"What's wrong?" Lando's brows furrowed as he stared at me, clearly surprised that I had suddenly dropped the bouquet onto the floor. "Do you not like the flowers? Do they mean something bad for a wedding?"
Shouldn't he be offended that I acted like I wanted to toss them away? What kind of man actually cared about the meaning of flowers anyway?
"Nothing!" I quickly bent down and picked up the bouquet. "I just dropped it by accident because my hand slipped."
Before I could even process the shocking number attached to Lando's wealth, we were already being handed our marriage certificate. The process was simple: a short vow, a signature, and it was done.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed your mission: Obtain a marriage certificate with Lando Brixton.]
[Reward: $3,000 has been credited to your account.]
[Bonus: $7,000 has been credited to your account.]
After seeing Lando's net worth, this amount of money looked laughably small. Honestly, even my million-dollar debt was nothing compared to the mountain of wealth he sat on!
For a split second, a thought slipped into my head, Should I just ask him to pay it off for me? It would be so easy for him, right?
But then I shook my head so hard I almost gave myself whiplash. No, no, no! What the hell am I even thinking?!
If I asked him to clear my debt right after we got married, he'd definitely think I was nothing more than a gold digger, and worse, he'd start wondering how I even knew about his fortune in the first place.
Besides, it just felt so wrong because he wasn't just some endless ATM I could tap whenever I wanted. Sure, he was rich, but he was still a human being with feelings, not a walking wallet.
Why was I even thinking like that? It sounded so shallow. Sure, people would say if you marry a rich man, you should use his money, but no. That's exactly the kind of mistake I promised myself I'd never make.
Back when I was at the peak of my career, I had a lot of friends, or at least, I thought I did. My inbox was always flooded with messages from people asking me to lend them money, pay their debts, or cover their bills.
At first, I helped them. Once, twice … but after a while, I realized they didn't see me as a friend anymore. I was just their wallet.
The moment I lost everything, the messages stopped coming. Not one of them reached out to me or asked if I was okay. I never asked them for financial help; just some emotional support and kind words would have been enough.
But unfortunately, once a wallet is broken, people toss it aside and replace it with a new one.
It hurt more than I could ever put into words, and I don't want Lando to ever feel that way with me.
I know the money I once had could never compare to what he has now, but still … feelings are feelings. A human heart doesn't care how many zeros are in a bank account.
As long as I can still make money, I'll pay off the debt myself, even if I wasn't the one who borrowed it in the first place!
That bastard Addison. Sometimes I swear I just want to sneak into their house in the middle of the night and smear buffalo dung all over the walls and floors. That would be a masterpiece worth looking at.
Luckily, the system's voice suddenly rang out, or else the demon inside me would've definitely found a way to hunt down buffalo dung.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed your weekly missions!]
[Since this is your first week, the system will reward you with a Starter Pack!]
Starter Pack? The system never mentioned anything about this before.
[Opening Starter Pack …]
A golden chest shimmered on the hologram panel, glowing so brightly I had to squint. With a cheerful ding, the lid popped open, spilling glowing words into the air.
[You have received:
- $20,000 Cash Reward
- Scar-Healing Cream (Grade A)
- Beginner's Luck Buff (Duration: 7 days)
- Mystery Coupon ×1]
I stared at the list, my jaw slowly dropping. Twenty thousand dollars? Scar cream? Buffs? Coupons?
I hadn't expected the system to hand me scar cream for free, and that Beginner's Luck Buff? What on earth was that supposed to be?!
[The Beginner's Luck Buff is a temporary skill that increases your chances of success in anything you attempt, Host. Duration: 7 days.]
My eyes widened. 'Wait … so you're telling me if I, let's say, signed up as a model for a skincare brand, I'd suddenly get picked out of nowhere, even if the odds were one in a million?'
[Correct, Host.]
I gasped, clutching the giant bouquet tighter. Holy crap. This isn't just luck. This is like having the universe bribed on my behalf!
Maybe I could even stumble upon a film casting that week and actually pass?! I knew it would be smarter to catch a small fish first rather than sink my whole ship chasing a big one, but hey, there was nothing wrong with trying!
If I couldn't find any casting calls within seven days, I could always apply as a beauty talent.
With this face, anything was possible after all. Besides, now that I wasn't living under the Davenport roof anymore, Madeline would have a much harder time snooping around to ruin whatever I tried to do.
First things first, I really needed to buy a phone if I wanted to look up casting calls on social media.
I was already mapping out my future step by step in my head when the deep voice beside me suddenly cut in, making me jump in my seat.
"Which restaurant do you want to go to?" Lando asked.
I blinked and only then realized I was already sitting inside the car, and the marriage certificate clutched tightly in my hand.
When did I even get in the car?!
Those ridiculous numbers must have shocked me so badly that my body switched to autopilot without me realizing it.
"Restaurant?" I repeated, confused. Why on earth was he suddenly asking me what restaurant I wanted to go to?
"Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to eat at a nice restaurant after getting married?" Lando cleared his throat, and for once, the ever-calm young master actually looked a little awkward. "Since we're married now … I thought maybe you'd want to celebrate it."
"Oh, that …."
I thought about it for a moment, but when I looked down and realized I was still wearing a sweater and sweatpants, I sighed and said, "Can we celebrate later? It's actually my first day out of the hospital, so I'm a little … tired."
The truth was, I wasn't that tired. But each time I saw my reflection in a mirror and noticed my messy hair and worn-out clothes, the weight on my shoulders doubled.
It felt like the mirror was sucking the life out of me, reminding me over and over that I didn't look good enough today.
"Your first day?" Lando looked even more shocked than when I told him I'd been hit by a truck. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"