"Five points?" At the woman’s words, Jason Lockwood’s expression instantly turned grim.

Jasmine Warren’s confidence wavered, but she still held her head high defiantly. "Of course, it’s five points. What more did you want?"

"So you’re not satisfied with me?"

"Not satisfied. Very unsatisfied. I could grab a random guy off the street, and he’d be a hundred times better than you!" ’At least he wouldn’t leave me so exhausted and miserable every day...’

Her words grew more and more outrageous, making Jason Lockwood clench his fists as a dark fury filled his eyes. "A random guy?"

"You expect me to be satisfied with *that* technique? No way!"

Jason Lockwood was so furious he could only point at Jasmine Warren for a long moment. Finally, he gritted his teeth and snarled, "You... Fine. Just you wait until we get back. If I don’t make you cry so much you can’t get out of bed, then my name isn’t Jason Lockwood!"

—

Jasmine Warren’s face fell, and her heart began to pound wildly.

’Did I just dig my own grave?’

But she had already made the boast; she couldn’t take it back now.

She crossed her arms, doing her best to suppress her emotions. With a cold snort, she said, "We’ll see about that!" ’Even if I’m just bluffing, I can’t let this guy look down on me!’

"Hah. We’ll see."

*****

「Meanwhile, at the Bishop residence.」

Yara Ross’s expression was incredibly sour after she saw the amount on the check.

"This is outrageous! How could he give you so little?" ’The CEO of such a huge company, and he’s this stingy...’

"Mom, please don’t say things like that ever again."

Eleanor Bishop was angry, but Yara Ross was even angrier. ’My daughter is worth way more than ten million!’

"Eleanor, you just don’t fight for yourself. From a big-shot CEO like that, how could you accept so little money?"

"Then how much did you want me to ask for?"

"At least this much!" Yara Ross said, holding up her hand.

Seeing Yara Ross’s gesture, Eleanor Bishop laughed bitterly. "Fifty million? Mom, you really have the nerve to ask for that." ’Ten million was already humiliating enough. Now she wants fifty million? Does she want me to never be able to hold my head high in front of Archie again?’

"In the past two years, every time you went to see Jason, you always came back with at least thirty million. And I can tell this Mr. Kent is much richer than Jason. I’ve seen his company building—it’s way more impressive than Jason’s. Oh, Eleanor, you are just too foolish." Yara Ross grew angrier the more she spoke.

"Mom, I’m a person! I’m your daughter, not a commodity!" Eleanor Bishop cried, her eyes red. She turned, scooped Rory up from the sofa, and ran into her room.

Once in her room, Eleanor Bishop bolted the door. She sat on the bed, hugging Rory tightly as she began to cry.

Seeing her mother crying so hard, Rory reached out a small hand to touch Eleanor Bishop’s face. "Mommy, don’t cry," she said, her own voice choked with tears. "When Rory grows up, Rory will earn lots and lots of money. Then Rory won’t let Mommy go out to earn money anymore."

Eleanor Bishop wiped away her tears and nodded with a sad smile. "You’re such a good girl, Rory..."

"Mommy, don’t cry. Rory will be really, really rich one day..."

"Yes, Mommy believes Rory. One day, Rory will be very, very rich, not like Mommy," Eleanor Bishop sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she nuzzled Rory’s small cheek.

Rory used her little hands to wipe Eleanor’s tears. "Mommy, we’ll have money. When we have money, we’ll leave this place. We won’t live with Grandma and Grandpa anymore."

"Okay... When we have money, Mommy will take Rory away from here..."