Love Contract
Chapter 77 Clarify A Few Things

"Let's get right to the point, shall we?" Mary clasped her hands together, and she straightened her back. The stage had overlooked many reporters. All of them looked eager to hear her out as they leaned in closer with their microphones out in the open.

Flashes of lights flickered around the stage as clicking sounds thundered across the hall. Although a part of her felt overwhelmed by the people surrounding her, she pulled herself steady and took a deep breath. 'It's now or never,' she thought.

"The person you saw in the video is indeed my father," she started, and the entire hall fell silent. They waited on her words with bated breath, afraid that they would miss anything integral to their reports. "But look at this." Mary pulled out a divorce certificate signed by both her parents. "My father and mother have divorced two years ago. I don't want to talk about this in detail.

But the so-called 'brother' my father has mentioned is a boy I've never met." Her hollow voice echoed across the hall. She continued, "My father said that he was only one-year-old. It's obvious that he must've remarried. In fact, ever since he divorced my mother, I've never seen him for two years.

So when he said I refused to save his son, that didn't happen. I didn't even know that he had a son in the first place."

When she finished, the crowds before her burst into an uproar. Questions were flung back and forth as they tried to dig deeper into this mystery.

"Wait! She didn't know?"

"They've already divorced?"

"As for the alimony, it's already clearly stated under the marriage law, so I won't bother repeating it here." Mary stared at the reporters unflinchingly. "Also, I don't have any legal responsibility to take care of his sick child."

With a deep breath, she stated, "Honestly, I was supposed to let this topic die down by itself, but due to all the commotion that it had caused, I was afraid that it could damage your perception of the AJ Group. I hope what I've said today could clarify everything that has been said throughout this entire ordeal."

At an unnoticeable corner on the second floor of the venue, William and Frank stared from above, analyzing the situation below them.

"She really can handle it." Frank nodded, impressed by the professionalism that she had portrayed. "Indeed." William frowned. He stared at the woman below. It was rare to see such a bubbly young woman be so cold under the flashing lights of the cameras.

"Do you have anything else you want to ask me?" Mary questioned.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Lan," one male reporter spoke up. "Don't you feel the slightest bit of sympathy for your father? Although your parents have divorced, don't you feel that it's your moral obligation to help him?" She stiffened. Her fingernails dug into her palm, but she forced herself to calm down. "When he doesn't have the ability to work, as his daughter, I will naturally fulfill my obligation to assist him. Are there any other questions?"

"Mrs. Lan," another reporter questioned. "Your father said in an interview that you wouldn't pay for your brother's treatment. Is that true?"

"First of all, I would like to clarify that he's not my brother," she corrected. "And to answer your question, yes, that's true. Even if I will pay for his hospital expenses, it would not be because I'm his sister." The reporter furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "Don't you think that's a little harsh even if you're of no relations to him? I mean, isn't he your step brother at the very least?"

"Yes, yes!" one yelled out in agreement. "It is heartless!" another person agreed.

"You've gone too far."

Now, the hall was filled with frenzy. Mary froze, waving her hands to console the crowd.

"What I meant was..." Just as Mary was about to speak, a man walked up to her from behind the stage. He was one of the security crew for the event. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear. Her face changed completely. The reporters quieted down as they tried to grasp the subtle change of expression. Seeing this, they quickly pulled out their cameras and leaned in closely-struggling to hear conversation.

On the second floor, William also couldn't help but lean in. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what was the cause for this interruption.

"I can handle this." Mary pursed her lips. "She shouldn't be here. Take her back."

"But..."

"Mary."

Just as everyone's attention was on Mary, another person had entered the large hall. The crowds dispersed, and soon enough, all eyes were on the elderly woman on a wheelchair. "Mom!" she called out in panic as she gazed at her frail mother in surprise. Behind her mother was a nurse who looked just as anxious as everyone was.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here!" Not bothering for formalities, Mary rushed out of the stage and pushed her way through the crowd of reporters. "Didn't I say I could handle it?"

"But I'm worried about you." Her mother clasped her hand, eyes blurring with unshed tears. "I don't want you to be viewed as the bad person here. You're my daughter."

"Mom, you..."

"I know everything, Dear. Please, let me handle this for you." Her mother squeezed her hands in comfort. Although she was sick, the woman was as stubborn as a mule. No one could convince her otherwise, not even her own daughter.

"Mary, I'm sorry," the nurse mumbled apologetically. "Your mother was in great condition today, so I pushed her around the block to get some fresh air. I didn't notice that she saw the news on TV. She was begging me to take her to you, and I had no other choice..."

"It's fine. It doesn't matter." Mary sighed, waving her hand dismissively. No matter how much she tried to keep things hidden, she knew for a fact that the truth would reveal itself someday. Maybe, it was best to do it now.

The reporters crowded around the scene in front of them. Although they didn't say a word, they held their cameras at bay.

"Mary, let me have a word with them." Her mother gazed at the crowd of reporters with narrowed eyes.

"But..." she tried to refuse, but the look on her mother's face showed that her decision was already final.

"I got this, okay?" Patting her daughter's hand to comfort her, she quickly motioned to the nurse to bring her up the stage. The wheels creaked in response, and soon enough, the older woman was already on the stage overlooking the crowds around her.

"Good day, everyone." She smoothened her hospital gown and turned her steely gaze to the audience. "I am Mary's mother. She didn't know that I was coming today. When I watched the news, I wanted to see her. I just didn't expect to be met with such a scene.

I'm a person who's about to die, so I might as well make many things right. Please don't take my words to heart, but also don't take them lightly as well."

Mary choked, covering her mouth. It had been so long since she had seen her mother like this. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she crossed her arms.

"Two years ago, I divorced Mary's father, because I had been diagnosed with cancer." The loud ruffle that echoed the hall had fallen silent once more. "My husband was the one who had chosen to divorce me, right when I was going through what seemed to be the most difficult time of my life. He had taken everything from me. Every single penny he had taken, and he left me and Mary to die."

Mary chewed her bottom lip as she relieved those darkest memories. Her hands shook.

She had just come back with her mother from the hospital. It was one of the most grievous times of their life. However, when she opened the door, she found the house dark and empty. All of their valuables had been gone, and her father was nowhere to be seen. She didn't want to believe it that time-didn't want to believe that her father would be capable of something so sinister. Yet, as her mother cried and sobbed, despair had carved itself deep in her heart. The mother-and-daughter team could not do anything but comfort each other.

"I don't want anyone to misunderstand Mary." Her voice trembled. "She's one of the greatest daughters anyone could've asked for. I wouldn't know what to do without her. All this time, she has been stretching herself thin just to pay off my treatments. Luckily, she met William and our lives have become better. Mary's my daughter, and I don't want anyone to blame her for my ex-husband's mistakes.

Seeing her own biological father slander her on TV..." Mary's mother shook her head in disgust. "It's just unbelievable. As Mary's mother, I've always wanted to protect her all my life, and today won't be an exception. After everything she has done for me, it's the least I could do for her."

After saying all of these, the elderly woman bowed to the crowd.

Mary's bottom lip trembled. "M-Mom," she stuttered out.

"She made it." Frank blinked in disbelief, observing the scene from afar.

"She did."

"Will you be going downstairs to greet them?"

"No. It's time we set off."

"Okay, if we leave today, we can arrive tomorrow. My sister must be missing us."

"Yeah." After taking one last look at Mary, William turned around and left.

Soon enough, public opinion on the news had shifted drastically.

After her mother's speech, everyone was yelling for their support for Mary. In fact, there were even a handful who had turned their sharp tongue to her 'deadbeat' father. Her reputation had soon heightened in everyone's hearts, and it seemed as if everything had gone back to normal. Jay had never appeared under the cameras again. Out of sympathy, Mary transferred some money to his account anonymously. Although her father had left her, the child shouldn't suffer for her father's sins. At this point, all she wanted was to wish them the best.

As leaves turned into a ripe shade of orange and red, things were starting to get better and better.

However, after that day, William didn't go back to Kylin International. In fact, she didn't even see him in the company. As Mary sat in her office that day, she drummed her fingers onto the table. A part of her wanted to call him, but all her concerns were washed away when she remembered him entering the office with Frank that day.

He had also disappeared and reappeared last time.

Then it seemed that everything had returned back to normal. Her life was peaceful.

With a cup of coffee in her hand, she stared at the dozens of flowers blooming around her. She was planning to visit her mother.

Suddenly, the door clicked behind her.

Surprised, Mary turned around to see William. There were bags decorated under his eyes and his lips were inched downwards. It didn't take a doctor to see that he was extremely exhausted.

The scent of coffee circled around them. "It's been a while," she blurted out awkwardly. He gave her a half-smile before they had fallen into silence once again.

"Good morning to you too," he uttered.

"Good morning," Mary replied, as if she had just met him.

"You got up early," he noted, bending over to change his shoes.

She shrugged. "I'll be going out later."

"Where?"

"Hospital."

William nodded and walked over. His eyes reflected the Autumn rays streaming through the windowpane. "I'll go with you. The last time your mother appeared in the press conference, I didn't get to greet her. I'll go with you this time around," he stated.

"Fine by me." Besides, her mother had been hounding her for William after the press conference. "Why didn't I see him?" she'd question her again and again before sighing in defeat when Mary told her that he was busy with his other duties.

"When will you be leaving?"

"I'm not in a hurry," she replied. "Mom already knows that we're married, by the way. At first, I wanted to keep it from her, but...she found out." He didn't seem all too bothered by the fact. "It's fine. Perhaps it's better that she knows of this." Once he was all finished, he motioned to the door. "Shall we?"

There were hundreds of people visiting the hospital during that time. In fact, the parking lot was packed with various cars, that it took them half an hour just to get a parking spot. Once they finally parked the car, the couple breathed a sigh of relief and headed to the in-patient department.

Her mother's room was located in a more private area given her condition. As Mary walked in, she could see her mother leaning against a bunch of pillows and gazing out the windowtaking in the cool breeze. Although her mother didn't say anything about what had happened during the press conference, a part of her still couldn't help but feel concerned. Would it have any impact on her health? 'I have to talk to her nurse,' she thought before opening the door even wider.

"Mom," Mary called out her attention. "Guess who's here!"

"Mom," William greeted with a smile of his own, entering the ward. The word 'Mom' surprised Mary.

"It's William!" Her mother's face lit up almost immediately. She looked like a child who had been told that Christmas had come early. "Come and sit!" He walked in the room and sat beside her. "How's your work?" She placed her hand on top of his, narrowing her eyes.

"It's been going well," he responded. "How about you, Mom? I'm sorry for not coming here immediately. It's just I had to handle a few things first."

"Don't worry about it." Her mother waved her hand dismissively, ecstatic that William had addressed her as 'mom'. "Although I'm happy that you finally got married, why didn't you tell me?"

Mary laughed lightly. "I was afraid that you would think we were being too hasty and wouldn't give us your blessing."

"And why would I do that?" Her mother scoffed. "I'm happy as long as you're happy, and William seems to be a good man."

"Then we'll invite you to the wedding banquet once we have our wedding," William finally uttered, surprising Mary with his soft voice.

"I'll be waiting for this." Her mother chuckled.

A smile had woven itself into Mary's lips. She couldn't help but wonder how many times she could see such a peaceful and happy scene before it would be taken from her.