DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Get Married
The news was like a bolt from the blue to Camila.
She struggled to stay calm and soothed Hudson in a choked voice, “Don’t panic. I’ll transfer 16 thousand dollars to you right away. Help Grandma check in the hospital for treatment. As for the surgery fees, I’ll figure something out.”
After hanging up the phone, Camila immediately cashed out her credit cards and transferred the money to her brother.
Their grandmother, Gemma Lambert, had raised Camila and Hudson all on her own and gone through hardships these years. Now that she was diagnosed with cancer, Camila would help her at any cost.
However, gathering such a large sum of money was a challenge. Even if Camila tried to sell her apartment, she was unlikely to find a buyer in time.
Should she borrow the money from someone?
Camila started making phone calls, reaching out to high school and college friends.
However, the amount she managed to gather was no more than ten thousand, and some didn’t even pick up the phone.
Just as Camila felt desperate, her attention was drawn to an online marriage advertisement.
The ad was simple.
A man working in a company was seeking a young and caring woman as his wife, and he was offering a bride price of 80 thousand dollars. The only condition was that the woman had to take care of his grandfather for six months.
Camila was tempted by the amount of the bride price.
She didn’t even analyze whether it was a scam first.
Immediately, Camila dialed the phone number in the advertisement.
However, the line was busy, and she anxiously worried that someone else might
Chapter 2 Get Married
get the 80 thousand dollars before her.
Finally, the call went through.
But the person on the other end remained silent.
Camila figured she had encountered a scam and hung up the phone.
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Seeing that his grandson’s silence caused the girl to hang up the phone, Gideon Starling was anxious and hit his grandson with his cane hard.
Ordered by Gideon, his grandson called Camila back immediately.
Camila hesitated for a moment but decided to answer the call.
A male voice came through.
It was a charming, husky voice.
“Sorry, the signal was bad just now.”
“It’s okay,” said Camila.
“Let me introduce myself first. My name is Maxwell Starling, and I’m 28 years old. I work for an IT company. Apart from year–end bonuses, I earn 5,000 dollars per month. I own a fully paid house and a car for commuting. I have no bad habits.”
Maxwell continued, “I need to stress that I have a sick grandfather, who needs to be taken care of. So, for the first six months after marriage, you and I will be living with him. I hope you can be a housewife, and I will hand over all my salary to you. Of course, you have the right to work, but the condition is that you can still give my grandfather enough care.”
Maxwell asked, “Can you do all that?”
Camila fell silent. Most of the terms were fine, but she was hesitant about giving up her career to take care of Maxwell’s grandfather.
But Maxwell said it wasn’t mandatory for her to be a full–time housewife. It was just that it would be difficult for her to balance work and family life.
From this perspective, Maxwell seemed like a reasonable man.
After thinking for a while, Camila agreed to his conditions.
Chapter 2 Get Married
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“Do you have any other requests besides the 80 thousand dollars bride price?” Maxwell asked.
“No,” Camila answered briefly.
Perhaps because she answered too quickly, Maxwell was a bit skeptical. “Are you sure you have no other requests? Like adding your name to the property deed,
or…” he trailed off.
“No, our premarital assets will remain separate,” Camila replied.
Maxwell remained silent for a moment once again.
Just as Camila thought it might be another signal problem, Maxwell’s husky voice came through.
“Meet me at the city hall entrance tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Bring all the necessary credentials.” Maxwell hung up without waiting for Camila’s response.
Were they getting registered for marriage just like that?
Camila hadn’t even had a chance to ask when she would receive 80 thousand dollars yet.
Early the next morning, Camila left her home with dark circles under her eyes.
Camila had spent the night sleepless as Hudson had called again, saying that Gemma’s surgery would cost at least 160 thousand dollars.
The worries nearly drove Camila crazy.
Camila went to the hospital to check if Hudson was being scammed, but upon seeing the surgery notice, she believed it.
At 9:00 sharp, Camila arrived at the city hall entrance.
The holiday had just passed, so there were many people there, waiting to get
married.
Camila immediately spotted a man in the crowd. He was wearing a well–pressed dark blue suit, looking sharp and stylish. The collar of his shirt was slightly open, revealing a bit of his Adam’s apple. Besides a wristwatch, he had no other accessories, looking clean and neat.
Chapter 2 Get Married
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His finely curled bangs on his forehead appeared amber in the morning sunlight, and his long, dense eyelashes half–concealed, hiding all his emotions.
As Camila held the photo to confirm if this elegant and good–looking man was the man she was about to marry, he walked toward her.
After polite greetings, Camila and Maxwell went into the city hall together.
Maxwell took a number, and they both sat down to wait.
After hesitating for a long time, Camila finally spoke, “Mr. Starling, sorry, but before we get registered for marriage, may I make a small request?”
Maxwell nodded. “Go ahead.”
“I want to borrow another 80 thousand dollars, in addition to the 80 thousand dollars bride price,” Camila said.
Maxwell turned his head, showing apparent displeasure.
The words that his grandfather had said during the screening process the day before rang in Maxwell’s head.
“This girl studied nursing, has a simple family background, and an innocent and attractive face. Her appearance tells me that she must be an innocent girl…”
“So much for the innocent girl!” thought Maxwell.
Camila hurriedly explained, “I’m just borrowing it, and I will write you an IOU. Once I sell my apartment, I’ll pay you back. If necessary, I’ll pay you interest.”
“Why didn’t you mention this on the phone yesterday?” Thinking that he had been tricked, Maxwell got up to leave.
At the front gate, Maxwell received a call from his grandfather.
“Did you get registered for marriage?” asked Gideon.
Camila had caught up with Maxwell. She showed Maxwell the prepared IOU, assuring him that she genuinely needed the money for an emergency and that she was not a swindler.
Listening to Gideon’s hopeful voice, Maxwell finally compromised.
Gideon’s disease was incurable, and he had at most six months left. His last wish
Chapter 2 Get Married
was to see Maxwell get married and have a child.
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After hanging up, Maxwell looked at Camila solemnly and said, “First, what you’re asking is not a small number, but I promise to try my best to gather the money. Second, once you have money, you must pay me back immediately. Third, I don’t want this to happen again.”
“I promise I will pay you back as soon as I sell the apartment, and I won’t borrow money from you again.”
Without saying anything else, Maxwell turned around and walked back into the city hall.
Soon, it was Camila and Maxwell’s turn to complete the procedures. Maxwell kept texting throughout the process, and Camila had no idea what it was about.
When it was done, Maxwell said he needed to go back to the office, and he asked Camila to go home to pack her belongings. He wanted her to move into their place tomorrow evening.
Then, Maxwell took a cab and left.
Camila felt that she might have gone too far. She already had 80 thousand dollars as the bride price, but she borrowed another 80 thousand dollars.
However, at this point, she had no better option.
After turning a corner, Maxwell got out of the cab and walked toward a black Bentley parked on the side of the road.
Maxwell made a call while walking, telling the butler to remove all the valuable furniture and decorations from Gideon’s house and replace them with common furniture from the market.
Maxwell also told the butler to buy a second–hand car worth no more than 20
thousand dollars.
Sitting in the car, Maxwell took off the diamond watch worth over two million
dollars on his wrist.
After double–checking, he confirmed that he had nothing else valuable on him besides the suit and the phone.
Maxwell finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter 2 Get Married
Camila had no idea that she had just married a billionaire.
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She went to the real estate agency and listed her apartment for sale online. After that, Camila hurried to the office.
As soon as Camila entered the company, she saw Mackenzie gossiping with the receptionist.