I widened my eyes, thinking I had misheard him, and asked, "What... What did you say?"
He stared deeply into my eyes, making my heart race for no apparent reason. He didn't say anything, just lowered his gaze, and his long fingers lightly pulled down the strap of my suspender dress.
My face turned red in an instant, and I quickly pushed him away. I exclaimed, "If you don't want to help, that's fine, I never expected you to help our family. However, you don't have to humiliate me like this."
Lucas looked at me, his face showing a mixture of emotions that I couldn't quite understand, somewhere between anger and amusement.
He said, "Do you think I'm humiliating you?"
"Isn't it?" I retorted.
He clearly had feelings for someone else, so what else could his actions towards me be but humiliation?
Lucas suddenly turned and sat down in his office chair. When he looked at me again, his gaze carried a hint of coldness.
He smiled and said, " You may be dressed appropriately, but your demeanor lacks sincerity. Given that, you can go now."
I had already expected that he wouldn't help our family, so I didn't say anything more and turned to leave. As soon as I walked out of his company's doors, my parents approached me.
My dad asked anxiously, "How did it go? Is he willing to help us?"
I shook my head.
My dad instantly got angry and cursed, "That ungrateful bastard! Now that he's successful, he turned his back on us. I knew it, I shouldn't have married you to him in the first place. He infuriates me."
My mom was equally infuriated and said, "Exactly! He always acted polite and meek, and now he has finally shown his true colors as an ungrateful bastard!"
I sighed in resignation. "Let's not speak ill of him like this. He hasn't used our connections or our money. How can we call him an ungrateful bastard? Actually, it's understandable that he doesn't want to help us, considering how badly we treated him in the past."
My parents pursed their lips, their faces filled with worry. Seeing them like that only gave me a pounding headache.
In the evening, my brother called up all his old buddies who used to be close to him, hoping they could lend a hand. However, when he called them to arrange a meet-up, they all refused to answer his calls. My brother, furious, smashed his phone and cursed them for being disloyal.
I comforted him from beneath the covers, "Forget it, brother. In today's society, loyalty is hard to come by."
My mom cried on the side.
Our current situation made it impossible for us to make a comeback, and the most pressing issue was our debts. Almost every day, a group of people came to collect debts, disrupting our lives completely.
My dad suggested, "Angela, why don't you go and talk to Lucas again? He's well-off now, and borrowing some money from him shouldn’t be a problem."
My mom chimed in, "Yes, even if you two are divorced, you can still get a share of the assets."
I curled up under the covers, not daring to tell them that I had been kicked out by Lucas. Otherwise, they would have surely cursed Lucas to no end.
My brother exclaimed angrily, "Come on, can't you all stop sending my sister to beg that man? Considering how badly we treated him before, asking my sister to seek his help now is like putting her through humiliation, isn't it?"
My mom seemed to realize this just now and quickly asked, "Lucas didn't humiliate you during the day, did he?"
I shook my head hastily. "No, he didn't."
My mom muttered to herself, " As I reflect on it, Lucas has consistently been sincere and obedient, especially towards you. Despite our current challenging circumstances, if he truly cares for and admires you, how could he possibly humiliate you?"
I smiled with surprise but didn't say anything.
My dad sighed, looking at the open balcony, and said he didn't want to live anymore. As soon as he said that, my mom started crying. Seeing them like this made my head ache.
The main focus now was raising money, paying off some of the debts if possible. After a few days, once my health improved, I started looking for work. Regular jobs paid poorly and took time to bring in money, but I knew that sales positions in upscale clubs could earn a decent income.
I had often been to these clubs with friends before, and when we were in a good mood, we would tip the liquor promoters generously.
I went to the club I used to frequent. The club manager recognized me, and due to our previous acquaintanceship, he hired me quickly. He even assigned me to take care of the private rooms for the VIPs. Serving drinks to these VIPs always resulted in good tips.
However, I never expected to run into Lucas in one of these private rooms. Lucas had never frequented places like this before, at least not during the three years we were married. In fact, he used to be quite against me coming to such places.
I remembered that when I came here with friends in the past, he had even tried to stop me a few times, telling me not to go because these were indecent places. Of course, every time, I would humiliate him and drive him away.
Thinking back, he used to appear as a kind and virtuous man.
But now, in this moment, Lucas was seated at the center, his long legs crossed, holding a cigarette between his fingers, with a sly and alluring smile playing on his lips. It seemed that his previous image of being mild and virtuous was all an act.
He gazed at me silently, with an air of superiority that left me feeling embarrassed. If only I had known he was in this private room, I wouldn't have entered.
Just when I was feeling so awkward that I wished I could find a hole to hide in, the private room suddenly filled with a few suggestive whistles. I instinctively looked in that direction and realized that everyone sitting around Lucas was the same group of people who used to hang out with me and my brother.
It seemed they had all turned to flatter Lucas now.
They all knew how badly I had treated Lucas in the past, and now, in their eagerness to flatter him, they couldn't resist humiliating me.
At this moment, it was best to play along.
Just as I was pushing the drinks cart, preparing to exit as if nothing had happened, a man spoke up, "Well, if it isn't the Ford family heiress? Aren’t you Lucas' sweet little wife? What's the occasion? Here for a drink? Well, if you're, just enjoy it. No need for the work uniform, right?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, the private room erupted in laughter.
I tightened my grip on the cart's handle and took a deep breath. Considering they had already seen me and were determined to embarrass me, there was no use in running away. I decided to confront them head-on; perhaps I could even receive some tips from them.
With debt collectors hounding us daily, my dad saying he didn't want to live anymore, my mom constantly in tears, and my brother doing food deliveries all day, I couldn't be bothered about my brief sense of pride and self-respect.
I pushed the drinks cart forward, wearing a forced but courteous smile. I spoke to them, "Well, isn't this a surprise! Since I'm here, how about I handle your drinks? If you enjoy yourselves, maybe you could think about leaving me a tip."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Richard Byrne shook his head and sneered.
In the past, he used to shower my brother and me with endless flattery, treating us like his own siblings. But as my family faced tough times and I saw his smirking face, I had the urge to slap him. However, at that moment, it wasn't the time to hold onto grudges; our top priority was to earn money.
I kept on smiling and said nothing.
Suddenly, Richard leaned in closer to me, gloating, "Look at you, is this still the arrogant Miss Ford from before? Long time no see, how did you end up like this? Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Once again, the private room burst into laughter.
