Chapter 48: I Want to Live With Dignity
Melodious background music could be heard from a coffee shop. Wilson and Alina sat in an inconspicuous corner of the shop.
Alina ordered orange juice as usual. She never drank coffee. Wilson gently stirred a teaspoon in his cup of coffee.
Alina gulped down half of the orange juice, then she looked at Wilson and smiled. "You seem to always catch me at my most embarrassing moments. Have you ever thought of something?" "What?" Wilson looked up and raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Don't you think it could be more than just a coincidence? Every single time, whenever I'm in an awkward situation, you would happen to witness it. I've been bullied, been insulted verbally, in the future I might even get beat up. In fact, you should have thought of it. This is my life and my world. I am a person who is unwelcome anywhere I go."
"Do you have anything more to say?" Wilson's eyebrows twitched. This woman was a sincere and genuine person. Compared to other pretentious women who tried to get his attention, Alina was in a different class.
Alina continued, "My mother loves money more than anything. The only time she will treat me a little better is when I bring my salary home every month. To be fair, I'm not an obedient daughter, I'm always rebelling against her wishes. However, I can't live the way she wants me to. That is why our relationship has deteriorated to what you saw today. My family is not only poor financially, but filled with endless insults and cursing. Being related by blood doesn't mean anything when we are more like enemies."
Alina looked up at Wilson and gave him a sad smile. "Initially, I thought your world would be relatively simpler, so I wanted to use you to escape from my plight. I apologize for my selfishness. I didn't consider your situation at all and I never thought that I would cause you trouble."
"What do you mean? You've caused me trouble?" Wilson smiled meaningfully as he scrutinised her. He wanted to understand her point of view. What kind of trouble did she think she had caused him?
Alina pressed her lips together and finished the remaining orange juice in the glass. She continued after that, "Although I don't know much about your situation, I observed the way your extended family looked at you during dinner. It's obvious that the Scott Family has some internal conflict and you are in constant competition against them. Your cousins planned to remove you from the president's position, right?" "You are right!" Wilson raised his eyebrows again.
"That's why you should be more rational at this crucial moment. If I get married to you, your position might be taken over by them. I now understand why their girlfriends looked at me with such disdainful and provocative eyes during dinner!" Alina had a sudden epiphany.
"In your eyes, I can't even handle this? Am I that useless?" Wilson was a little vexed.
Alina ordered another glass of orange juice with a relaxed smile on her face. "I didn't mean it that way. However, Scumbag, can you imagine our married life later? Being married to a wife who you don't love, a brother-in-law who is poor but has a taste for branded items, and a mother-in-law who is a gold digger? My mother only lives for money and she will turn against you if you get in her way. I can't even imagine it. If I were to be in your shoes, I would go crazy having in-laws like these!"
"Money is not a problem for me. I have lots of money!" Wilson continued stirring his coffee nonchalantly. In his life, he had never worried about money. To him, if a problem could be resolved with money, it was never a problem in the first place.
Alina's smile became wider. "I'd rather live with dignity. At the very least, I don't want to look down on myself. Scumbag, did you know? Right now, even when I am seated across you, I don't feel on par with you. We clearly agreed that we would not interfere with each other's life after marriage and live our lives separately. Our marriage would be just a facade to the outside world. However, the truth is that I'm living off your money and using the two million dollars on your card." 00000000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐