After the discussion about the marriage concluded, Hilla Holt removed herself and headed to her campus with her luggage in tow.
Patrick Palmore was right. The bank had frozen all the resources of the Holt family and all her bank cards. Not only could she not buy herself a slice of pie, she could not even buy a bottle of water!
The campus was a distance away from the Anderson mansion. Even so, Hilla could walk steadily on her expensive high heels. Then, a car stopped right before her. The driver got down and said respectfully, "Miss Holt, Madam Organa sent me to drive you."
Hilla never expected Orlenna Organa to be that attentive. She could even see that Hilla had been debilitated of the ability to take a taxi. Orlenna Organa had not mentioned it when Hilla was still in the house, and it might be because she wanted to preserve some of Hilla's dignity. At that thought, Hilla suddenly felt that her mother-in-law was a rather nice person.
Hilla decided to help herself and informed him of her destination... the campus.
In the Anderson mansion, when Orlenna Organa was informed that Hilla Holt returned to her campus, she sighed as she looked at the man still sound asleep on the bed.
"Oh, my son. She's a poor girl indeed. Her parents lost everything, and someone is after her inheritance. She's a girl, so you should take good care of her. Please let her be by your side as a companion. By the way, that girl's name is Hilla Holt. She's very beautiful and very suitable for you."
The man on the bed remained unresponsive. His overall sharp complexion was cold. Due to the extensive period he had spent in bed due to his injuries, he was pale and emancipated. That being said, his well-defined features still could not hide away his handsomeness.
Bruce Anderson, however, did not react to what Orlenna Organa said.
It had been going on like this for almost half a year. Nevertheless, Orlenna still consistently engaged her son in conversation, hoping that someday, the man sleeping on the bed would wake up and give her a good scolding.
In the police precinct of New Island, Patrick Palmore was staring at an exceedingly beautiful picture of Hilla Holt. One of his arms was wrapped in thick bandages and was strung to his neck.
"This woman deliberately and intentionally injured me! Here I have a medical report describing my injuries. Officer, catch her and lock her up!"
The policeman who was taking his statement frowned. A fully grown man wanted to cause trouble to a girl? Even if he did not find it shameful, the officer did for him. He turned to the beautiful woman across him and asked gravely, "Did you cause his injuries?"
Hilla shook her head and said, "I don't know, Sir. He was teasing me, and I grabbed his hand from the back. Perhaps this person's bones are just too fragile."
The policeman turned to Patrick Palmore and looked at him coldly. He might have been acting like a thug, and now, he wanted to accuse the girl of a crime despite the fact that he was the one who was the criminal.
"I did not touch her! She's trying to seduce me because she thinks I'm loaded! She forced herself on me! But in any case, she's the one who broke my arm! The people from the bank are my witness! Even my girlfriend saw it happen..."
"Enough, you're pretty weak if you let a girl break your arm." The man was even weaker than a chicken. "Do you want to handle this publicly or privately?"
Patrick Palmore smiled smugly. The way he looked at Hilla Holt was filled with malicious intent.
"The Holts are done for. Who else can make bail for you? The days ahead of you are bleak at best. Why don't you just agree to be together with me, and I will not press any charges."
"What are you doing?! Are you blackmailing her?!" The policeman knocked on the desk twice as he spoke gruffly to warn Patrick Palmore.
"Nothing! Nothing! We are just discussing the matter privately. We have to do that, right?"
Unfazed, Hilla Holt parted her pink lips and said, "We'll do this publicly. You can take me in right now." Her pretty little face shone with a spark that would catch everyone's attention.
Patrick Palmore gritted his teeth. He was not willing to let her go like that. Just as he was about to say something, someone spoke from outside the door, "Someone has made bail for Hilla Holt. She can now leave."
Patrick Palmore was stunned. He immediately asked, "Impossible! Who paid her bail?"
A calm, low voice replied from outside the door, "The Andersons
!"
...
Hilla Holt was sitting in the car. She watched the butler of the Anderson family coming out of the police precinct and toward her. Patrick Palmore was standing behind the butler, and he was completely flabbergasted.
"Thank you for the trouble," said Hilla politely. If it were not for the Andersons, she might have had to spend the night behind bars.
Even though she was without a penny to her name and could never spend even a night in any lodging, she was not in that dire a situation to spend the night behind bars.
"No thanks necessary, Miss Holt. Madam Orlenna has only just received the news. You must have had it rough. Please allow the family to take care of the rest. I will now send you to your campus."
Being the butler for the Andersons for twenty years, William Willford knew how to act in every situation. By referring to Hilla as a lady, he was considered to be respectful to her.
Hilla nodded. As she looked outside the window, she said in a slight daze, "Please give my thanks to Madam Orlenna."
Starting tomorrow, she would need to refer to Orlenna as her mother-in-law.
Hilla went back to her student dormitory on campus. Since it was still half a month before the semester started, there was no one else present in the dormitory.
Hilla was only going to spend one night there. Tomorrow onwards, she would be married into the Anderson family and move in to stay with them.
To be honest, she could not get used to the idea of being married and being the wife of some man.
After a simple brushing of her hair and washing herself, Hilla laid on her bed. As she gazed at the ceiling that was too close to her head, she let her mind wander until her phone rang. It was then that she realized that it had been a whole day since she last checked her phone.
"Sis..."
"Hilla, why haven't you visited me? Where are you right now?"
Halle Holt's voice was soaked with worry. When Holt Organization fell and the Holt mansion was sealed up, Halle had rushed to the house, but all she saw was the familiar large gate chained and padlocked. She had tried to contact her little sister for the entire day, but never managed to. She almost went mad because of it.
"I'm fine, Sis. I'm on campus now."
"The university? Why are you there? The semester hasn't even started yet. I'll come over and pick you up now."
"No need. I've found a job. I'll be moving over to the provided accommodation
tomorrow. You don't have to worry about me. I'm an adult now. I know how to take care of myself."
Silence befell the conversation for more than ten seconds. Then came Halle Holt's hoarse voice. It was clear that she was feeling really depressed. "The family is done for. I know you're hurt."
"What are you saying? I'm already twenty. I can take care of myself. Now that the family is gone, how have the Tysons been treating you? Have they been mistreating you?"
The Holts and the Tysons were two families with businesses united through marriage. Hilla knew that Halle loved Titus Tyson. Their marriage was considered to be a homogamous relationship. However, what they did not expect was the fact that the Tysons were left with nothing but an empty shell when Halle Holt married into the Tyson family. Furthermore, Titus Tyson did not love her. To be more accurate, he loved someone else.
"No. They haven't. They have been treating me well."
Their marriage had been going on for five years, yet they were still without a child. How good could their marriage be?
That being said, Hilla did not have the energy to think so much about it. She said, "Sis, you don't have to worry about me. The days with the Tysons might be better off for you. Wait until I earn enough, I'll buy our house back."
The house was a mansion, and it cost 30,000,000 dollars. She was practically dreaming of using her money to buy the mansion back.
Halle nodded and gave her some advice. "Take care of yourself. That's more important... Don't push yourself too hard."
She would not be able to find a good job since she was just a student who had not graduated. But the only thing they could do now was to tacitly agree that they should not let the other worry about themselves.
Hilla ended the call and looked through all the messages she received that day.
Most of them were Halle's miss calls. There was one with a familiar name. She opened the message, and a man's husky but clear voice rose. "Hilla, where are you?"
There were more than ten messages, and they were all the same. It was all rinse and repeat.
Hilla teared up as she replied, "Somewhere you'll never find me."