Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Lewis had just finished his morning meeting and returned to his office when he noticed a missed call from his mother, Janice Hartman
Just as he was about to return the call, his phone rang again. He answered, “Mom, what’s up?”
“Lewis! I heard from your grandmother that you got married?” Janice asked excitedly over the phone.
“Yeah,” replied Lewis.
Janice sounded eager. “When are you bringing your wife home to meet us? Your grandparents have been looking forward to
Lewis gazed ahead and replied, “I’ll find a suitable time”
“Isn’t today the weekend? You can bring her to Springwood Manor. Your grandparents, your dad, and all your uncles and aunts are home,” Janice suggested.
“She works on a rotating schedule, and weekends are her busiest time,” Lewis changed the subject and said, “Since you’re back in the country, you should visit Grandma.”
“I already did. She said you’ve been taking great care of her,
“She also said your wife helped her a lot this time. She kept praising her, saying she’s beautiful and kind. Now I’m really curious to meet her!
“Now that you’re married and have someone to take care of you, I feel much more at ease.
“I bought tons of great stuff in Eurosia this time–scarves, handbags, watches, jewelry. Once you bring her home, I’ll finally have someone to give them to,” Janice said, growing more and more excited.
She was dying to meet the girl who had managed to win over her brilliant and notoriously picky son.
Lewis had a feeling his mother’s enthusiasm might overwhelm Doris.
“Mom, there’s something you don’t know,” Lewis said. “She doesn’t know my real identity–she thinks I’m just an ordinary guy,”
“You even kept that a secret? Aren’t you afraid she’ll be mad when she finds out?” Janice worried this could lead to trust issues between them.
“Mom, we got married fast. We don’t know much about each other yet, so we need time to build our relationship. When the time is right, I’ll tell her. That’s why if you meet her, you need to play along and not blow my cover.”
“Alright, alright,” Janice agreed. “As long as I get to meet her, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“She’s calling me now, gotta go.” Lewis saw Doris’s name flashing on his screen.
“Alright, I won’t disturb you’two,” Janice replied with a teasing smile.
Lewis answered Doris’s call. “What’s up?”
“Mr. Hartman, starting today, I have to work overtime. You’ll need to handle dinner yourself for a while.”
“Alright,” Lewis agreed without hesitation.
“That’s all then.”
1/3
16:12 Fri, 28 Feb MO
Chapter 36
“Wait, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“My family knows about our marriage now. My mom wants to meet you.” Lewis relayed his mother’s request.
“Your mom wants to meet me?” Doris wasn’t mentally prepared for that.
63%
“Well, you have to meet my family sooner or later. I know you’re not confident with your looks.” They had been married for almost a month already.
“Who are you calling ugly?” Doris shot back, offended. “If you want to bring someone prettier home, go ahead. I won’t stop you.”
Lewis was speechless.
Although she said she wouldn’t stop him, he could sense her jealousy.
“When’s your next day off? Let’s have a family dinner.” Lewis chose not to argue with her.
“The day after tomorrow. As for my parents, you’ve met them before. You know how they are. Honestly, it might be better if they don’t come,” Doris said indifferently. “But I’ll do my best.”
After ending the call with Lewis, Doris opened her mobile banking app and transferred $100,000 to Laura’s account.
She followed up with a call to Laura. “I just transferred $100,000 to your account. Use it to pay back Meghan Yates.”
Over the years, Doris had been handing over a chunk of her salary to her parents for household expenses. Despite saving diligently, she had only managed to put away about $65,000. The remaining was borrowed from Lola.
“Doris.” Laura felt a wave of emotions, guilt washing over her. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be burdening you like this.”
Laura knew this money must have been painstakingly saved by Doris.
She had given it all away–what was she going to do now?
“We’re family. Family helps each other in times of need.
“Remember when I didn’t have money for college? You gave me money to enroll.
“You were also afraid I wouldn’t have enough to buy food, so you sent me extra money every month.
“I haven’t forgotten all that you’ve done for me. Now that you need help and I can provide it, don’t feel bad about it.
“Money can always be earned again.”
Doris had never forgotten her sister’s kindness–now it was her turn to repay the favor.
“Doris, thank you. I’m so lucky to have you as my sister.” Laura was deeply grateful. “I’ll pay you back when I have the money.”
“Alright, we’ll talk about that later. I’ve got to get back to work–I’m swamped right now. I’ll visit you when I have time.” With that, Doris ended the call.
Doris found a part–time food delivery job at a company called “Foodexpress” and officially started working today.
After finishing her shift at the hotel, she began delivering food using a second–hand electric bike she bought for a few dozen dollars. It made things much more convenient.
2/3
16:12 Fri, 28 FebMD.
Chapter 86
She could deliver from 7 PM urail 1 or 2 AM If she worked hard, the could make at least a thousand dollars a month
She wanted to pay back the money the borrowed from Lols as cow as possible.
On her first day, Dark was so exhausted then the collapsed into bed a com as the got home. It wasn’t until the next day that she finally took a proper shower
Besides money, what Doris lacked the rest was deep
She returned home late every night and leh by 8AM every morning. I had been three days since the last saw Lewis
He hadn’t expected Doris to be even busier than him, the president of Hartman Group fr had gotten to the point where even meeting her was difficult
Not seeing her for three days made Lewis feel like something was missing. He wasn’t used to it.
On the fourth day. Doris had a day off and got up early in the morning.
Lewis had just returned from his run when Doris asked him to go to the wet market with her.
“Why go to the wet market? Doesn’t the supermarket have everything?”
“We need to buy a lot of things. At the wet market, you can bargain. Can you do that at a supermarket? Plus, the food is fresher there, much safer to eat.”
Lewis had never been to a wet market before and had no interest in going to such a chaotic place.
Seeing the distaste in his eyes, Doris didn’t want to force him.
“Forget it, I’ll go by myself,” she said, grabbing her bag and heading out.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go. Lewis couldn’t just let a woman handle everything alone.
So, he drove to the wet market Doris had mentioned.
She had discovered it after moving to Greenlake Hill. It was only three or four miles from their neighborhood, just a few minutes‘ drive away.
The market was bustling with vendors calling out to customers, the air filled with the vibrant energy of daily life.
People rushed about, all just for the sake of making a few bucks.
But Lewis couldn’t stand the noise, especially the strong smell of raw meat and seafood.
When Doris went to buy fish, he stayed far away, looking completely disgusted.
3/3
1
AD
Comment
