Chapter 305 You Are Priceless
“What do you mean two million? Are you crazy!” Josephine stood up abruptly. A glint of rage flashed across her eyes as she looked at my mother. It was clear that she could no longer put up with my mother’s outrageous behavior.
Furthermore, my heart sank when I noticed Michael was furrowing his brows as well. I knew that two million meant nothing to Michael, but my mother used our marriage to extort such a huge sum of money from him. I could not help wondering if he was feeling sorry for me.
“Mom, don’t you think this is too much?”
Seeing that Michael did not respond after a while, I frowned and looked at my mother with displeasure. I was not expecting her to ask for such a ridiculous amount of money.
“Is two million too much? I raised you from a young age and spent so many years taking care of you. You wouldn’t be where you are right now if it weren’t for your parents. How is it too much to ask for two million? I don’t think the Shaw family will have a problem fulfilling my request even if I’m asking for twenty million.”
My mother’s tone was laced with annoyance when she realized I was taking the Shaw family’s side. She looked at me with rage-filled eyes and scolded me as if I was an unfilial daughter.
Nonetheless, I was dissatisfied with my mother’s actions. She had gone overboard by requesting a two-million betrothal gift. To put it into perspective, in the countryside, betrothal gifts of ten to eighty thousand were already considered excessive.
“How dare you have the audacity to ask for two million as a betrothal gift? Do you really think your daughter is worth that much money? This is ridiculous!” Josephine jumped from her seat and snorted coldly.
She cast an unhappy gaze at my mother and was visibly upset by the shocking request.
I was well aware of Josephine’s dislike toward me. She had always suspected that I got together with Michael because I was after his money. Now that she was saying these things about me in front of my parents, I could not help but feel heartbroken, despite it being the truth.
“Based on your words, it seems to me that Michael isn’t sincere about marrying Anna. How could you try to settle things in such a half-hearted manner when my daughter is already pregnant with your son’s child?”
My mother was unwilling to back down and stood her ground against Josephine. She appeared to be hell-bent on obtaining the two-million betrothal gift. However, Josephine had already expressed her disapproval of my relationship with Michael. Coupled with the fact that my parents were being greedy, I was afraid that our marriage plans would fall through because of the discord between our families.
“You are clearly trying to extort us!”
Josephine was so enraged that her words were stuck in her throat for a long time. When she finally got her words out, she bellowed furiously at my mother without a single care about her image.
“Don’t say that, Mrs. Shaw. Since my daughter is going to marry into your family, it’s only appropriate for your family to prepare a betrothal gift. How could you call that extortion? Perhaps the Shaw family can’t keep their promise and is intending to walk away from this marriage? My daughter is clearly carrying Michael’s child. If you decide to back out, I don’t think it will be good for your family’s image if word gets out, don’t you think so too?”
My mother was not dumb and began to threaten Josephine. When I witnessed her behavior, I got chills down my spine. She was clearly blackmailing the Shaw family using my marriage.
“Y-You…”
In the face of my mother’s threats, Josephine was so angry that she could not even utter a single word. At this point, there was nothing but anger on her graceful face.
While I could not tolerate the banter that was going on, I also knew that my parents would not compromise, even if I were to advise them. The longer I remained there, the more humiliation I brought upon myself.
After coming to that realization, I stood up while holding back the tears in my eyes and left quickly.
When Michael noticed I was leaving the room, a slight frown formed on his face. In the next second, he began to chase after me, leaving my parents and Josephine in the private room.
Although I had been preparing for a long time, I still felt uncomfortable about it. Furthermore, my parents’ behavior did not leave me with any options. I did not know what to do right now or how to deal with Josephine in the future.
When I walked out of the hotel, I could not hold back my tears anymore. Why did it turn out this way? I finally have a chance to be with Michael, and I also have a feeling that happiness is just around the corner. How did it become like this? Why is it so difficult for me to lead a simple and happy life?
Michael was following behind and caught up to me. He then grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop in my tracks. However, I was crying profusely at this point.
His eyes were filled with distress when he saw the teardrops streaming down my cheeks. I looked up at him, becoming more and more aggrieved.
“Why did this happen? Why are they doing this to me? What did I do wrong?”
I threw myself into Michael’s arms and hugged his waist tightly as I expressed my sadness.
He sighed helplessly and gently patted my shoulder. I could tell he was heartbroken to see me this way.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.”
Michael’s voice was not loud, but he sounded confident. Even though I knew he could solve the problem for me, I still felt wrong. My parents treating me like a cash cow was a hard pill to swallow. After all, they used my marriage to get more money for themselves.
Is my happiness truly unimportant in their eyes? Do they have anything else in their minds besides money?
While looking up at Michael with my tearful eyes, I asked, “Will you give them the money”
“You’re not doubting my ability to fork out that sum, are you? Anna, am I really that incapable in your heart?”
Michael lowered his head to look at me and spoke to me in a soothing tone. He used that tone because he did not want me to be too upset about this.
Despite the fact that he did not directly answer my question, I knew he was planning to give my parents the money they had requested.
I also knew that if the two of us wanted to be together in peace, we would have to compromise and relent. However, I was unable to accept this kind of fate. Moreover, if he actually gave it to them, Josephine would despise me even more.
“Two million is not a small amount at all. Furthermore, we don’t ask for that much money in the countryside.”
I lowered my head slightly, feeling a twinge of guilt in my heart. How can I not feel guilty about it? Because of me, Michael has to fork out two million. Moreover, he helped my father pay for his surgery as well. The surgery cost hundreds of thousands, and now my parents are requesting a betrothal gift worth two million!
“You’re priceless in my heart. Two million is nothing to me.”
Looking at the guilty expression on my face, Michael let out a nonchalant chuckle. What he said caused my heart to skip a beat. I didn’t know what to say for a moment, so I just hugged him even tighter.
In Michael’s heart, my baby and I were most important to him. I was well aware of that fact, but that was not the reason for my parents’ greed.
