Chapter 37
Sweet Subterfuge
Larissa glanced at the collection bills in Mrs Hardyâs hands. The top most one alone was ten thousand dollars. If it all added up-
Seeing the hesitation on her face, Mrs. Hardy wiped away her tears and wailed again. âThe nurse said, if we donât pay soon, weâll have to bring Travis home. Travis has suffered such serious injuries. Itâs been a day, and his condition is still criticalâif the hospital doesnât let him stay, heâll die! Youâre his wife!
You canât just stand there and do nothing!â
Her last two sentences were extremely misleading. Many of the people queuing at the payment counter immediately cast looks filled with contempt and disdain at Larissa.
Larissa turned her back on them. She tried to not look at them to reduce the pressure she felt to be responsible for Travis condition.
She had already seen it allâwhen she had to deal with the Hardy family, saving herself from embarrassment was not an option.
She accepted the bills and flipped through them. From her rough calculations, they all amounted to about thirty thousand dollars.
Thirty thousand dollars wasnât a lot to her, but it wasnât exactly a small amount either.
She knew that if sheâd just paid for Travisâ medical bills now unconditionally, she would never get that money back from him nor his family.
So, she told Mrs. Hardy, âIâll loan you the money, but youâll have to write me a debt acknowledgment form.â
Mrs. Hardyâs eyes widened, as though she hadnât understood a single word Larissa said. Or, even if she had understood her requests, it was as if she couldnât believe what sheâd heard.
âYouâre making meâwrite you a debt acknowledgement form?â Her voice was very loud, her tone exaggerated.
Larissa ignored the intense stares behind her and nodded. âYes, I want you to write me a debt acknowledgement form,â she repeated.
Seeing that Mrs. Hardy was still unwilling, Larissa did not force her any further.
âItâs fine if you donât want to.â She passed the bills back to her. âTravis stole the ownership of a house from me. If you really donât have the money to pay for his medical care, sell that house. I donât care.â
She raised her voice intentionally. Let those people who couldnât mind their own business hear it all!
Mrs. Hardy immediately grabbed Larissaâs arm before she could leave. Her head bobbed up and down, almost frantically. âIâll write you that debt acknowledgement form! Donât leave yet!â
Larissa had a notepad and a pen on her.
Once Mrs. Hardy wrote the acknowledgement slip and was done signing her name, Larissa folded the note and stored it carefully in a compartment in her backpack. Then, she followed Mrs. Hardy back to the payment counter and paid off the thirty thousand dollars of debt for Travis.
âIf thereâs nothing else, Iâll take my leave.â Once her job in the hospital was done, Larissa had no intention of lingering.
Mrs. Hardy held her back and stammered, âTravis needs to stay in the hospital for one more day. The medical expenses alone would cost us more than a few hundred dollars. Since neither of us is allowed to enter the intensive care unit, we have to pay for a caretaker too-â
The meaning behind her words was apparentâshe needed more money from Larissa.
Larissa thought to herself that they really thought of her as naive.
âEvery misdeed has a perpetrator, and every debt has a debtor. Since you said that Travisâ current condition is all Amberâs fault, you should go and ask her to pay for it. If she refuses to, you can sue her.
Iâm sure if she really is in the wrong, the judge will stand by your side.â
She yanked her arm away from Mrs. Hardy and strode outside quickly.
The hospital was very crowded, and they were quickly separated by the bustling activity. Just as Mrs.
Hardy was about to run after Larissa, she realized she could no longer spot her in the crowd.
As Larissa expected, Travis had indeed been in an accident.
She just didnât expect it to be this serious.
âIntensive care unit!â
âHis condition is still critical!â
Based on Mrs. Hardyâs descriptions, Larissa found it difficult to imagine what had happened between him and Amber.
She thought to herself coldly. If Travis had died, would she still be able to get her house and her money back?
She texted Dylan for clarification.
In less than two minutes, Dylan called her.
Larissa answered his call immediately, but before she could speak, Dylanâs anxious voice rang out on the other end. âMs. Seymour! You need to calm down! Donât do anything stupid!â