A Night with Her Cruel Mate

When Julia got home, Consuela had just finished cooking breakfast. She glanced at Julia and rolled her eyes. "Would you come
here if it weren't time for breakfast?"
In response, Julia laughed.
"I made you porridge. You drank way too much last night, so you should eat light for breakfast," Consuela said as she handed
Julia the bowl and a pair of chopsticks.
"How did you know that I drank a lot?" Julia blurted out, immediately feeling stupid after she asked.
Samuel must have been worried, so he called Consuela again.
She lowered her head and quietly ate her porridge.
"Julia..." Consuela stressed her name. She wasn't about to let Julia get out of this easily. "How do you think of Samuel?"
"What do you mean?" Julia stopped eating and stared at Consuela with a quizzical expression.
"Just tell me!" Consuela insisted. She couldn't help but scold Julia inwardly for being so stupid. He was such a good man. Why
didn't she cherish him?
"Well, he..." Julia stammered and then she smiled. "He's always so cheeky and playful around me, so I never seem to know what
he's thinking of. I do know that he's a good man. Honestly, I have to thank him for what happened yesterday."
"Julia, don't you know? He is always serious when he's with other people. He's only like that with you," Consuela said.
"Really?" Julia asked, pausing for a while. "Maybe, it's because I already know him so well."
"Don't you think he will make a good..." But before Consuela could finish, she stopped and sighed. "Never mind. It's nothing."
"What's wrong with you? You're so mysterious today," Julia remarked doubtfully.
Before Consuela could answer, Julia's phone suddenly rang. It was Mandy.
She hesitated for a while before picking it up. She immediately heard Mandy's sharp voice piercing through the phone. "Julia,
how's the money I asked you to prepare? I'm still waiting for it so that I can buy Jean a house. Hurry up, I don't have the patience
to wait for you."

Julia tightened her hand around the phone and forced a bitter smile on her face. "Don't worry," she said through gritted teeth. "I
won't forget what I promised to give you."
She checked the clock for the time and added, "I'll come to you at two o'clock in the afternoon."
Without waiting for Mandy to reply, she hung up. Consuela could see that Julia was bothered and sad, and couldn't help but ask,
"Do you really want to give her that much money?
She may be your mother, but you've treated her so well for the past few years. You don't really need to—"
"Well, you don't have to say anything," Julia interrupted with a bitter smile on her face. "I've already made up my mind."
Consuela didn't bother to argue with her anymore. She seldom intervened in Julia's decisions. Although she was Julia's agent,
their relationship was more of a friendship.
"Since you've made up your mind, I won't say anything else. I understand your situation now. You can stay here as long as you
want. You don't have to feel so stressed." That was all the help that Consuela could offer to Julia.
When Julia and Terence got divorced, she received an alimony of five million dollars. If she included her savings, the total
amount she had was eight million dollars. Complying with the deal, she deposited the money to a bank card and visited Mandy's
place at the agreed time.
As expected, Mandy didn't go out. She was waiting for her inside.
Mandy looked at Julia as if she was looking at a stranger.
Julia entered and found a place to sit on. The room was still a mess, but she forced herself to ignore it.
"Where is the money?" Mandy demanded, not wanting to waste any more time.
"Here's the card." Julia handed Mandy the card. "Mom, I'm going to ask you one last time. If you take this, then you won't have
anything to do with me in the future. Have you already made up your mind?"
"Just give me the card," Mandy insisted, grabbing it without hesitating.
Julia's heart sank at Mandy's decision. Forcing a smile on her face, she muttered, "Well, I've got to go now."

But Mandy didn't answer Julia as she left. Taking out her phone, she dialed Jean's number. "Jean, she's given me the money.
What do we do next?"
Jean was lounging in the villa when she received a phone call from her mother. Upon hearing the news, she silently rejoiced.
She hesitated for a while before giving Mandy instructions. "I've sent you the address of where I'm currently staying. Just follow it
and we'll meet here. We can talk about the next step later."
Mandy hang up the phone and found the address. She frowned; wasn't this the same place where Julia used to live?
Although she wasn't so close to Julia, she still knew where she had lived.
Upon arriving, Mandy rang the doorbell. Sherry scurried to open it and found Mandy, her face showing disappointment. "Miss Gu
is waiting for you inside."
Mandy was confused, Sherry used to be polite to her whenever she visited. Did something wrong happen? Also, why was Jean
living here?
Filled with doubts, Mandy entered and found Jean sitting on the swing-set, looking like a hostess.
"Jean, what the hell is going on? Are you really in love with Terence?" Mandy exclaimed. Although she didn't want to think about
it, it seemed to be the only explanation as to why Jean was living here.
"It's none of your business," Jean retorted impatiently. "Where is the money?"
"It's in here." Mandy held the card out to Jean. "I checked how much is in the account on the way here. There's only eight million.
So I guess that is the only amount Julia could give right now."
A victorious smile appeared on Jean's face. Of course she had checked Julia's financial situation before she did this. She
sneered at her mother and beckoned for her to sit down. "Now we can discuss the next plan. You'll need to..."
After whispering her plan in Mandy's ear, Mandy became troubled. She looked at her daughter and asked, "Isn't this too much?
Julia treated me well while you were gone, but if we do this, she will be ruined!"
"What? Are you distressed now?" Jean haughtily sneered. "If you feel sorry for her, then just leave me alone."
"I didn't mean that." Mandy hastily responded, seeing that Jean was getting angry. "I just don't understand why you are doing
this. You've already won. Why can't you just let her go?"