My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Cecelia Archer froze at her words.

’She lost a child? How could she know that? She can tell from the lines on my palm that I’ve lost a child?’

’This...’

It was as if her secret had been suddenly exposed. With Damien Vaughn staring at her with such a burning intensity, Cecelia was mortified and didn’t know what to say.

Just then, a colleague knocked on the hospital room door and came in.

"President Vaughn, so you’re here. Are you busy? Could I have a word with you?"

Damien Vaughn shot Cecelia a meaningful glance before turning to face the man.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

The colleague looked troubled and stammered hesitantly.

"Something’s come up at home. I know I shouldn’t be abandoning the team at a time like this, but my wife is home alone with our two kids, and they’re both sick. And with the New Year right around the corner..."

He was right. The New Year was almost here, and the company was about to hold its annual party to reward everyone. Yet here their engineering department was, suffering like this.

Damien’s original plan had been to send them back as soon as the floodwaters receded, but it seemed he would have to move up the schedule.

"I understand. It’s not easy for one person to handle two kids. Go out and tell everyone to pack their things. I’ll have a helicopter come pick you all up shortly."

The colleague was stunned. He hadn’t expected President Vaughn to be so accommodating.

"Really, President Vaughn? We’re leaving right away?"

"Of course. Your work here was already finished. There’s no point in staying any longer. When you get back, you can start your New Year’s holiday immediately."

The colleague ran out, overjoyed. Damien turned his head back, but just as he was about to continue their earlier conversation, Grandma King started crying again.

"You’re all going back? So soon. Sigh... Go on, then. It’s for the best that you go."

Damien was speechless.

Cecelia knew what was making Grandma King sad. She quickly moved to the bedside and hugged her.

She looked at Damien as she comforted the old woman.

"But it’s not the New Year yet, and the floodwaters are already receding, aren’t they? I don’t think we should leave right now."

Damien thought she was desperate to go back because she missed Candy, so he was a little surprised to hear her say that.

"What are you trying to say?"

Cecelia put on a righteous expression. "We spent over a month doing construction work on Windmount, but after this huge storm, everything’s back to square one. Not only have the villagers gained nothing, they’ve actually lost their homes."

"We can just pack up and go home for the New Year without any major losses. But them..."

Damien understood. "So you want to stay behind and redo over a month’s worth of work?"

Cecelia wasn’t sure what he was thinking, so she said tentatively.

"Using your money and your people, I know I might sound a bit naive, idealistic... It’s easy for me to say. But the Vaughn Group doesn’t lack this bit of money, and the news about our charity work is already out there. If we just give up halfway and let it all fizzle out..."

Damien didn’t like her hemming and hawing.

"You don’t need to consider the money. You don’t need to consider anything. Just tell me what you’re thinking."

With that, Cecelia felt emboldened to speak her mind. "This is what I was thinking."

She suggested Damien coordinate with the local authorities to build unified row houses for the villagers. They could select a location on higher ground and ensure proper drainage, seismic retrofitting, and sewage systems.

That way, no matter what severe weather came in the future, their walls wouldn’t collapse and their roofs wouldn’t cave in.

And by living closer together, everyone could look out for one another.

Also, that narrow path where she almost died had to have guardrails installed. Otherwise, an accident was just a matter of time.

Damien listened to her list of proposals, which all sounded very reasonable.

"Is this just your idea, or does everyone think this way?"

Cecelia told him the truth.

"This is what the team and I came up with when we were discussing it in the classroom on the night of the storm. I told them not to lose heart, to hold on to hope, that the president of the Vaughn Group would definitely come rescue us and would also help us rebuild our homes. That’s why all of them held on until the next day."

Cecelia was essentially guilt-tripping him.

She had already placed him on such a high pedestal. If Damien were to refuse now, wouldn’t it make him seem petty?

Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse anyway.

Cecelia was right about one thing: news of the Vaughn Group’s charity work was already out. If they just let it fizzle out now, wouldn’t they become a laughingstock?

Moreover, because of the storm and the fact that he had personally led the helicopter team to rescue people, the story had already hit the national news.

The public response to a corporation doing charity work—especially with a young, handsome corporate leader at the helm—was incredibly strong. As soon as the news broke, positive reviews flooded in.

In the past two days, the Vaughn Group’s stock had risen by seven percentage points, and the company’s market value had shot up by over seven billion.

Never mind spending one or two hundred thousand to build houses for the villagers; even spending ten or twenty million would be nothing to him.

He could just treat it as advertising for the Vaughn Group.

And it was far more direct and effective than just throwing money at an advertising agency.

After Cecelia finished, Damien agreed with her internally, but he deliberately wanted to make her sweat.

"You don’t plan on going back for the New Year, but what about everyone else? I don’t believe it. Go on, call them all in here."

Outside, everyone was confused. The post-disaster reconstruction hadn’t even started, so why were they being sent back?

Before Cecelia could even go call them, the whole group swarmed in.

Because of the storm, this project had been elevated to a level of national attention, and the group’s stock price kept rising.

For the past two days, whenever Miller opened his phone, he was greeted by news praising the Vaughn Group. As the person in charge of this project, Miller was already preparing himself for a promotion and a hefty bonus.

Therefore, he had already informed his family that he wouldn’t be coming home for the New Year.

"President Vaughn."

He walked at the very front of the crowd, his tone passionate and zealous.

"Why are we hearing that you want us all to go back on holiday? The weather is about to turn for the better, the floodwaters will recede soon, and we were preparing to press on with the post-disaster reconstruction to let the villagers have a good New Year!"

"We’ve all been ready for a while now to stand with the villagers through thick and thin. They’re homeless. How could we possibly go home for the New Year with a clear conscience, President Vaughn?"

He hadn’t expected them to come and volunteer for the job themselves.

’A strong leader really does build a strong team,’ he thought.

The employees of the Vaughn Group were really doing him proud when it came to matters of principle.

With everyone showing this level of dedication, how could he not support them?

He turned and exchanged a look with Cecelia, ready to publicly praise her leadership abilities.

Suddenly, Cecelia moved closer and secretly tugged on the corner of his shirt.

"Backtrack on your promise. Anyone can stay, but send Miller back."

Damien: "???"

Cecelia couldn’t explain, so she just gave him a pleading look. Damien was silent for two seconds.

"The post-disaster reconstruction is very important, and I’m moved that you’ve all volunteered to stay. However, the company doesn’t want anyone’s family life to become discordant because of work."

"How about this: all the unmarried, single employees will stay. The rest of you can go back for now. Everyone who participated in this project will be compensated later, so don’t worry about that."

Miller had been counting on taking charge during the reconstruction, getting praised by the reporters covering the story, and fast-tracking his career. But now...

’Luna Linden!’

’That damned woman! How dare she snitch on me to President Vaughn right in front of my face!’