Helen’s POV:
After the lecture, Phil offered to give me a ride home.
By the time I received George’s text message, I was already on my way back.
Figuring I was only minutes away from home, I decided not to send a reply.
Phil parked outside the apartment building and I was about to get out of the car when his question
stopped me.
"Would you like to have dinner at my place? For days now, my mother has been repeatedly asking of
you.I feel as though my head will explode if I have to listen to her for another day."
Even though Phil and I were not in a relationship, his mother was still very nice and accommodating
towards me.
On several occasions, she had invited me to dinner in their home.
Just as Phil had said, his mother treated me as if I was her own daughter.
"Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t go today.Say hello to her on my behalf."
I got out of the car, waved goodbye to Phil, and then quickly walked into the building.
"Helen."
Just as I was about to enter the elevator, I heard my mother’s voice from behind me.I stopped in my
tracks and turned around, only to find George and my mother standing behind me.
They were probably talking a walk around the block.
"What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you check your phone for messages? George has been waiting for
you."
The second my mother got close to me, she started scolding me.
From my mother’s tone, it was easy to conclude that she was treating George as her future son-in law.
Mouth twisted into a wry smile, I apologized flippantly, "Sorry, I didn’t see it."
I had actually seen the message a few minutes ago while I was in Phil’s car, but I didn’t feel it was
necessary to explain why I hadn’t replied.
My mother mumbled, "You are not single anymore.You should keep a distance from your male
colleagues in the future.If you don’t, it will definitely lead to a misunderstanding."
Blowing air through my nose, I decided to just let the issue go, since nothing would be gained from
arguing with my mother.
But when I saw George staring at me with a proud smile, as if he was so happy to have my mother on
his side, my hackles rose and I bristled.
"Mom, don’t talk nonsense.I’m still single!"
I snapped, feeling exasperated.
"What are you talking about? Can’t you see your boyfriend standing here?"
My mother grabbed my arm and pushed me towards George.As I moved closer, his taller form dwarfed
me.He reached out and rubbed my hair, as if coaxing a child.He smiled and said, "There, there.Let’s go
home and have dinner."
"I don’t want to eat.I have no appetite."
I slapped his hand away.
Still grumbling under my breath, I walked in the direction of the elevator.I had only taken a few steps
though before my anger fizzled out.I didn’t have the heart to stay angry with my mother.I turned around
and walked back to her; then I took her arm in mine and continued walking When we got home, my
mother sighed and whispered in my ear, "I’m going back to the hospital soon.Try and get along with
George.Don’t always act like a child.I hope that when I come back next weekend, you two will have
already gotten married!"
My mother chattered amiably, but what she said about my supposed marriage to George made me
stunned.
Finally, she took a breath and stopped talking.But before I could seize on the opportunity to set her
straight, George spoke.
"Sure thing.We will have gotten married by then."
Shocked, I gaped at him for a second before my brain kicked into gear and I kicked his leg hard under
the table.
Did he even realize what he was agreeing to? How could we get married now? A pained expression
crossed George’s face when I kicked him, but he recovered a second later and his expression was
calm once again.
He turned to my mother and promised her in a serious tone that he would take good care of me.
"Mom, please don’t make it difficult for me, okay? I just agreed to try dating him a short while ago.It’s
too early to even consider marriage.".
"Try dating? The two of you have already had sex.What else do you want to do if you don’t want to get
married? You are a girl and you should be responsible for yourself!"
My mother’s face darkened.Her insistence was getting on my last nerve.
In the end, I roared in a barely controlled voice, "Mom, we are all adults.Even if we slept together, it’s
not enough reason for us to get married.Why do you have to keep pushing me?"
Again, George ran interference between mom and me.
"Mrs.Dewar, you can be rest assured that I will always put Helen first, no matter what happens in the
future.But right now, I think you should give her some time to think about it.She should be willing to get
married.A forced marriage won’t work."
My mother’s anger dissipated a little, and she scolded in disappointment, "Look at George.He is such a
good man.He always thinks of you.Act your age, Helen! From now on, don’t come to the hospital to
pick me up if you don’t want to get married.I don’t want to see an unfilial daughter like you.It really
upsets me."
I was rendered speechless.
How could she be so unreasonable? When she was scolding me and trying to force me to get married,
she looked tough and domineering, which was a far cry from the weak psychiatric patient she had been
for a long time.
For a moment, I didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry.
If I hadn’t spoken to the doctor before, I would have assumed that she had fully recovered! My mother
used to be very tough and strict.
When I was a child, she often forced me to learn piano and various courses.It was also because she
was too tough and domineering that she had a mental breakdown when she found out that my father
had betrayed her.
It was hard to change people’s nature.
After so many years, she was still as domineering as before.
If it was in the past, I would put more effort into resisting her, but when I saw how much she looked like
the lively and tough woman she used to be, my anger wilted beneath the sheer joy of seeing her look
like her old self again.
Later, we took my mother back to the hospital.
She kept looking back at me with a reluctant expression as she followed the nurse to her ward.
As I watched her go, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
The tip of my nose twitched faintly.
On my way back, an absurd idea flashed through my mind.
Maybe getting married really wasn’t a big deal as I pictured it to be.
As long as I could make my mother happy, I was willing to do anything.I turned around subconsciously
to look at the man behind me and immediately stopped thinking about it.
As though he was reading my mind, George said, "Helen, think about it carefully.Our marriage won’t do
you any harm.You don’t have someone you like right now and you already made it clear that you don’t
have any intention of getting married in the future.If you want to get married just to make your mother
happy, then I’m a better option for you than a total stranger.At least you know me well.I don’t think I’m
that bad."
The reasonable words were slowly convincing me.
I pursed my lips and seriously considered his proposal.
When I remained silent, George continued, "In fact, getting married with me is just to make your mother
rest assured, and it won’t affect our lives.It’s fine if you don’t want to live together or if you don’t want to
make our relationship public.I don’t mind if you wake up one day and decide that you want a
divorce.But if we get married, I’m sure that I won’t ever want to divorce you for the rest of my life.In
case we really get divorced, you can still get half of my property.As your husband, I can also help you
with your career.Of course, all I will really do is to introduce you to clients.As for whether you can win
them over or not, it depends on your own ability."
George had considered every single one of my concern and was highlighting them before I could even
voice them.
The conditions he made mention of were very tempting to me.I had to do was agree to marry him.
Regardless of what our relationship turned out to be in the future, I would only get benefits from being
married to him.
had to admit that except for the fact that he was being too close to Jane, he was perfect in other
aspects.
Most importantly, my mother liked him very much looked at him and asked the question that had been
boggling my mind, "What about Jane? if I agree to marry you, how will you deal with your relationship
with Jane? You know you can only choose one between me and her."
This was my bottom line and I would never give in.
Coincidentally, we met a red light at that very moment.
George suddenly stepped on the brake, turned around and asked me seriously, "One is my friend, and
the other is my wife.Who do you think I will choose?"
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