My Child and I Married a Billionaire

After returning to the country, Damien Vaughn rested for a day instead of rushing to the office. The next morning, he called Brandon Jacobs.

Since regaining his memories, aside from Cecelia Archer, Candy, and his mother, the person he worried about most was Brandon Jacobs.

Damien had seen with his own eyes how deeply in love with Elsa he was, and he didn’t know if Brandon had moved on yet.

But he called several times in a row, only to find Brandon Jacobs’s phone was turned off.

’Has he gone back to that life of drunken debauchery? Did he not even notice his phone died?’

He had no choice but to call Wyatt Wynn next.

Wyatt Wynn was beyond excited to get his call.

"Fuck, you’re finally back! What kind of business trip takes months? I missed you to death, you know that? What the hell has been going on? Not long ago, everyone was doing just fine, and then suddenly, one by one, you all just up and left me. Now I’m all alone every day, and I’m about to go crazy from boredom! Look who finally decided to come back!"

Damien Vaughn had no idea what he was talking about, so Wyatt Wynn explained.

"A while back, I don’t know what got into Jacobs, but he just dropped the club and announced he was going on a trip to clear his head. He’s been gone for this long, and his phone’s off. Shit, I have no idea where he is now or what woman he’s hooked up with. But don’t worry. He’s probably in the honeymoon phase, taking some girl out sightseeing. Ditching his friends for a girl... I’ve never seen someone so love-struck!"

"And don’t even get me started on that guy Zeke Walton. He did a complete one-eighty. He’s gotten all hot and heavy with that delivery girl, and now they’re living together. They’re inseparable. I can’t get him to come out for anything!"

"No matter what, I have to drag those two bastards back today so we can all get together with you. I’m seriously going stir-crazy."

’Brandon Jacobs went sightseeing? He’s been gone this long without contacting anyone?’

Damien actually hoped he really had found a new woman and was off in the throes of a new romance. Otherwise...

Meanwhile, thanks to Amina’s tireless efforts, she had successfully been accepted into college.

It wasn’t a top-tier university, but given her academic background, getting into any undergraduate program was a major accomplishment.

Her acceptance was confirmed, but it wasn’t yet time to register for classes. Overjoyed, Zeke Walton decided to go with her on a trip back to her hometown to pick up the grandmother she missed so dearly.

From then on, she could attend college while taking care of her grandmother. Life was only going to get better.

They picked a bright and sunny day, and Zeke Walton drove her as they began the journey home.

Amina’s home was truly remote, truly far away. They spent more than two full days on the highway, then navigated a series of county and township roads. After several more hours trekking down a winding, muddy path, they finally reached their destination.

Amina’s home was in a small, sparsely populated village perched on a steep hillside.

Zeke Walton parked the car on a flat patch of ground, and the two of them walked the rest of the way. Their arrival caused an immediate uproar.

Aside from the occasional migrant worker returning for the New Year, the village rarely had outsiders, let alone young people from the city.

Someone as young and handsome as Zeke Walton, who looked like a movie star from television, was a true eye-opener for the villagers.

And though Amina had only been working away from home for a few months, she looked completely different from her village self.

Her skin was fairer and smoother, and she looked more fashionable.

It seemed the rumors their cousin had sent back were true after all: she’d gone to the big city to work in *that* kind of profession and had struck it rich.

The villagers all chattered excitedly as they crowded into the house.

Amina greeted her fellow villagers one by one and handed out some snacks she had brought back. Only then did they all reluctantly return to their own homes.

Her grandmother was overjoyed. Despite her poor eyesight and numerous health problems, she insisted on cooking dinner for them herself.

Amina couldn’t bear to see her grandmother toil, so she took over the cooking herself. After a flurry of activity, they finally finished dinner and sat down to discuss bringing her grandmother to the city.

Amina had two older brothers, one twenty-six and the other twenty-four.

Although both were in the prime of their youth, their lack of education and years of farmwork made them look swarthy and far older than their years. The way they kept looking at Zeke Walton was full of insinuation, and Zeke disliked them from the very bottom of his heart.

They all took their seats in the spartan living room. The moment Amina finished saying she wanted to bring their grandmother to the city, her eldest brother shot up to object.

"Did you buy a house in the city? You make all this money and don’t send any back for the family, and now you’ve bought a house for yourself and want to take Grandma away? What are you trying to pull?"

Having been constantly oppressed by her brothers since childhood, Amina was afraid of them deep down in her heart.

She glanced at her eldest brother’s expression and said,

"I’ve only been gone a few months, how could I possibly afford a house? You have no idea how high the real estate prices are in Veridia. I might never afford a house in my entire life, but I can afford to rent. Grandma worked herself sick raising us. She’s this old and has never even left the village. I want to take her to a doctor and look after her in my spare time. You won’t even agree to that?"

Her eldest brother retorted aggressively, "If Grandma leaves, who’s going to cook for us? Who will we talk to when something comes up? You can’t afford a house? Who are you kidding? I can see you’ve changed! You promised before you left that you’d send your earnings back home. So where is it? Our cousin was right about you!"

At the mention of their cousin, Amina’s expression changed as she remembered what had happened that night.

"What did he tell you?"

"Never mind what he said," her eldest brother replied, acting as if he didn’t want to spell it out just to save her some face.

"You’re my sister, after all, so I don’t want to be too harsh. I don’t care what you’re doing out there, as long as you obediently hand over the money you earn, we won’t make a fuss. But don’t even think about taking Grandma!"

Amina was speechless. "I’m taking her to see a doctor! She’s old, her eyesight is failing, and she’s in constant pain. Do you think I’m taking her to the city to make money? What work could she possibly do there? Can’t you two cook for yourselves?"

"Cut the crap!"

Her second brother rushed forward to back up the eldest.

"Did you really come back empty-handed? You didn’t bring back a single cent from the last few months?"

Amina pointed to the pile of food on the floor.

"What do you mean I didn’t bring anything? What’s all this, then?"

"Who gives a damn about a pile of cheap snacks? We’re grown men; you know we don’t eat this junk! Your brother and I are getting old. We need to find wives. Aren’t you going to help us?"

Amina knew, of course, that at their age, they were considered old by local standards, making it difficult to find wives. If she didn’t earn money soon to buy them a house in town, they might remain bachelors for the rest of their lives.

’But they didn’t even try to work hard themselves. Why should they blame her?’

She struggled to control her emotions.

"I did bring some money back, but not much. I don’t earn that much, and I have my own expenses, plus Grandma’s medical bills... Just give me some time. After a little while, I’ll definitely send you something every month..."

THUD! Her second brother viciously kicked a carton of milk that was on the floor.

"Cut the bullshit! Don’t think for a second I don’t know how much you’re making a month now! You just don’t want to give us any! And you’ll send money back every month in the future? Who are you trying to kid? I’m telling you! If you don’t hand over every cent you’ve earned these past few months, you’re not sleeping tonight!"