Chapter 4 A Maternal Achilles Heel

• Donald seemed indifferent to Chelsea's outburst as he wiped his face. “I'm not scared of you. The only thing that can frighten me is poverty. If you refuse to fulfill the contract, I'll go to your office right now and tell them who Femme 009 is.”
• “Be my guest! We can dissolve the contract while we're at it. You know, I used to worry that you'd kill my mom, but I'm starting to see the light. I'd rather die than live in humiliation my whole life! I'd like to see how you'll fare in the face of death for a change.” Chelsea had had enough with acquiescing to her father's demands.
• I can't stoop to being a hooker. One man was hard enough, let alone a bunch of them. I'd rather die than denigrate myself like this!
• She pushed past him despite her soreness and left without a glance at him. Shocked by her unusual steeliness, Donald changed tack and chased after her. He coaxed, “That was just a bit of well-meaning advice. It's perfectly fine if you refuse. There's no need to tear our family apart over these matters. If we can't get money from the club, there are other ways. You should call that Ben Gomez right now and invite them for a discussion on your dowry and wedding.”
• Chelsea froze in her tracks. “W-What did you say?”
• He continued shamelessly, “Ben has been pursuing you for years. It's about time you accepted his feelings. Seeing as I've raised you and provided for your every need over the years, I think a dowry of two hundred thousand sounds pretty reasonable.”
• “Oh? Did you feed me? Or pay for my tuition fees?”
• “Ah, why say such things when we're family? You're making it sound like I'm a total stranger. I'm the one making a loss on your marriage to Ben. Two hundred thousand for your entire life is a losing business compared to what that client was willing to pay for a year.”
• Infuriated, Chelsea screamed at him, “Donald Jones, do you not have a shred of sympathy left in you? Are you even human? It's bad enough that you're dragging me into this mess. How can you involve Ben? How can I marry him after selling my virginity to another man?”
• Donald merely laughed and said flippantly, “That fool is infatuated with you, and he'd rather die than live without you, so the loss of your virginity is just a small matter to him. Besides, I'm sure he won't even notice the difference.”
• “F*ck off! I hope you rot in hell!” Running out of patience, Chelsea pushed him away as she stalked off.
• Panicking, Donald chased after her. “Why should I go rot in hell? This whole situation is between you, the client, and Ben. I've got nothing to do with it.”
• Every word that came out of his vile mouth stroked her anger further.
• Oblivious to it, he added, “It's perfectly normal for a woman to date around before settling down. You're milking a hundred and thirty thousand from your 'relationship' with the client, and you'll get two hundred thousand in dowry when you marry Ben. What's wrong with that? When I need more money, you can divorce Ben and marry someone else. I don't see a problem with that.”
• Chelsea's face soured as she quickened her steps.
• “Chel, I've been very understanding, and you need to compromise. Otherwise, your mom will be the one rotting in hell,” Donald threatened cruelly. She can't be that heartless.
• As he had expected, Chelsea immediately paused. Her mom was her Achilles heel, and Donald was more than willing to carry out his despicable plans. She recalled the year she graduated from university. When she turned Ben down once again, Donald had thrown her mother to the wolves. If she had not arrived in time, who knew what unspeakable things would have happened to her mom.
• I can't let her go through that ordeal again!
• With that, she finally caved. Pulling out her phone in resignation, she called Ben. “Are you free? My dad would like to meet your parents to discuss our wedding.”