"Hilla, please stop being angry! Here, have a KitKat!"
Lily Hart tried to surrender her own snack to Hilla, but she was not in the mood for it.
Being scolded was not nice, and she did not want to be in such an unhappy mood.
"How about you discuss with the family and tell them that you don't want to be driven around."
When the fancy car stopped showing in front of the campus gates, the speculations about her should stop, and the rumors about her should stop as well.
Hilla smiled. "If I take the bus tomorrow, don't you think I would be what they say I am? A bankrupt lady? They might even have a new rumor about me. They're going to say that I was dumped after some rich man had his fun with me."
Then again, people were still going to talk about her no matter what. If that were the case, she might as well let them continue saying that she was being the sugar baby to some rich person. That actually sounded better.
"I've decided!"
"Decided what?"
Lily Hart was stunned. Was she thinking about dropping out?
The University of New Island was difficult to enter. Now that the Holt family was no more, she needed a good education to improve her status. One day, if the Anderson family did not want her anymore, she could still earn her own living.
Hilla smiled cunningly. The mole under her eye made her look even more charming. Quietly, she said, "I want to buy a car. I will drive to the university by myself."
She had already gotten a driving license, but she had not been driving when her father was still around because he was worried.
Now, she could finally utilize what she had learned.
"Huh? You're buying a car? Where are you getting that money?"
No matter what, she was going to have to spend at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. Was she going to lower herself by getting a tractor that was only worth tens of thousands of dollars?
Hilla Holt lowered her head as she nibbled on the food in front of her. She answered Lily without even raising her head. "I'll talk to my mother-in-law."
At night, after Hilla took a bath, she stood by Orlenna's side and watched as she wiped Bruce's hands and feet. She tried to take the wet towel from Orlenna and said, "Mother, please let me do it."
Orlenna did not resist. As she watched Hilla wipe Bruce's body with familiar motions,
a smile bloomed on her face.
"It's been half a year, and he is still sleeping. I thought that I would never be able to see him wake up. Thank you, Hilla. It is because of you that he began showing signs of reaction."
Hilla felt another pang of guilt in her heart as she received words of gratitude from Orlenna.
Bruce's reaction was likely due to his anger at Hilla. After all, she had been using him as a means to vent her frustration. She was deeply hoping that the previous two knocks on his head would make him silly and make him forget about what happened when he woke up.
Don't television shows always show people losing their memories after they knocked their heads? She hoped that it applied to Bruce Anderson as well.
"Mother, I have something I need to discuss with you."
Hilla worked harder with her hands. She dared not turn to look at Orlenna directly. She could only mumble, "Could you please stop having Mr. Wilson drive me to the university? I will return home on my own on time! I will not allow myself to neglect taking care of Bruce. It's just… being driven around will cause bad effects for me… I can actually…"
'I can actually drive on my own!'
Before she could finish her sentence, Orlenna chimed in to interrupt her.
"I didn't think this through enough. No one else knows about Bruce and you. And since the Holt family… Did somebody say something to you on campus?"
Orlenna's consideration made Hilla really like her mother-in-law. She nodded vigorously.
"Very well. Tomorrow, I'll tell Owen to stop driving you to the university. However, hailing a cab in these parts will be hard. The nearest bus stop is a distance away. A young lady such as yourself should not be walking to and fro. I can't have you being late either. How about this? I'll open the garage for you. Choose a car to your liking, and you can drive on your own."
Hilla sucked in a sharp breath. Her mother- in -law could definitely read her mind. She knew everything that was in her head, and it was truly amazing!
...
When Hilla did not answer, Orlenna thought of a problem. "Do you not have a driving license? That will be a problem."
If she could not drive on her own, the other option was to drive her to the nearest bus station.
"I do! I do! I do! I can drive! Thanks, Mother!"
Hilla Holt immediately gave a ninety-degree bow to Orlenna.
Orlenna laughed, "Oh, silly child. If you have been thinking about that since the beginning, you should have told me."
Previously, the reason she had someone drive Hilla around was to help Hilla solve the problems she could not handle on her own due to her young age. Mr. Wilson knew some martial arts. It was a way to help Orlenna to worry less for Hilla.
However, if the young lady did not like it, she would not force her to go through with it.
Hilla Holt's smile grew wider after Orlenna really sent someone over and let Hilla choose a car from the garage.
The way she called Orlenna "mother" even made Orlenna feel her heart bloom with warmth.
"Your mother is so nice. But then again, I've already decided that she's my mother as well. Aren't I just generous?"
Orlenna gave Hilla a car on her own, and because of that, Hilla was starting to behave really smugly in the room. She sat on the bed and stared at Bruce while he remained with his eyes shut.
"Did you know how hard it was for me after I got married to you? At campus, everyone was spreading rumors that I got myself a sugar daddy. Well… even if you are rich, I am still your lawfully wedded wife. How could they say I'm your sugar baby? It sounds so unpleasant.
"How could you, as my husband, not give me a car? So, I could only go and ask for one from your mother.
"Sigh… To be honest, your family is nice. Beside that vermin you call your big brother, the master and your mother treat me very well."
Hilla Holt rested her chin on her palm. She held a wet towel and sat on the bed while she wiped Bruce's half-naked body half-heartedly.
"You… You are also nice to me. However, I would be even happier if you would continue sleeping and never wake up."
The moment she thought of the days ahead and of how she would live as a "wife unfavored by her husband", she could not but snicker.
"Can you really hear what I'm saying?"
Hilla leaned in, bringing her face close to his. As she stared at the sleeping man, she observed all of his handsome features and his well-defined face, which looked like it was carved out of a statue.
There was no one on campus who was even close to how handsome Bruce was, even if Bruce had a sickly complexion, was thin, and pale.
Hilla looked closely into him. She traced his eyelashes with her fingertip, and just as she expected, the man remained unmoving and unresponsive.
Her gaze descended slowly, and it landed on the man's lips. Hilla froze and subconsciously, she blushed.
"Honestly, you are very handsome. Can you hear what I say?"
She laid on the pillow right next to Bruce. She could not hold herself back as she went forward until the gap between the two of them was no more than ten centimeters.
The light from the crystal chandelier illuminated the man's side profile clearly. Those red but dry lips attracted her attention, as if there was magic in them.
"Bruce, do you really consider the two of us married?"
If she said they were not a couple, it would be false, because they had a marriage certificate. But if she said that they were a couple, it would be false too, because they were not as close as a normal married couple.
Hilla and Bruce never went through anything a married couple did. They did not hold hands, kiss, or even perform the duties of a wife and husband.
When Hilla was married to him, she was glad that Bruce was nothing more than a comatose patient.
That being said, she sometimes hoped for something more.
Was she hoping for romance? Sadly, anything that had to do with love and romance died in her along with the downfall of the Holt family.
"Bruce Anderson, may I kiss you?"
She asked the question with a red face. After asking the question, she felt incredibly embarrassed. She felt so lucky that the person next to her was a comatose patient. And because of that, her courage suddenly rose.
"If I kiss you, would you please pretend that nothing happened? Could you just continue to sleep?"