Chapter 10 The Utterly Shameless Howard

• I knew I should have changed the lock a long time ago. If I had done so, I would not need to be seeing these two in my house right now.
• Similarly, Howard and Susan were evidently shocked by my appearance.
• Hopping over with a plaster cast on his right leg, he politely greeted, “Jennifer, you’re back?”
• He looked like a different person altogether, with that forced grin on his face.
• “What are you doing in my house?” It took a while for me to come up with an appropriate response.
• Howard fell silent as if he had difficulty explaining the situation.
• Right then, his mother took over instead. Walking over to hold my hand, she said, “Jennifer, I now know everything. I think you’ve misunderstood Howard! Howard and Shannon are just friends, so please come back because Howard misses you a lot.”
• This is incredulous. What kind of bulls*it did Howard spout?
• Stammering, Howard returned my look of disbelief with, “Y-Yes, Jennifer, i-it was all just a misunderstanding. P-Please forgive me.”
• “Howard, what an interesting act you’re putting up right now. Do you think I’m going to be an obedient cast and play along? Try harder.”
• The despicable man was stunned for a moment and then, to my surprise, resorted to tears. “P-Please, Jennifer, come back to me. I promise to treat you better.”
• Just what is he doing? First, he tried to scam me, and now what?
• All of a sudden, Susan walked towards her son and gave him a few harsh slaps across the face, along with a tirade. Then, returning to me with a drastically different attitude, she pleaded, “Please forgive Howard. I really wish to have you in the family. If you’re still worried, you two can get married for a sense of security.”
• I scoffed at her suggestion. “Mrs. Coffey, you can save your breath. I will never get back together with Howard. After all, I can never forgive what he has done!”
• Albeit so, the lady resorted to even more emotional pleads. Grabbing my hands even tighter, she cried, “Please don’t do this to us, Jennifer. Please don’t leave Howard in the ditch now that you have a better and wealthier partner...”
• It took me a moment to process her words. “In a ditch?”
• “One of my business investments failed, and now I’m in a lot of debt,” Howard came crawling to my legs and said. “I have nothing now, except for you. Please don’t leave me, Jennifer.” At this point, he was essentially rendering me immobile by hugging my legs.
• Whether his plight was a pack of lies, there was no obligation for me to help him. Pushing him away, I shouted, “Please get out of here!”
• Howard stumbled backward - he would have fallen if there was no wall for him to hold on to.
• His mother paused for a while before sighing. “Jennifer, are you really not going to help Howard?”
• “I doubt I have the ability to help him anyways.”
• “You do!” Howard exclaimed as he leaped over once again and grabbed onto my arm. “You have Lucian, don’t you? He’s filthy rich. Can’t you just get him to pay off my debts for me?”
• Finally, everything clicked. Howard was back simply to leverage on my connections with Lucian. “Get him to pay off your debts? How much would that be?”
• Hearing my response, Howard’s eyes brightened in an instant. “One million!”
• “Howard Coffey, how shameless can you get? You want Lucian to help you pay off one million worth of debt? He is literally unrelated to you! What right do you have to demand this so nonchalantly?”
• “You got to help me, Jennifer. Otherwise, both my mother and I are screwed. The debt collectors would find us soon... Didn’t you once say that my mom treated you well? Even if you’re not willing to help me, at least treat this as if you’re helping her?”
• This guy is a freaking disgrace to humankind! How dare he used his mother’s name and played the pity card!
• “Jennifer... Please just help Howard. Otherwise, he’s going to be a fugitive from now on.” Susan’s voice trembled as she spoke.
• “Please forgive me for saying this, but there is no way I am helping him. Firstly, it’s not clear if he really has a mounting debt. Secondly, we are no longer that close anymore. Thirdly, he almost conned this villa away from me. With these in mind, how can I possibly approach someone else to ask for money to help him?”
• His mother was about to respond, but I interjected first. “Mrs. Coffey, you don’t have to waste your breath on me any longer. In fact, I don’t have the talking rights to request such a large sum from Lucian either. Moreover, even if he’s wealthy, he has no obligation to donate it to a stranger.
• “You can’t just leave me to die, Jennifer!” Howard once again seized my hand and began to weep.
• After I pried his hands away, he proceeded to pounce on me literally. Unlike the embrace the night before, there was no warmth to be felt in this one. Through sobs, Howard apologized for his past wrongdoings. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done in the past. Please just help me this once, and perhaps we can start anew?”
• I scoffed. “And if I don’t help you with your debts, would you want to salvage our relationship?”
• “Yes! Yes, I would. Even if the debt collectors hunt me down, I would never leave you!” He sniffled piteously while continuing his act.
• Ah... so this is act two, scene two. I scoffed while looking at the man sobbing his eyes out in front of me. It’s a pity he’s not an actor. He could’ve won an Oscar award for his outstanding performance.
• Furrowing my eyebrows in annoyance, I tried to push him away, but he only pulled me in more forcefully.
• “Let me go, Howard! Or I’m calling the cops!”
• “No! You’re my future wife, so I’m never letting you go!”
• Suddenly, a chilling voice boomed from outside the room. A well-built figure entered the scene with the coldest of glares and cruelest of frowns.
• It was Lucian - the man must have gotten bored waiting outside.
• Howard instinctively backed away from me upon his appearance.
• Lucian then shot him a glare before checking up on my hand with concern. “Are you alright?”
• “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” I said as I shook my head.
• Luckily, he did not notice the blush that was creeping onto my face. Instead, he noticed the red scratch marks Howard left on my arm.
• He directed another a scarily sharp gaze to Howard, prompting the man to back into a corner against the wall. “W-What are you doing, Mr. Sutton? Jennifer is my girlfriend!”
• Lucian crossed the room in no time and grabbed his chin menacingly. “I dare you to say that again!”
• At that moment, Howard was so petrified that he could make no further comment.
• Being a head shorter than Lucian, Howard was easily lifted from the ground by Lucian. The former’s eyes screamed pure terror as he trembled violently.
• “Let go of my son!” screamed Susan as she dashed over to Howard’s recuse.
• “Oh?” Lucian did not budge at all. The same cold expression remained on his face.
• Susan ended up using force to pry Lucian’s hands away from Howard, but the man was too strong. Thus, her attempts were to no avail. Since that did not work, she soon turned to me instead. Latching onto my arm, she begged for me to ask Lucian to let go of Howard.