Chapter 1 Encounter

"Ring, ring, ring... Ring, ring, ring..."

Marilyn Gu sprang up from the bed and grabbed the chicken-shaped alarm clock beside her, which was ringing incessantly. "It's already ten to eight? Oh my God! I have a meeting to attend today. I'm done for! My boss is going to kill me. Why couldn't you ring louder?"

If the alarm clock were a person, it would slap her. After all, she was the one who had set the alarm clock for seven o'clock. How could she ignore it and then blame the alarm for not ringing louder?

Marilyn Gu realized she didn't have time to put on makeup, so she washed up quickly and rushed out feeling frustrated and looking exhausted.

Checking her phone quickly, she saw that her fat manager had sent her more than a dozen messages, warning her that if she didn't come on time, she would be fired.

There was no time to wait for the bus. If Marilyn Gu was lucky enough, she could hail a taxi from across the road, and make it to her office in fifteen minutes. The elevator up to her floor would take one minute, leaving her just enough time to reach her desk before the manager's appointed time.

Marilyn Gu quickly calculated her journey while waiting for the traffic light to change. It showed ninety seconds more. Looking at the people who stopped beside her, she gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and made the split-second decision to dash across the sidewalk.

Just then, a car suddenly turned right and crashed into her!

The last thing Marilyn Gu heard was screams from the people who had been waiting on the sidewalk with her, followed by a sharp pain on the right side of her body. Her arm fell down feebly and her world turned dark. Her body convulsed and she collapsed on the ground.

The crash was so loud that the driver's heart jolted. He quickly looked in the rearview mirror to check his boss, Kendrick Si's expression. As expected, Kendrick Si's face had turned dark. He glared at the driver furiously.

The driver shivered in his seat and shrank from his boss's gaze. "Mr. Kendrick, I'm really sorry. I, I didn't mean to hit the lady..."

Without waiting to listen to the rest of his explanation, Kendrick Si scrambled out of the car. He picked up Marilyn Gu, who seemed paralyzed. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, she clung on to his collar and babbled, "I...I'm afraid I can't make it."

Her words scared the life out of Kendrick Si. When he was about to respond, the unconscious woman slowly closed her eyes and said weakly, "Please ask my manager if I can get a leave first, or my bonus for this month will be gone."

Kendrick Si was speechless.

Suddenly, someone from the crowd yelled, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take her to the hospital!"

Kendrick Si snapped out of the shock and rushed her to the hospital. The doctor examined her thoroughly, and, apart from the fracture on her lower arm and some bruises, she was fine.

"It's not very serious. I'll give her something to reduce the swelling and relieve the pain. We can discuss the surgery after she wakes up," advised the doctor, looking at the X-ray.

"If there is nothing wrong with her, why did she faint?" Kendrick Si inquired with a straight face.

The chubby doctor stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "As per my years of consultation experience, this patient has obviously fainted out of fright. But she has been in a coma for very long. It's not normal," he said grimly.

Kendrick scowled at the doctor irritably.

As the doctor turned to check Marilyn Gu's condition, the "unconscious" patient smacked her lips and turned over.

"So she is asleep?" The corners of Kendrick Si's mouth twitched.

"As per my years of consultation experience, I would say yes," remarked the doctor.

Kendrick Si was amazed at the answer. How could a person sleep so soundly after being hit by a car and having a fracture?

"Maybe the patient is too tired. Let her sleep a little longer. She will wake up when she has slept enough." The doctor pushed his glasses up and said, "Young people nowadays have a hard time at work."

"I'm sorry, manager. I didn't mean to be late. I'll get to work right away! Ouch!" The doctor's comment seemed to have flicked a switch inside Marilyn Gu. She sat up in deathly stillness and winced in pain. Holding her right arm immediately, she squeezed her eyes close. The pain reminded her that she had been in a car accident.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere else except your arm?" asked the doctor with concern, as he walked up to her.

As soon as Marilyn Gu saw the doctor, she panicked about the hospital bills. However, she quickly formed a plan in her mind. Seeing as there was nobody else in the ward, apart from the doctor, she assumed that the person who had hit her had fled. This meant she would be responsible for paying the medical fees. Studying the doctor's concerned face, she thought he was waiting for her to wake up so that he could ask her for money.

She should have slept a little longer!

With a serious look on her face, Marilyn Gu said softly, "I'm sure the bastard whose car hit me has escaped. I could tell from his face that he is not a good guy."

"The 'bastard' is here." Kendrick Si stated acidly, "I didn't run away."

Marilyn Gu didn't notice him because the chubby doctor was blocking her line of vision. The handsome man had thin, arched eyebrows and mesmerizing eyes. His white shirt was slightly wrinkled and the sleeves were rolled up. Despite his slightly ruffled appearance, he looked elegant. His thin lips were slightly curved. He was studying Marilyn with interest.

"I don't know if Manager Chen is your boss," said Kendrick, raising Marilyn's phone, which had a broken screen. "But he called and said that you were fired," he informed her flatly.

Marilyn almost fainted again. Life was certainly full of ups and downs. She was planning to blackmail the driver for running away after the accident to get temporary financial help. However, she never expected to be out of a job so quickly!

The only thing she wanted to do right now was beat up the driver in front of her. She had such a difficult life after graduation. Finally, she had found a decent job but now it was all ruined by this accident!

"Two thousand and five hundred dollars a month. Isn't that the salary for a waitress nowadays?" Kendrick shook his head and said, "No matter what, I will compensate you for the expenses."

"Of course you have to bear all the expenses!" said an outraged Marilyn, not sounding like a weak patient at this point. "Besides, who told you to answer my phone without my permission? Give it back to me!"

Playing with Marilyn's pathetic phone, which was worth no more than a thousand dollars, Kendrick asked, "I want to check my future wife's phone. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Marilyn choked and sputtered, "What did you say? Who is your future wife? I would advise you to keep shut up!"

"When I said I would compensate you for the losses, I included the job that you lost, which means I will support you in the future. In exchange for that, you have to marry me."