My Billionaire Husband

On the way back, Kate stayed silent.

A deliberately avoided history had been dug back up suddenly.

After Kate had quit school, she worked at a canned food factory in her hometown. She did not make much money, but it was better than nothing.

The land in their area was thin, and the weather in those years was not good, so there was never a large yield. Even the farmers had very little attachment to their land. The young people always sought to go away to the big cities.

Betty, who was one of the girls that had left for the coastal cities, seemed to make quite a lot of money. When Kate was still working her head off in order to get into a good senior high school, Betty went to Los Angeles with a few girls. When she came back for Christmas, she was dressed in completely different clothing and won much admiration from her friends and their parents.

Quite a lot of girls wanted to go back with Betty, but Betty only wanted Kate to come with her. The reason was simple. Kate was easy-going, pretty, and did great at school. In short, she made a good company and would never cause trouble with others.

This was also the time when Kate's family needed money the most. Her sister and brother were both doing great in school. They had a good chance to get into Ivy League colleges, but their parents could not afford to send them all to college. Kate thought she was not as good as her siblings, so she talked with her parents, and after the New Year holidays, she followed Betty to Los Angeles.

Kate was told that money was easily made in this city, but when she arrived, she found it wasn't exactly the same as what Betty described. Betty told her that she got a job at a five-star hotel. But in fact, it was the recreation center of a hotel, composed of a karaoke and spa center.

Betty turned quite different when they returned to Los Angeles. When Kate saw the ladies with revealing outfits walking along the recreation center, she felt full of remorse.

However, Kate could not do anything about it. She reckoned she could spend some time here and make some money and then decide what to do next.

Betty was not bad to her. She introduced her to coworkers at the karaoke. And she had asked the manager to take care of her, to avoid some of the more touchy guests. Kate was careful and tried her best to appear invisible. Hence nothing happened for quite a long while.

However, even if you don't make trouble, trouble finds you.

One day, a drunken guest dragged her aside and fumbled his claws on her body. Then he pulled her into his arms. She struggled, but the man didn't release her and kept touching her here and there, saying, "Give me an amount. Don't be affected. How much do you want?"

She struggled harder, but he was a burly guy and easily mounted on top of her. His companions were looking on like devils, and the other girls didn't dare to help Kate. They turned a deaf ear to Kate's cries for help.

The man was stimulated by alcohol, and with the encouragement of his companions, he kissed Kate's neck and reached his hand under her dress. In a panic, she grabbed a beer bottle and hit him on his forehead.

It was a hard hit, and he started bleeding immediately.

Then there were screams, and a sharp noise pierced the air.

She was lucky. The siren was for police raids.

Betty said later that if it were not for that police raid, Kate would have been r.a.p.ed or even killed. In a place like this, money equaled power. It was easy to erase a person from this world. Nobody would take seriously the case of a missing whore.

That man was so drunk, and he got furious at the sight of his own blood. He would not let go of Kate's wrist. The policemen arrived, and one or two said they knew his father. His companions also testified that Kate had tried to seduce him.

In that kind of place, nobody would trust Kate's side of the story. And at the moment when she was being taken away with a few other girls for prostitution, she almost wanted to kill herself to prove her innocence.

***

There was one young policeman who listened to her carefully. He mentioned the name of a consortium casually to the drunken man. He said that making trouble for his father at this time might not be worthwhile. The man's swollen arrogance assuaged, and then with the intervention of the manager and staff, it was agreed that the center would pay him for his injury.

Kate quit that job decisively, and of course, the manager would not let her work there anymore. Betty suggested she go to the spa section, but Kate was furious at this suggestion. She also heard that the masseuses fought for guests and formed cliques. Betty must have wanted her to join her clique so that they could be stronger.

Kate accused Betty of impure intention to use her, and Betty criticized her for being ungrateful. They fought, and Kate moved out of the house. She paid Betty the last bit of rent she owed.

Kate's strong and stubborn personality prevented her from going back home. So she rented a house for herself and found a job as a waitress in a restaurant. She worked for two months but received not a cent.

Her boss was a member of a gang and found every excuse not to pay her. She ran out of money and became sick. Kate's landlord kept pressing her for rent and requested her to move out immediately. At the moment when she was sick in bed with no money to buy medicine and no strength to get food, as she thought she was going to die, Betty appeared again.

Betty paid the rent for her and gave Kate another five hundred dollars. She told her to go back home with the money or find another job when she got well if she preferred.

"I know you are a proud person. You would rather die than come to me for help. Believe it or not, I appreciate you." Betty sighed. "But one cannot survive alone in this world. And sometimes you also have to make compromises."

Kate frowned and coughed. "Compromises to moral principles?"

Betty sneered. "How much are your moral principles worth? Can you use that to pay tuition bills for your sister and brother?"

Kate could not refute her comments. Betty walked to the door and said with her back to her, "Anyway, I admire you. I hope you can stick to your principles. I wish to see you succeed with your principles, really."

After Betty left, some restaurant delivered food to her room. The delivery guy told her someone paid them to deliver food to her for a week.

Kate was moved deeply. She had resented Betty after the incident at the karaoke, but now she saw the other side of Betty.

Kate knew that cruel reality had twisted her friend, but she still reserved part of her good nature. She knew Betty was trying to protect her better part. She was grateful to Betty for saving her life and promised herself that she would reward Betty one day.

When Kate recovered from her illness, she was lucky to get the job she was doing now very quickly.

When she recalled this tough period in Los Angeles, she found it didn't bring much pain to her heart now. This difficult time brought pain to her but also forced her to grow up. Now she was stronger and more sophisticated than she was three years ago.

The car stopped, and she arrived at her house.

The road light shone into the car, and the man who sat beside her had eyes like shining stars, which gave her a peaceful feeling. Jimmy tried to comfort her. "Don't worry. That guy will not stay for long. Call me when something happens. I am standing by 24/7."

Kate thanked him heartily.

"You are welcome." Jimmy pointed at her phone. "Give me a ring after you get into your room."

Kate got out of the car and walked in the beams of the headlights. She walked faster and faster but had a feeling of being protected, which she never had before. She ran up the stairs and rushed to her window to see if the car was still there. She dialed Jimmy's number, and when she pressed "CALL," her heart began to beat fast.

The man downstairs seemed to acknowledge her stare. He pressed the horn twice before backing the car up and leaving.

Kate didn't leave the window until the beams disappeared in the darkness of the night. Her roommate just got out of the bathroom and said, "In a good mood? Are you in love now?"

Kate blushed and muttered, "No. It is not the case." She went back to her room to change clothes.

She put the past away, but the person she met couldn't. Their meeting aroused his hatred and shame from eating humble pie the last time they met.