Chapter 5 Lauren the Singer

• When Lauren sent Riley to the hospital, the doctor told her Riley was in bad shape. The results of her diagnosis came out three days later, revealing her to be down with a complex congenital heart disease. It was imperative that she had a heart transplant as soon as possible, or else her condition would kill her once she got older. She needed to stay in the hospital for a long term, but the two hundred grand wasn’t enough for her treatment.
• Riley was sent to the child’s ward. “Mommy, am I sick?” Riley looked at her mother sheepishly.
• Looking at her innocent smile, Lauren put on a brave front for her. “It’s fine, honey. You’ll heal up in a couple of days, and then we can go home.”
• “Really?” Riley looked at her, her eyes gleaming brilliantly.
• “Yeah!” As she hugged Riley, Lauren smiled bitterly. Riley was all that she had left, so she couldn’t let her child die no matter what.
• The next day, Lauren went to see the Imperial Court’s bartender, Lucy Holt, who stayed just downstairs her unit, to ask for her favor: recommending Lauren to be a singer in the Imperial Court.
• This was the biggest nightclub in the city, where everyone came to throw money away for moments of ecstasy. Lauren would sing for three sessions a night, which netted her a sizable income. She also had more time to spend with Riley, but more importantly, nobody could ask about anyone’s past here, including her boss. Here, she took up a new name—Mary. It was a new start for her, and an official goodbye to her past.
• “Mary, the boss wants an encore!” Lucy trotted to her. When she introduced Lauren here, she didn’t expect her to be this popular.
• “I can’t. It’s late now, so I have to take care of my daughter. She’s waiting for me.” Lauren started removing her makeup, but Lucy stopped her.
• “Lauren, you have to bend over sometimes. Don’t forget that you need this job to support Riley.”
• The color drained from Lauren’s face, for Lucy was right. Now she was no longer the young miss of the Collins Family. Now she was just a shadow of her former self, who only lived for Riley. “I understand.” Left with no choice, she went onstage once more to perform ‘Skyfall.’
• At the same time she was performing, a man in the corner looked at her sardonically. He didn’t expect to bump into the erstwhile heir of Collins Conglomerate on his business trip, nor did he expect to see the woman who was once as proud as a peacock working as a singer in this place. I wonder what would Ethan think if he finds out about this?
• Simon smiled and took a photo of Lauren standing on the center of the stage before sending it to Ethan, with a caption attached. ‘She used to be so proud, but now look at her. Nothing but a common wench. Do you feel happy now, Young Master Ethan?’
• At the same time, Ethan was in his study, sorting out his documents. When his phone vibrated, he frowned. Seeing that Simon sent him a message, he went to read it. After seeing the photo and his caption, Ethan’s face fell. He gripped his phone tightly, his gaze stormy, his knuckles white.