's useless to beg me. Either you apologize to the Zuckers and beg them to take you back, or you file a lawsuit against them for a large sum of compensation money. Otherwise, there's no way I'm staying with this family!" Enrica gazed at her. "Your thought process is far too simple. There's no way Miguel will remarry me because that will embarrass the Zuckers in the public eye. For a wealthy family like theirs, their reputation is more important than their lives." Enna frowned deeply and insisted, "Ask them for money, then! The Zuckers' assets should've been split between the two of you, so asking for several hundred million dollars in compensation shouldn't be an issue!" Enrica shook her head. "I can't. We had a prenuptial agreement notarized before marriage, and Miguel took an advance of ten years worth of his salary before that, so he only receives a hundred dollars in income every year." That was Jilliana's condition for agreeing to their marriage, which she had requested specifically as a countermeasure against Enna. Therefore, from a legal standpoint, Enrica would not be able to receive anything from the divorce. She continued to gaze at Enna. "Furthermore, do you know what became of the last person to cause a ruckus at Zucker Group's doorstep? They took that person to court, and the person was forced to pay 1.2 million dollars in compensation." Enna paled instantly. She did not have 1.2 million dollars on hand! It was only then that Enna realized Enrica's divorce was a lost cause. Her expression darkened, and she glared at Enrica. "Don't blame me for being unkind. You've seen for yourself how well I've been taking care of your father for the past three years. "Your father requires more than five thousand dollars a month for his rehabilitation, and Julian's school fees cost over four thousand dollars, which adds up to at least ten thousand dollars. If you include the family's expenditure on food and drinks, it's at least 15 thousand dollars a month. "Now that you've gotten divorced and don't have a proper job, how are you going to pay for all these expenses? I, for one, have no desire to let you drag me down with you!" Enrica understood why Enna felt such urgency. Julian, Enna's only son, was currently studying in a private high school. His grades were at rock bottom, he loafed around all day, and he got into trouble all the time. Enna had to worry about him going to college, finding work, getting himself a wife, and having children—many of which required money. However, the Schubert family clearly could not provide her with that money in their current state. She used to covet the Zuckers' wealth, but the Zuckers were out of the equation now. Enrica had no other choice, though. She did not possess any bargaining chips, but she still needed Enna to take care of her father. Therefore, she could only attempt to negotiate with Enna. She proposed, "I'll give you 15 thousand dollars on time every month, so can you please give me three months' time? In these three months, you can seek out a new husband. All I ask for is three months. If I don't show any promising change after three months, I'll give you an extra ten thousand dollars and you can leave at any time." No matter how one looked at it, it was a worthwhile deal. Enna turned it over in her mind. If she could get 15 thousand dollars a month, that would be 22 thousand dollars if she included the seven thousand dollars that she could scrounge up herself. Including the extra ten thousand dollars that Enrica would give her, that would be 32 thousand dollars in total. Furthermore, Enrica was not even stopping her from seeking better opportunities while still being married to Charles. She was already feeling good about the deal, but then she recalled the request from the parents of the child that Julian had gotten into a fight with at school that afternoon. She gritted her teeth. "You'll have to show me your sincerity first, no? Give me a hundred thousand dollars as collateral, and I'll return the money to you after three months!" Enrica frowned. "A hundred thousand dollars? That's far too much." The amount she had offered Enna in the beginning was already the most she could come up with. Enna's expression looked ugly. She crossed her arms over her chest and said in annoyance, "If you can't come up with a hundred thousand dollars, then don't bother saying anything else!" Enrica gritted her teeth and pleaded, "Please just consider it a good deed, Enna—" Enna sneered and cut her off before she could continue. "A good deed? I'm not a charity! If I help you, who's going to help me?" Enrica clenched her hands, feeling quite helpless for a moment. "Enna, I really can't come up with that much money." Enna scoffed. "I don't care. In case you complain that I'm not willing to help you, I'll give you three days' time. If you can't get the money within three days, I'll pack up my bags and leave!" She promptly stood up, walked toward her own bedroom, and slammed the door shut. Enrica sat in the living room with a heavy heart. She only had around 50 thousand dollars left on hand now. Her father required money, and the orphan she was financially supporting also needed money, so every bit of spending had to be carefully calculated. Enna had asked for a hundred thousand dollars and claimed that she would return the money in three months, but who was to say she would really keep her word? She knew that the cost of hiring a caretaker was very high, as she had inquired about it three years ago. Hiring someone to take care of someone like Charles, who required round-the-clock care, would cost her at least 30,000 dollars a month. Factoring in Charles' rehabilitation fees, she could not afford it. Moreover, caretakers were not necessarily reliable. Frequently changing caretakers in the first few months of employment were unavoidable. Even if she could afford it, she could not spare so much time away from work to deal with the complications involved, so both potential solutions were dead ends. After a long while, she took a deep breath and physically forced her lips to turn upward before walking into Charles' room with a smile on her face. Charles was sitting dazedly in front of his writing desk. There was a family photo on the desk depicting their family of three from three years ago. A single traffic accident had completely destroyed their family overnight. Enrica suppressed the bitterness in her heart and called out calmly, "Dad." Charles shuddered as if he was snapping out of some terrible memories. When he saw Enrica, he quickly regained his normal composure and asked, "Have the two of you finished talking it out?" Enrica smiled and replied, "It was actually just a small misunderstanding, and I've already apologized to Enna. Don't worry. Enna has already promised me that she'll take good care of you. We'll get through this rough patch together." Charles sighed in relief and patted her hand. "You should take good care of yourself as well. I know that you feel bad too, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. If things really don't work out, we can just sell the apartment. You'll always come first in my heart." Enrica became choked up, and she could not stop a few tears from escaping, but she stopped herself from crying openly. "Don't worry, Dad. I'm alright." She was afraid that Charles would notice something strange about her behavior, so she quickly found an excuse to leave. Charles remained sitting at his desk and picked up the photo frame as if in a trance. The three people in the photo were all smiling sweetly. After looking at it for a long time, he closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek. As a father, he had let his daughter down. However, there were some things that he could not—dared not—say aloud.