Chapter 3 Rejection

• "Marry me and give me a son," Bryan said.
• Angeline was shocked when she heard Bryan's words. She couldn't believe that a man who seemed to be much older than her could casually say such a thing. The anger she had suppressed now came to the surface. It was as if she finally understood why he had prevented her from leaving earlier when she had wanted to.
• "You're crazy," Angeline muttered and stormed off without another word.
• "I don't care how much, I'll pay you. I'll even give you a house, a car or a shop when our contract ends," Bryan said.
• Angeline stopped for a moment, but she refused to be seen as cheap and continued walking. In fact, she was so emotional that she slammed the door quite hard.
• "Hah... what did I just say?" Bryan muttered as he rubbed his face. It was as if he hadn't realized that he had said something outrageous. But there was no regret in his expression. He looked serious again and went to his room to rest.
• As the day grew late, Angeline, who was walking to find public transportation, felt a mixture of frustration and sadness. She couldn't believe she had run into a man who, though he seemed much older, had made such strange and inappropriate comments.
• Despite her desperate need for money, Angeline was not a woman who would sell herself just to make ends meet. Slowly, tears welled up in her eyes as she began to lament her unfortunate fate and how she had been treated so poorly.
• Suddenly her phone rang and Angeline answered it immediately.
• "Hello, is this Angeline?"
• "Yes, that's right. Who is this?"
• "We're from the police. Are you Michael Bastian's sister?"
• "The police? Yes, I'm Michael's sister. What happened to my brother?"
• Angeline was startled by the explanation of the police officer who called her. With tears streaming down her face, she hung up and hailed a passing taxi.
• "Please take me to the police station," Angeline begged, struggling to hold back her tears. Her head began to hurt and the weight of the situation felt overwhelming.
• The problems just seemed to keep coming. Angeline's only sibling, who was still in the 11th grade, was now at the police station. Angeline couldn't believe it and never expected her brother to be involved in a drug network.
• The police informed her that her brother had tested positive for illegal drug use and would be arrested. Angeline had just arrived at the police station and immediately went to see her brother, who was already in custody.
• "Sis Angeline! Please help me, sis. Get me out of here, sis. I didn't know it was illegal drugs; they set me up, sis! Please, I don't want to go to jail," Michael begged with tears in his eyes.
• Angeline looked at him and held back her own tears. She knew that her brother was not lying. He had worked hard after school collecting recyclables to make some money. So how did he end up in this situation?
• "Officer, I know my brother is to blame, but you heard him - he was set up. He didn't know that what he was drinking was illegal drugs. I beg you, please let my brother go," Angeline pleaded desperately.
• "I'm sorry, but we have to follow the law. Your brother was caught with drug dealers and drug users."
• "Is there no other way, officer?"
• In that moment of despair, a man in a suit arrived and immediately approached one of the plainclothes policemen who were there. They whispered to each other, and the man in the suit handed over a 30*30 briefcase. After the officer opened it, he immediately smiled broadly.
• Soon after, the man who had been arrested with Michael was released without punishment. Angeline and Michael, who witnessed this, were stunned.
• "Alex, let me go too! You didn't say it was illegal drugs!" Michael shouted desperately, trying to hold onto Alex's arm. But Alex refused and even kicked Michael before leaving the cell.
• "How could you release the man who framed my brother? While my brother is still in custody?" Angeline challenged the police officer who had received the briefcase full of money.
• "If you want your brother to be released without charge, bring us fifty million. Oh no... it's been more than three hours and it's a new day, so make it a hundred million. If it takes another day, add another fifty million. You can do the math until the prosecutor takes him to court, can't you?"
• The policeman who said this just walked away. Angeline tried to restrain him and was pushed until she stumbled. She tried to get help from other police officers there, but they all seemed indifferent, as if Angeline was invisible.
• Michael sobbed in grief and begged to be released. Angeline again lamented her fate and felt completely helpless.
• By morning, Angeline was already looking for another job to raise the money needed to free her brother. She spent the entire day looking for work and collecting all her earnings, but it was still far from enough to secure her brother's release.
• Three days had passed and Angeline had only managed to collect five million by working tirelessly without a break. She stood on the side of the road, eating a piece of bread and sipping from a bottle of mineral water.
• "If this is all I can make in one day, when will I be able to collect enough? How many hundreds of millions will it be by tomorrow? What should I do?" Angeline wondered aloud.
• By chance, Angeline spotted a car that looked similar to Bryan's. She stared at it curiously, wondering if the person inside was the same man she had met before. The car stopped in front of a luxurious restaurant and a man got out.
• Unfortunately, the man was not Bryan, so Angeline was a little disappointed. But a moment later she shook her head, determined not to be tempted by Bryan's offers that day.
• "I have to work even harder; I know I can do it," Angeline said to herself as she checked her phone again for job opportunities.
• Then a call came in from the hospital where her mother was. Angeline answered the call in surprise and immediately called a taxi to rush to the hospital.
• Upon arriving at the hospital, Angeline hurriedly sought out the doctor who was attending to her mother.
• "Doctor, what happened to my mom?" Angeline asked, her face pale and her breathing uneven.
• "Your mother suddenly started vomiting blood. We checked and your mother's condition is very unstable. She need to be operated on as soon as possible," the doctor explained.
• Angeline was shocked and confused. While she was struggling to find money to free her younger brother, her mother had to undergo an operation that required a huge amount of money. Problems kept occurring in her life.
• Angeline had run out of thoughts, as if she had reached a dead end. Her mind was out of control. She really wanted to shout and blame people. But she knew that wouldn't change anything.
• Angeline was on the overpass, underneath there were many large vehicles that were going quite fast because the road was empty. Angeline's eyes were empty, she looked very frustrated and depressed. The burden of her life did not ease at all. This made her want to give up and think about ending her life.
• Angeline looked down more than ten meters away. She no longer has the will to live.
• "Will death end everything? Can I be at peace if I die?"