Forty minutes later, the man indeed arrived.
His hand paused as it encountered an unexpected obstacle on Lydia's lower abdomen.
Lydia quickly spoke up. "A scar. I got it saving someone who wasn't watching where they were going."
She gave a self-deprecating smile. Without an explanation, the man would surely think she had undergone some shameful surgery.
Saving someone?
Lydia lay weakly on the bed, watching the man about to leave again in the darkness. She lowered her stance.
"I want to go out, just for an hour."
Her words instantly enraged the man. He grabbed Lydia's arm and flung her aside without warning.
"Ah..." Lydia cried out in pain. The arm he had grabbed was the one that was injured.
The man paused, then quickly stood up. "You want to go out? Fine. Return the money and get lost."
"You..." Lydia was about to lose her temper but quickly calmed down. "My phone is broken. I can't contact my family. I'm afraid they'll call the police if they can't find me, and that would cause trouble for you too. I just need to go out to make arrangements..."
Her voice trailed off as the ruthless man swiftly exited the room.
Her plan had failed, and anxiety began to gnaw at Lydia once more.
Half an hour later, to Lydia's surprise, a servant delivered a new phone to her.
"The boss said to handle any matters using this phone."
After setting up the phone, the first thing Lydia did was contact the nurse and transfer the $200,000 medical fee to the hospital.
Next, she tried to reach out to the deceased victim's family, but they refused to negotiate with her, stating that all matters had been handed over to the injured party's representative.
Lydia then called the injured party after obtaining their contact information.
"Hello, I'm Dexter's eldest daughter. I'm sorry for contacting you so late, my father—"
"Get to the point."
Another cold, emotionless voice.
"Alright, I'm calling to discuss compensation. Our family is currently—"
"Three million for the deceased, two million for my injuries, and one million for the car damage."
Hearing these astronomical figures, Lydia felt her heart sink. "Sir, isn't that too much? Altogether, that's six million dollars. I can't come up with that kind of money."
"Don't try to bargain with me. You have no right."
"But I really can't come up with that much money. My family is already bankrupt, and my father—"
Lydia's words were cut off as the call abruptly ended.
She hung up the phone, her face filled with despair. How was she ever going to come up with six million dollars?
After the man left, it was the second day she had been there. She was free to come and go, but a maid always accompanied her.
The only thing that brought her any joy was that her sister, Xavia Austin, had finally woken up. However, Xavia had developed a severe anxiety disorder, and the brief glimpse of sunshine Lydia had seen was once again overshadowed by dark clouds.
Her sister couldn't attend school and needed constant care. The treatment would be expensive, and they would need to see a psychologist. It was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.
Leaving her sister's hospital room, Lydia wanted to check on her mother. The maid answered a call and then handed the phone to her.
"It's the boss."
Lydia took the phone, puzzled. "I..."
"I'll be at the villa tonight. Be ready," the man commanded with authority.
"We didn't agree to this," Lydia firmly refused.
"I'll pay you extra."
"…"
Lydia forced a bitter smile.
The man arrived at 11 pm.
Lydia found it hard to let him go. "Stay a bit longer. It's only five minutes until midnight."
The constant pain and suffering of the past few days had left Lydia devoid of hope and warmth. The only thing that still felt warm to her was the man's body.
At that moment, she felt particularly aggrieved and just wanted him to stay with her for five minutes.
The man's reaction disappointed Lydia once again. He rejected her with disdain and then stood up.
"Put away your thoughts. You're not worthy."
"Thoughts? What thoughts? Today is my birthday. I just wanted someone to spend the last five minutes with me."
In the darkness, Lydia shouted at the man's retreating back, her voice filled with frustration. As his silhouette disappeared, she began to sob quietly.
Misfortune struck again as Lydia's mother finally passed away.
In the dark room, Lydia broke down, her heart-wrenching cries reaching the ears of the man outside the door.
The sorrowful sound was as tragic as the one that had made him stop in his tracks at the hospital that day. His brow furrowed; he found himself unable to step into the bedroom.
The next morning, Lydia was awakened by a servant.
"The boss said the contract is terminated. The advance payment is yours."
Terminated?
Lydia was puzzled but quickly understood. Perhaps the woman she had replaced had signed some contract that she had messed up last night. But it was fine; she could finally leave this place.
Ten months later.
Lydia stood at the door of the hilltop villa, holding her one-month-old baby in her arms.
This villa was familiar to Lydia, though the man inside was not.
With a reluctant glance at the baby in her arms, Lydia finally pressed the doorbell.
The same maid greeted her.
Although the maid was surprised to see Lydia suddenly appear with a child, she quickly contacted her employer.
"The boss wants you to wait for him in that room. As before, you are not allowed to see him. Hand over the child; a paternity test is needed."
"Don't worry, I know the rules. But I won't hand the baby over to you. I can only give him to the boss."
Hearing the maid's words, Lydia felt a weight lift off her shoulders, but she was firm in her decision not to hand over her child to just anyone.
After speaking, Lydia carried the baby into the dark, cold bedroom.
She gently placed the sleeping child on the bed and looked at his fair skin and round cheeks, her heart filled with reluctance.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. Mommy has no other choice. Please don't blame me."
She repeatedly apologized to the child, carefully memorizing every detail of his tiny body. She wanted to etch every part of him into her memory, knowing these might be her last moments with him.