Thea let out a heavy sigh, looking utterly drained.
After they’d returned, Dashiell had gone to his room to shower, while she stayed in a small room the maid had prepared for her.
As long as he didn’t ask her to sleep in his bed, she wouldn’t.
Besides, she was already used to living in cramped spaces, and to her, that small room felt like the most comfortable place, simply because she didn’t have to be near Dashiell.
Thea wrapped her arms around her knees.
Her gaze drifted toward the dark garden outside.
Her thoughts were a mess, and she wasn’t even sure what exactly was on her mind.
Maybe she should call her mother.
She wanted to know how her parents were doing.
She also wanted to tell them not to worry, not to think about her tuition money.
“Thea?” Her mother answered the call.
“Are you both doing okay, Mom?”
“No, Thea. Your father has fallen ill. I’m sorry I haven’t called you, I’ve been so busy looking after him at the hospital.”
“Is it serious?” Thea sat up straight, worry washing over her.
“Your father needs surgery, Thea. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to send you money for your tuition,” her mother said, sounding heartbroken.
“Don’t worry about that, Mom. What matters most is Dad. How is he doing right now? Has the surgery already happened?”
“Thea, Mommy doesn’t have enough money, so how could I possibly get your father into surgery? All we can manage is outpatient care, and even that’s so expensive. I’m scared we’re heading toward something we really don’t want to face,” her father’s illness had grown serious, and it wasn’t good news for any of them.
“Don’t talk like that, Mom. I’ll find a way to get money so Dad can have the surgery.”
“How exactly are you going to get money, Thea?” She knew her daughter was barely scraping by in the city.
So where would Thea even find money for her father’s surgery?
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll call you again soon.” She hadn’t known her father was sick.
No wonder her mother hadn’t called; she felt foolish for not having asked about her parents sooner.
Thea ended the call and immediately phoned Saphira, wanting to ask her for an advance payment.
That money would be far more useful covering her father’s hospital bills than her tuition.
“Good grief, Thea. Do you even know what time it is?” Saphira sounded irritated, clearly unhappy about having to answer the call.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Saphira, but this is really important. Could you pay me in advance?”
“What? What for?!”
“My father is sick, Saphira. He needs surgery right away, so I need that money to cover his hospital bills.”
“Oh no, what should I do?” She sounded reluctant.
“What do you mean, what should you do?”
“Thea, I don’t have the money right now. You know how much I’ve been spending here in Paris, I can’t pay you yet. Besides, your part isn’t even finished yet, so it’s not time for me to pay you.”
“But I really need that money right now, Saphira,” Thea clenched her fists at her sides, disappointment building toward her closest friend.
“I know. I know you need it, but I don’t have it right now. Just wait a few more months, I’ll give it to you once I have the money.”
“I can’t wait that long,” Thea was growing frustrated. Find the original chapter at g.com.
She’d thought the problem was solved, only to find out Saphira couldn’t pay her after all.
“I’m sorry, Thea. You know no one here knows I’m in Paris, so I can’t just ask my father for money out of nowhere. Our secret would come out if I did that, so please be patient. It’s not that I don’t want to pay you, it’s just that my finances are tight right now too.” A lie.
In truth, she had the money, she simply wanted to spend it enjoying herself with her boyfriend instead.
A wealthy man’s daughter like her, had she ever once gone without money?
Of course not.
She was simply lying to Thea.
She deliberately refused to pay her early because she didn’t want Thea disappearing the moment she got the money.
“Fine then,” Thea ended the call, looking more frustrated than ever.
Where could she possibly get money now?
She sat in silence for a moment, and the only person who could help her right now was Dashiell.
He would probably mock her and look down on her, but she didn’t care anymore, her father’s life mattered more than her pride right now.
Thea got up and hurried toward Dashiell’s room.
Gathering every bit of courage she had, she knocked on the door.
Her heart was pounding; she was genuinely nervous.
She waited a moment until he opened the door for her.
Thea gave a small wave, saying nothing since Dashiell was on the phone with someone at that moment.
Dashiell pulled her inside without a word.
He had been waiting for her all this time, half thinking she wouldn’t come looking for him at all.
“I’ll call you back later.” He hung up the phone and pulled Thea close again, kissing her lips.
“I thought you weren’t going to come into this room again.”
“W-wasn’t I not supposed to sleep with you?”
“Starting now, you’re going to sleep with me.” Dashiell lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.
“Wait, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Go ahead.” He set her down, already busy undoing the buttons of her blouse.
“C-could I borrow some money from you?”
“What?” Dashiell stopped what he was doing.
He stared at her, bewildered.
Had he heard her correctly?
“What did you say?” He asked again, unsure he’d actually heard her ask to borrow money from him.
“I-I have something important I need to take care of. Could I borrow a little money from you?”
“This is truly something, Saphira. A young lady like you, do you really need to resort to something like this?” What exactly was Saphira after?
“Is that strange?”
“Of course it’s strange. Couldn’t you just call your father and ask him for money? Why come borrow it from me instead?” Had this arrogant young woman finally lost her mind?
Didn’t she have far too much pride for that?
“Maybe it seems strange to you, but I genuinely need the money. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back once I have it,” she felt humiliated, truly humiliated, but he was the only one she had left to turn to.
“This is remarkable, Saphira. I never expected you to come borrow money from me. Don’t you have an ego and a sense of pride too high for something like this?”
Thea lowered her head.
She didn’t dare look at Dashiell.
As proud and self-respecting as she normally was, in her current situation she felt utterly powerless, willing to do whatever it took to save her father’s life.
“Does that mean you won’t lend me the money?” Thea lifted her face and looked at Dashiell with a sorrowful expression.
“It’s not that. It’s just that this request of yours is completely unreasonable. A young lady like you suddenly asking to borrow money, do you think something like that wouldn’t catch me off guard?”
“I know,” she lowered her head again.
It seemed Dashiell had no intention of helping her.
“I’m sorry my request doesn’t make sense,” Thea forced a smile.
She would find someone else to ask, even though she had no idea who that would even be.
Dashiell let out a breath.
Saphira’s behavior was making him more suspicious by the minute.
His instincts told him something was seriously wrong with this woman.
Her request tonight had thrown him completely off balance.
Don’t tell him the woman standing in front of him right now wasn’t Saphira at all.
But if it wasn’t her, then who was she?
“The black card I gave you, you can use that,” he said, wanting to see exactly what Saphira intended to do with borrowed money.
“Isn’t that just a credit card?” Her question only deepened his suspicion.
Saphira should have known that card could be used for anything, including withdrawing cash directly.
“You can withdraw cash from that card. Do you not know that, or are you pretending to be clueless to trick me?”
“Really?” Thea’s expression shifted, and it didn’t look fake at all.
What was actually going on here?
“Yes,” Dashiell answered briefly, curiosity churning inside him.
“So you’re willing to lend me the money?” She needed to be absolutely certain, to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood.
“Haven’t you already heard me? You can use that card.”
“Oh, Dashiell!” Thea threw her arms around him, overwhelmed with relief.
“I knew you were the only one I could count on. Thank you so much for helping me. I promise I’ll pay you back. Trust me,” she would return the money the moment Saphira finally paid her.
“I know.” Dashiell rubbed her back, a question turning over in his mind.
What exactly was Saphira hiding?
So many questions remained unanswered, and he intended to find out the truth, because he was growing more and more certain that the woman with him right now wasn’t Saphira at all.