At this point Abigail had difficulty speaking, even though her breathing grew weaker.
She had to get this man to understand, and also gets what she wants, although she doesn't believe it is going to happen, but she must try, a stranger wouldn't just acquiesce to her requests if she doesn't make him do so, such as giving him things he could not refuse.
"I own the car ahead," she croaked, her voice barely above a whisper. "And this house… beside me."
But the stranger did not move, although she felt him standing over her.
"I will… give you a billion dollars," she continued, clinging to the thread of awareness she had left. "But we… we have to go quickly."
She drank hard, her dry throat.
"We have to go to the Marriage Registry… immediately."
At that point her vision started to blur even more, and she started blinking rapidly trying to get such that she saw this to the end, trying to stay awake, not wanting to lose everything to the same people that doesn't deserve any shit from her grandmother.
"All the details… they're in my car," she whispered. "You can check… see who I really am… on the way there."
She wanted to talk even more, to convince him, to beg if necessary—but her body betrayed her.
Immediately her lungs shut down. Her vision blacked out.
She couldn't catch her breath. For one wild moment, she believed it was over.
She had fought. She had struggled.
But perhaps. this was how it would end.
Then— Picking her up from the floor were strong arms.
A firm hold. Not uncertain. Not hesitant.
She wasn't being left to die. She was being carried.
The scent of cologne and leather filled her nose as she was placed into a car, carefully.
Then—the car came to life.
At that moment she attempted to open her eyes, to see who had rescued her, but her body was too weak, to even glance at him, or speak.
She only knew one thing— They were headed to the Marriage Registry.
She didn't know how long it took. The ride was a blur.
She had no notion how they did it so fast.
But when her eyes snapped open, she was inside the Marriage Registry office.
And something wasn't right.
No people, nothing she was used to. The Marriage Registry doesn't vacate like that.
But today she couldn't help but not believe no waiting in line. No delays.
As if— The entire Marriage Registry had been booked for them.
They entered the Marriage Registry, and all of it progressed at a pace quicker than she expected.
Abigail was barely hanging on to consciousness and upright, but she could hear papers rustling, pens scratching, and legal officials mumbling as they checked facts.
The marriage certificate was written out in one go.
She had no idea how or why it was all going so well.
She recalled only signing.
One document. Then another.
Her fingers were barely capable of gripping the pen, but she gritted through to complete her signature.
And then—Everything went black.
Then Abigail opened her eyes in a hospital.
Her eyelids heavy, her arms leaden, her thoughts fuddled.
She couldn't think for a moment.
Everything was unfamiliar—whitewashed walls, humming machinery, the antiseptic scent of clean.
Then—the realization dawned on her. A hospital.
Immediately her heart beat loudly in that moment, her breathing grew jerky.
Was the day over already?
Had she lost everything? She attempted to sit up, her protesting body rebellious, but she pushed the pain away.
Instinctively, her eyes searched the room until she spotted it.
Her phone.
It sat on a tiny table beside her hospital bed.
She sat up immediately, her shaking, frail hands extending.
She clasped it, her fingers barely able to grip it.
Then the screen lit up.
In that moment, her eyes went wide.
Her blood ran cold. The day was finished.
She was twenty-five years old now.
Abigail stared at the screen, her hands grasping the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
The day was finished. The deadline had passed.
Then at that moment her stomach twisted in pain as the full force of reality struck her.
She had lost everything.
Then at that moment a thought crossed her mind, something that made her equally uncomfortable.
She couldn't believe the stranger… had rejected one billion dollars.
Who in their right mind would do that?
She had practically begged him.
She had offered him more money than most people would ever dream of seeing in a lifetime.
But instead of taking her to the Marriage Registry, he took her here, To a hospital, if he did not want to, he could have warned her beforehand, then look around for someone else who is ready to take her money.
Abigail laughed dryly, shaking her head.
He must have considered that she was crazy.
Maybe he had assumed she was crazy from blood loss, that she was talking nonsense.
Or maybe—he did not want money, if though it was all a lie.
The concept was nearly too unbelievable to grasp. Everyone had a price.
If she had known he would reject one billion dollars considering it a lie, she would have withdrawn the offer.
Ten million dollars, maybe.
Then maybe he would have seen this as more achievable offer and agree.
Perhaps then she might have been married.
Perhaps then she might still have had a fighting chance to fight for what belonged to her.
But now—it was too late.
Abigail had no idea what to feel.
Anger? Frustration? Regret?
Her head throbbed as she tried to put it all together.
And then— The door opened.
She looked up, and her breath froze.
Her stepmother has arrived.