On the quiet and empty playground, Mollie stared at her well-dressed, glamorous mother in the drizzle of autumn, feeling sad inside.

"Mom, I'm only twenty years old and haven't graduated from university. My life is just about to begin. I really don't want to get married."

In Mollie's memories, she often did not have enough food or clothes when she was a child. At her twelve, her mother married Alec. Then, they started to depend on the Crook Family for a living. Currently, Mollie was leading a relatively independent life, and she cherished it sincerely.

For her, getting married at this point in life was no different from getting into another mire.

"Mollie, I know you are still young. But it's a must for a woman to get married. Which man in City Empire can compare to Lucas from the Goodwin Family? Countless women want to marry him, but now you're the one selected by him. How lucky you are! You should seize the opportunity without hesitation!"

Susan tried hard to persuade her daughter. In her heart, Mollie could be silly sometimes, as she always thought differently from others.

Mollie heaved a sigh and then said in a helpless tone of voice, "Mom, you know I am not interested in those rich and famous families."

Her only expectation for marriage was to find someone in love with her and spend the rest of her life with him. That kind of marriage based purely on money and material would only make her feel utterly desperate about life.

"But you should take me, your Mom, into consideration. Alec's company is short of investment. Lucas has promised that as long as you marry him, he is willing to invest 100 million, without which the company will go bankrupt. By then, how do you want me to face Alec?"

Mollie gave a wry smile and looked at Susan with a gloomy expression on her face. "All in all, you just want money. Alec can sell his own daughter for the investment, why me?"

"He wanted to, but Lucas has made it clear that he wants to marry you."

Mollie tilted her face to one side and said in a determined tone of voice, "I won't marry him anyway. You may ask Alec to find another way for the funds." Marriage was sacred. How could it be used for business?

"Mollie, I'm begging you. If you don't save me, Alec will definitely cold-shoulder me. I am too old to take another divorce. My life is so miserable. I have suffered for most of my life, and I need to spend my later years in peace." As Susan spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Mollie bit her bottom lips and said impatiently, "Do you have to use this trick every time?"

Susan pursed her mouth with an aggrieved look in her eyes, saying, "You're my sweet daughter. Who else can I turn to for help but you when I'm in difficulty?"

Mollie opened her lips slightly, took a deep breath, and nodded heroically. "Okay, then. I'll marry Lucas. But I hope this is the last time that you bother me with a thing related to the Crook Family."

Mollie, of course, did not want her mother to suffer more in her pathetic life.

——————

When classes were over at noon on Friday, Mollie walked reluctantly towards the school gate with books in her arms. Lucas was waiting for her there, and they were going to get marriage licenses in the afternoon.

Looking up at the sky, she could not help putting a bitter, helpless smile. The sun was shining brightly, but the future she saw was in boundless darkness.