Chapter 5 His Unconventional Proposal

Jennifer bit her lip hard and took a large step back to maintain a safe distance from Simon. With a wary expression and a hint of hostility in her eyes, she glared at Simon. "What on Earth do you all want?" "Ms. Gabel, don't be nervous." Simon remained graceful all this time with a smile on his face. "We have no ill intentions, nor will we ever harm you." While speaking, he beckoned toward a young man waiting behind him. The young man hurriedly took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Simon respectfully. Simon skimmed through the document and, after verifying it, handed it over to Jennifer. "Please take a look at this document, Ms. Gabel. If you have no objections, kindly sign it." Jennifer was utterly perplexed. A document? "What document is this?" She took it, puzzled yet intrigued. Upon seeing the bold words printed on it, she was baffled, "Marriage application form?" "Yes." Simon nodded smilingly. Jennifer looked at him incredulously. "What does this mean? Who's getting married to whom?" "It's you and Mr. Griffin, of course." "Xavier and I?" "Yes." Simon placed his hands politely in front of him and nodded with a smile. Meanwhile, Jennifer felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her mind instantly going blank. What's going on? Xavier wants to marry me? She seemed to have heard the joke of the century and let out a snigger, handing the document back to the older gentleman. "This joke isn't funny at all." "Ms. Gabel, this is no joke. Mr. Griffin is serious. You can see for yourself. Both application forms have Mr. Griffin's signature on them." Jennifer quickly flipped through the papers upon hearing that. It's true! There were two copies of the marriage application form, and on the signature line of each document, the name "Xavier Griffin" was written in a bold, cursive font. The handwriting was vigorous and magnificent, just like Xavier's regal aura. "Ms.Gabel, you should be able to recognize Mr. Griffin's handwriting, right?" She indeed recognized it. When she was young and helped him with his homework, she often imitated his handwriting. But so what? "What in the world does Xavier mean by this?" Jennifer knitted her brows. "We, as subordinates, dare not presume Mr. Griffin's thoughts, but it's true that he genuinely wishes to marry you, Ms. Gabel." Simon fixed his eyes on Jennifer and continued, "Ms. Gabel, if I'm not mistaken, you're in need of money right now, aren't you? Your grandmother is still lying in the hospital bed, waiting for financial help. In that case, why not take a look at this document Mr. Griffin has given you? It clearly states that as soon as you sign the marriage application form, 150 thousand dollars will be deposited into your account right away. Wouldn't that be good for you?" 150 thousand dollars? She widened her eyes in astonishment. Not in the right mind to question why Simon knew so much about her personal life, the woman reopened the document and read through it carefully a second time. Indeed! As Simon mentioned, all she needed to do was sign her name on the marriage application form, and 150 thousand dollars would be instantly transferred to her account. Jennifer's heart began racing all of a sudden. She was desperately in need of money, and now, the universe was bringing her a fortune! Should I take it or leave it? In an instant, her emotions were thrown into chaos. Recalling the demon who almost tore her apart in bed last night, she bit her lip and answered, "No, I can't." Jennifer made up her mind. She handed the document back and said determinedly, "No matter how poor I am, I will never sell myself, especially to someone like Xavier Griffin!" Her rejection didn't seem to surprise Simon. He simply took the document and went through the formalities of confirming it once more. "Have you thought this through carefully, Ms. Gabel?" "I've thought it through very carefully." "That's such a pity." With a look of regret, Simon handed the document back to the young man behind him. Then, without any coercion or intimidation toward Jennifer, he led the convoy and quietly left. Even after the convoy disappeared from her sight, she still found it all unbelievable, as if everything was happening in a dream. As soon as Jennifer entered the hospital room, the nurse handed her the bill. "Last month's medical expenses totaled 1,050 dollars. You guys have been overdue for more than half a month. If you don't pay up soon, I'm afraid the hospital will have no choice but to cease providing medication." "Shh..." Worried that her grandmother, Gloria, might overhear them in her sleep, Jennifer quickly pulled the nurse out of the room. "Didn't we already pay for last month's medical expenses long ago?" she asked. How come they're saying the fees haven't been paid when I've already sent the money home at the beginning of the month? "It hasn't been paid yet! See. It's written very clearly here on the paper." Jennifer took the bill statement and read it over in detail. Indeed, the bill was still unsettled. Looks like the money I gave to Dad might have been embezzled by Stephanie. Jennifer was vexed. After checking the balance on her account using her phone, she discovered that she only had 750 dollars left. This sum of money was saved by her with great difficulty, and she had intended to use it as living expenses for the next few months. "I only have 750 dollars now, so I'll pay this much first. As for the remaining 300 dollars, I'll definitely find a way to make up for it as soon as possible," she said. "Don't delay any longer. There are only three days left." "All right, three days it is," Jennifer agreed, gritting her teeth. Getting 300 dollars in three days should be doable, right? I just need to think of a way. After Jennifer paid the fees, the nurse looked at her sympathetically and kindly reminded her, "Jennifer, your grandmother's surgery costs can't be covered with just a few hundred dollars. Are you sure you guys still want to go through with it?" "Of course. I'm already working hard to gather the funds for the surgery." "If you've really made up your mind, then hurry up and do it! Your grandmother's surgery really can't be delayed any longer, for the success rate will only decrease as time goes on." "I got it." Jennifer's emotions were incredibly complicated. If she had the money, she would have told the doctor to do the surgery for Gloria long ago. But in reality, she only had 5.33 dollars left in her pocket, not even a cent more. She didn't even know where she would sleep tonight, let alone how she could come up with the 75,000 dollars for the surgery. Anyhow, she was determined to cure her grandmother. Back then, her mother initially had a chance to survive, but in the end, her father had to give up on her medical treatment due to a lack of money. Now, Jennifer wouldn't let the same tragedy happen again. When she left the hospital, it was already nine o'clock at night. The weather was freezing cold outside, and she didn't have a penny on her, not to mention she had gone the entire day without even a single bite of warm food. All she had left for company was the rag doll in her hands. Right then, standing at the hospital entrance, she was shivering in the cold wind, huddled up and unsure of where to go. She had a residence, but she hadn't been welcomed there in a long time. Furthermore, Gloria was still lying in the hospital bed, waiting for Jennifer to save her life. Suddenly, Jennifer recalled Xavier's marriage proposal. She kicked the snowball at her feet listlessly. Jennifer Gabel, why did you have to pretend to be so noble and virtuous earlier? If I had agreed to it, all these problems will be solved with a snap of a finger! Just as she was deep in thought, a line of black Bentley cars abruptly drove through the snowy ground and came to a steady halt right in front of her, stirring up a bone-chilling gust of wind.