Novel Update
Chapter 78 How Much Is Dignity Worth
Chapter 78 How Much Is Dignity Worth
Madam Shaw glanced at them and scoffed nonchalantly, "Don’t you forget, it’s the Shaws that paid her salary."
Jacob’s brows were drawn together. He felt that Madam Shaw was wrong, but he could not give any solid rebuttal in his current condition.
Looking at her brother's confused look, Susan felt a pang of pain in her heart. She turned to Madam Shaw and refuted, "Mom, although I'm working at Lanyard, I don’t just sit there and do nothing. I work very hard and I think I have every right to get a paycheck from Lanyard."
Madam Shaw’s face turned dark and she snapped," Don’t you dare talk back to me like this, Susan Shelby. You work for it? Hah, don’t make me laugh, please. If you really have a backbone, then work somewhere else instead of leeching off Lanyard. Also, I guess you despise everything that is owned by the Shaws too, given that you're a woman with an unfailing rectitude. Very well then, I'll take back my word. You’re not allowed to take a single thing that Julian bought for you out of this house."
Susan clenched her fist tight.
If she was alone, she would certainly fight back and then leave the house with her dignity intact. However, she could not do that as she still had to take care of her brother. Her brother was sick, and she needed the money from the Shaws to save him.
She gritted her teeth.
"What’s wrong? Why are you giving me that face?
Could it be that you can't do it?" Madam Shaw sneered coldly, "If you still want the money from the Shaws, then behave yourself. Do you really think you've become a princess after you married
above you? Know your place, Susan Shelby. You’re nothing but a tool that I bought to help Julian avoid misfortune. I don't want to hear you talk back to me like this ever again, you hear me?"
Susan remained silent, but Madam Shaw was not convinced. She shot a cold glare at her and snarled, " Say it. Do you hear me?"
"Y-Yes, Madam Shaw," Susan replied, her voice trembling.
Madam Shaw raised her brows. “Say it out loud. I can't hear you."
Just when Susan shut her eyes and about to do as Madam Shaw instructed, she felt a tug at her wrist. She turned her head around and saw Jacob's eyes, his gaze clean and unblemished.
"I already told you that we don't want a single thing from the Shaws. Susie works at Lanyard, so it's normal for Lanyard to give her a paycheck for her service. To put it differently, the money belongs to Susie and you don't have any right to take it back. As
for the rest of the things, you can have them back as you wish," Jacob said matter-of-factly. 1 "But, Jacob..." Susan was taken aback by her brother’s bluntness. Jacob might need to undergo surgery at any moment. The surgical procedure required a large amount of money, which was something that she could not afford with her current savings.
"Susie, return the things to Madam Shaw. Right now," Jacob instructed, looking at Susan with his clear eyes. NôvelDrama.Org content.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, a satirical grin hopped onto Madam Shaw's lips.
"But you need money for the surgery, I..." Susan bit her lower lip.
"Susie!" Jacob interrupted forcefully, "If you don't return the things to the Shaw family now, I'll not do the surgery even if you have the money."
Jacob gazed straight into her eyes, and Susan found nothing but only an unassailable resolution behind his gaze. She knew her brother very well, and she was very certain that he would put his actions into words, but she still could not make up her mind.
"Susie!" Jacob raised his voice, snapping her back to reality. Her eyes refocused on Jacob's face and she noticed that his face had turned pale due to his rage.
Startled, she quickly comforted, "Easy, Jacob."
Her brother was weak, and his heart might fail again i f he got too agitated.
"Then listen to me, Susie," Jacob’s face grew paler and sweat started beading on his forehead.
"Okay, okay, you calm down first, Jacob. I’ll go now and take those things out," Susan assented.
She wanted money not for her own sake but for her brother. However, if the money that she got ended up being counterproductive and hurt her brother more, then she would rather not want the money at all.
Very soon, Susan had taken out everything that Julian bought for her. There were only some clothes and daily supplies that she bought herself left in the luggage.
"There, everything is here, nothing more and nothing less. So can we leave now?" Jacob looked at Madam Shaw.
Madam Shaw gave a cold laugh, "If that's where you're going, then let's get to the bottom of it. I'm the one who paid most of your medical expenses. When you had a heart attack last time, the surgical procedure alone had already cost more than 200 thousand dollars. Then, later on, you suffered some emotional shock and you showed signs of schizophrenia. It's me who sent you off to a specialized facility. The fee for the facility was 30,000 dollars per month. You stayed there for more than a year, so the total cost is about 300 thousand dollars. Even if I subtract the cents, the
total bill is about 500 thousand dollars, and all of that was paid by the Shaws. I'm fine if you want your dignity, but Jacob, can you return the money to me first?” "Susie, is everything she said true?" Jacob turned to look at Susan.
Setting her jaw tight, it took Susan a lot to nod and replied, "Don't worry, Jacob. I’ll figure out a way...”
Jacob squinted his eyes as understanding dawned upon him. It was apparent to him that whatever Madam Shaw was talking about was the truth. They were in great debt to the Shaws.
"Susie, can you get me a pen and a paper?” Jacob said calmly.
"Sure, but what are you going to do with them?” Susan asked.
"Just get them for me,” Jacob repeated.
Although Susan had no idea what Jacob was about to do, she still got him a piece of paper and a pen.
Jacob took the paper and the pen and sat in front of a table. Piqued by her curiosity, Susan craned her neck t o take a peek and realized that he was writing an I.O.U.
The content was that he had borrowed 50 thousand dollars from the Shaws. 2
After he handed the I.O.U to Madam Shaw, he asked once more, "So, can we leave now?"
Madam Shaw's expression changed. She took the I.O.U from Jacob and taunted, "Drop your attitude, brat. You can only talk to me like this after you've paid off your debt." "Give me one year. After one year, I'll give you your money back," Jacob said seriously.
"I'm looking forward to it," Madam Shaw snickered.
Truth be told, it was not the money that ticked her off, but Jacob's attitude. If his attitude was nice, then she would just regard the money as she had fed it to a dog. However, since Jacob showed her this kind of attitude, she felt she must get the money back from him.
Jacob continued to hold her gaze. "Now that we don't owe you anything, you can't make things difficult for Susie anymore. I want you to apologize to her for your attitude right now!”
Madam Shaw's countenance darkened. No one was audacious enough to point a finger at her and demanded an apology from her. Not only was Jacob the first one to do it, but this was also his second time doing it.
She gave a cold laugh and said, "It's too early to say this now. I'll consider it once you pay off all your debt."
Jacob did not say anything but just looked at her as if he was trying to ingrain her look into his brain.
After a long while, he nodded and said calmly, "Okay. Let's go, Susie."
Grabbing both their luggages and Susan's hand, he walked out of the house without even turning his
head once.
Susan wanted to say something, and there was a worried look on her face. However, she did not say anything in the end and left with Jacob. 1
Looking at Jacob and Susan’s backs, an indifferent smile spread across Madam Shaw’s face.
This was not part of her plan. No matter how much she despised Susan, she still helped Julian avoid the misfortune. As such, she allowed Susan to bring something along with her. In this way, not
only that she could settle Jacob's medical expenses, but they would also have enough money to spend for the rest of their life.
However, since they valued their dignity so much, she was eager to know how much their dignity was worth.