My eyes instantly lit up the second I heard the word "bonus." Sure, the reward felt ridiculously low for something as huge as getting married, but money was still money, especially when my wallet was painfully empty.
"Yes, I am," I finally answered Lando, pretending not to notice Gideon and Addison, who were still glaring at me like I had just committed a crime.
Honestly, what did I even do wrong? Yeah, I pulled that bitch's hair, but she slapped me first!
Thank God my so-called sweet and innocent sister wasn't here, or I'd probably be back in the hospital with my blood pressure shooting through the roof.
"Do you want to get married now?" I asked, stepping closer to him and catching him off guard. "Did you even bother to buy me a wedding ring?"
Lando frowned. "No," he admitted. He sounded like he didn't care at all. "You can bring that up with my parents. I only came here to pay my respects to your family and set the wedding date."
I rolled my eyes and waved him off. "Oh, don't waste your time. This is just an arranged marriage anyway."
Without another word, I shooed away the man standing behind his wheelchair and grabbed the handles myself, pushing Lando straight toward the door.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped, probably shocked that I was suddenly wheeling him away as easily as stealing a lollipop from a kid.
"Where else? Obviously, we're heading to the marriage bureau." Before he could get a word in, I rushed on, "Come on, a wedding party is pointless for people like us. Honestly, which of our families would even bother to show up? Let's just do a simple courthouse wedding and then treat ourselves to a nice dinner afterward."
"Are you out of your mind?!" He tried to dig his hands into the wheels to stop them, but really, what could he do? It's not like his legs were going to slam on the brakes for him.
[Lando's favorability has dropped to -2%]
I immediately stopped the wheelchair and walked around to face him. "Why? You don't like that plan?"
I never thought his favorability could actually drop into the negatives. Seriously?! That meant my chance of getting unlimited money just got way harder to reach!
Thank God the system didn't slap me with a penalty for letting his favorability sink below zero.
But still … why the hell didn't he like that plan?
To me, it sounded perfect for two illegitimate children like us. Even if our families did show up, it would only be to laugh at us.
My family always mocked Lando as a crippled, useless young master, and I was sure his family would sneer at me as the daughter of a whore who couldn't even make it as an actress.
After I got Helcia's memories, I realized how badly she wanted to act. She actually passed an audition for a web drama once, but Madeline ruined it by telling the producer Helcia was a filthy illegitimate child, and if he cast her, the whole project would be cursed.
In the end, Helcia was fired the moment she stepped onto the set on her very first day.
And it didn't stop there. She once got an offer to be the face of a skincare commercial, but Madeline swapped her soy milk for cow's milk on purpose, knowing it would trigger her allergy just one day before the shoot.
So in the end, Helcia never got the chance to shine. Every time she reached for the stars, something or someone dragged her straight back into the mud.
"I know this is just an arranged marriage," Lando began, narrowing his eyes at me, "but that doesn't mean it's something that should be treated like a joke."
I frowned. "A joke? Who said I was treating it like a joke?" I tilted my chin up slightly, glancing at Addison and Gideon who had followed after us.
"Listen, Mr. Brixton, I'm not doing this for fun. I need to get out of here as soon as possible," I lowered my voice. "Because as you can see earlier, my stepmother likes to slap me in the middle of the day, and my father acts like screaming at me is his favorite hobby."
"That's why the sooner we get married, the sooner I can finally escape this hell."
To be honest, I was just throwing out excuses so he'd understand me. But the more I thought about it, the more it didn't sound bad at all. In fact, it was the perfect reason to win some sympathy.
"I've been abused in this house for as long as I can remember. So please, Mr. Brixton, if you can help me leave today, I swear I won't ask you for anything else." My voice softened, and I let my face fall into the saddest expression I could muster. "Please … if you leave me here, they'll hurt me again."
Besides, what else could I even ask from him? He was just the illegitimate son of the Brixton family, so I doubted he had that much money to begin with.
Before Lando could say anything, Addison and Gideon finally caught up with us. Gideon glared at me, while Addison looked like she was dying to slap me again until my face puffed up like a balloon.
"Helcia, what do you think you're doing?!" Addison snapped, though she tried to keep her tone polite in front of Lando, but the sharpness still slipped through.
Polite, my ass.
This was the same woman who insulted him behind his back without hesitation.
Addison grabbed my arm roughly, dragging me back to stand beside her, while Gideon bowed his head toward Lando with an awkward smile plastered on his face.
"I deeply apologize, Young Master Lando," Gideon said smoothly. "My daughter just got back from the hospital, so it's only natural she's behaving a little … unstable. Please, come back inside so we can continue discussing the wedding ceremony."
I knew the real reason they were so eager to hold a grand wedding was because they wanted access to socialize with more members of the Brixton family.
Lando might be an illegitimate son and a cripple, but if he threw a wedding, his relatives would definitely show up. Not out of love, but at least out of obligation and to get their fill of mocking him and his bride.
But I refused to let these abusers gain any benefit from my marriage.
They had already sacrificed Helcia by marrying her off to Lando just to gain business ties with the Brixtons, while the Brixtons themselves only wanted to marry him off to anyone so he wouldn't embarrass them by staying single in his mid-thirties.
At least, that's what I knew from Helcia's memories. For the rest, I'd have to observe more carefully later.
"I don't need a fancy wedding," I blurted out suddenly, making Gideon snap his head toward me, glaring like he wanted to set me on fire.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Helcia?" He gave a short, forced laugh, though his eyes burned like he wanted to bury me six feet under the ground. "Of course you need a fancy wedding. Why would I let my daughter marry in such a cheap, shameful way?"
Yeah right. I was sure he just wanted to parade me around, pretending he treated his illegitimate daughter with kindness, when in reality, I was nothing but a pawn.
What a joke.
I shifted my gaze to Lando, softening my expression, letting my eyes shimmer with sadness. If sympathy could be turned into currency, I was going to cash in every drop.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if he'd buy it, but it was worth the gamble.
"Your daughter doesn't want a fancy wedding," Lando finally said, his tone calm but decisive. "Then we won't have a fancy wedding."
Gideon's eyes went wide, panic flashing across his face. "Young Master Lando, I think there's been some misunderstanding. My daughter doesn't know what she's saying, so please—"
"Your daughter seems perfectly aware of what she wants, Mr. Davenport," Lando cut him off firmly. "Let's not make this an issue. Don't worry, your business cooperation with my father will remain untouched."
Then he turned his gaze back to me. "Pack your things and prepare your documents." He gave a small gesture to his aide, who immediately moved to push his wheelchair, then added to me, "Meet me in five minutes."
The corners of my lips curled into a bright smile, my eyes arching into little crescent moons. "Thank you, Mr. Brixton!"
[Lando's favorability has increased to +10%]
Wait, what? What did I even do?
I just smiled at him!