Chapter 119
Victoria gripped her phone tightly, her knuckles turning white. She didn't know how to tell Aria that Martin had played her again.
Aria rambled on and on while she listened silently, feeling terribly guilty.
The Gonzalez family had ended up like this, and Hayden had become like this, all because of her.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll get the money tomorrow," Victoria said, feeling uneasy inside, afraid of giving herself away. She quickly hung up.
She texted Martin: [The director said if we don't pay tomorrow, they'll stop my dad's medication. Martin, can you please stop this?]
[Martin, I was wrong, okay? What do I have to do for you to send the money for my dad?]
All her messages disappeared into silence. By the next morning, there was still no reply.
Victoria wanted to call Martin, but she worried about waking him up and making things worse. She forced herself to suffer alone until dawn, around nine o'clock.
Only then did she dial his number, but he still didn't answer her call.
Victoria checked herself out of the hospital. The doctor was quite worried about her condition. "Ms. Gonzalez, your body is still very weak. I suggest you stay a few more days."
"No need. Things are already like this. They can't get worse. I'll come back tomorrow for the abortion procedure." Victoria gave a self-mocking smile, then left the doctor's office.
She took a cab to the Gonzalez Group and entered the CEO's office. No one was there.
Brian said Martin was in the bathroom.
She cornered him at the public sink, but when he saw her, he wouldn't even lift his eyelids. He looked right through her, clearly treating her like she was invisible.
"Martin, you need to send me the money!" Victoria blocked his way, smiling as she reminded him. She knew she was being pretty shameless right now, but she had no choice. She was desperate.
Only then did Martin glance at her and sneer, "Victoria, you've got some nerve. I didn't reply to your messages—wasn't that obvious enough? And you still come here to be humiliated by me?"
"Martin, I'm willing to do whatever you want, as long as you send the money for my dad." Victoria bit her lip, the humiliation making her feel even more depressed.
What came back was still Martin's mockery and ridicule. "I won't give you money. You can go find Mr. Hill. Didn't he want you to be his secretary? A little medical fee should be easy for him, right?"
With that, Martin brushed past her, leaving her with his cold back.
Victoria gritted her teeth and growled, "Martin, what's the point of this? Doesn't the contract count anymore? If you mess with me like this, my dad will die! He's your father-in-law!"
"Better if he dies! When he does, I'll give him a grand funeral! Once he's gone, you won't have to be tortured by me anymore, right? Victoria, if I were you, I'd hope he dies soon! Why don't you go tell him about how miserably I've been treating you? Maybe if he feels bad enough for you, he'll just kick the bucket right there!" Martin turned around and actually smiled, sighing, "I'm never going to send him money! Victoria, you should go check out the funeral home and see if there's a suitable coffin for him!"
Victoria quickly walked up to him and grabbed his collar, gritting her teeth as tears streamed down her face. "You played me! You played me, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I played you. What are you going to do about it?"
Martin thought of that photo of the mute boy's back, thought of her flirting with Aaron, and spoke without thinking,"Victoria, this is what you get for not listening!"
With that, he swatted her hand away forcefully. She stumbled backward several steps and nearly fell, managing to steady herself against the wall.
Martin left without looking back, calling Brian, "Get someone to watch Victoria and make sure she doesn't do anything rash."
Victoria came out of the Gonzalez Group and walked down the street with tears blurring her vision. As she walked, tears fell uncontrollably.
She felt so useless, so useless.
Martin had played her over and over again!
She was so stupid. She was the daughter of Martin's enemy, yet she actually thought he would help the Gonzalez family.
Victoria sat at a bus stop, watching the passing pedestrians and flowing traffic, crying helplessly.
Her phone suddenly rang.
She took out her phone—it was Aria calling.
Calling at this time, she was obviously asking about the medical fees.
Victoria didn't know whether to answer, or what to say if she did.
But she finally answered. Before she could speak, she heard Aria ask worriedly, "Victoria, why did it take you so long to answer? Did something happen?"
"Mom, about dad's medical fees—can you ask the director to extend it a few more days?" Victoria held the phone nervously.
Aria asked in confusion, "Someone already paid the medical fees. Victoria, didn't you know?"
"Martin sent the money?"
Victoria's eyelid twitched. So he was just being stubborn, but actually sent the money after all?
"No, it was your friend, a tall young man wearing a baseball cap. When the director was asking me about the money in the hallway, he heard your name and offered to pay it."
"His last name is Hill, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's Hill. He's a nice guy. Victoria, you should really thank him. This time we couldn't count on Martin, but we could count on him."
The weight in Victoria's heart finally lifted. It was good that her dad's medical fees were taken care of.
After hanging up, Victoria sent a message to Aaron: [Mr. Hill, thank you for paying my dad's medical fees. I'll pay you back.]
"If Ms. Gonzalez really wants to thank me, how about buying me dinner?" Aaron's message came back instantly.
Victoria read the message without overthinking it. She only knew his request wasn't unreasonable. He had helped her, so treating him to dinner was the right thing to do.
"Okay."
Victoria asked what he wanted to eat. He said anything was fine, so Victoria picked a Mexican restaurant.
After wandering around for a bit, as evening approached, Victoria arrived at the Mexican restaurant, only to find Aaron already waiting inside, dressed casually.
A black business van was parked outside.
Brian sat in the van, watching through the glass window as Victoria and Aaron met up.
Brian rubbed his forehead. Victoria was being stubborn! If Martin found out Victoria was secretly meeting with Aaron, the consequences would be unthinkable.
At the Gonzalez Group, in the CEO's office.
Martin was still waiting for Victoria to come and apologize, but after several hours, there was no movement from her side.
He dialed the hospital director Terry's number and said coldly, "I'll pay Hayden's medical fees from my personal account. And use the best medical team and medicine."
In the end, he couldn't bear to see Victoria sad and upset.
"Keep the payment confidential." At the same time, Martin was conflicted. Being good to her and to the Gonzalez family would deepen his guilt toward his parents, so he tortured Victoria like crazy on one hand, while on the other hand, he couldn't help wanting to protect her.
Terry's uneasy and awkward reminder came through the phone, "Mr. Collins, someone has already paid the medical fees!"