Emily was in a dilemma for the entire day before eventually deciding to give Rammos a call. “Mr. Smith, I would like to request a favor from you.”
Rammos was currently in a difficult position as he stood up on Braelynn just to meet with Emily last time. He was in a very bad mood and he was not as polite as he used to when interacting with Emily. “Ms. Poland, what is it that you want from me again?”
His tone had indicated how annoyed he was towards her. Emily felt uneasy as she had promised to not bother Callum anymore. However, an embarrassing feeling arose as she had been requesting Callum to lend a helping hand towards Azalea several times.
Her efforts would all go down the drain should she take a step back just because that she felt awkward since things have already turned out this way. She then mustered up her courage and said, “I would like Azalea’s contract to be handled by him personally, is that okay?”
“I’ll notify Mr. Floyd about this then!” Rammos was not being friendly with her at all.
Emily could feel his impatience even when she was on the phone with him instead of in person. She then ended the call and sheltered her face. She felt ashamed and desperately wanted to dig a hole to bury herself into.
Rammos took her request seriously despite feeling irritated towards her. He soon told Callum about this matter.
Callum did not refuse her request despite feeling distressed about recent events. “No problem. I shall arrange matters accordingly. Do instruct the signing ceremony to be relatively glamorous as I will be attending the said function.”
Callum would fulfill any request that Emily demanded from him. Rammos sighed and said, “Mr. Floyd, you have never taken such a trivial matter seriously. Are you sure that your parents will be alright if you commence such an over-the-top ceremony?”
“It’s fine. My parents will not be able to connect the dots onto Emy as Azalea carries the family name of Clark. Besides, I have been feeling guilty ever since I have rejected her idea of deeming Azalea as my goddaughter. She is not being unreasonable judging by this request of hers. Hence, you can save your efforts from persuading me to change my mind.”
Rammos had nothing else to say upon hearing his words. He then called Emily and told her that Callum had agreed to attend the signing ceremony of Azalea. “Emily, Mr. Floyd has agreed to your request. Do remind Miss Clark to prepare herself for the big event as the function would commence within several days.”
Emily was relieved after receiving the news from Rammos and swiftly told Azalea about it. “Azalea, the president of the Floyd family’s company will be personally attending your signing ceremony. You need to give your best shot and get ready for your big day.”
Azalea was feeling over the moon upon hearing about it and asked, “Aunt Emily, are you sure about that?”
“Of course! I am always true to my words! Rammos told me that there would be an extravagant signing ceremony for you within the next few days. You need to start preparing yourself for the big show. Clothing and jewelry should be decided well in advance and we need to find a way to cover the scar that is on your forehead.”
“I can always find a good makeup artist to conceal my scar. I’m just worried about picking the suitable jewelry and outfit… It has been a long time since I have last worked. Hence, I seem to be on a tight budget to tick these two items off my list.” Azalea stammered while taking a peek at Emily.
“Aunt Emily, can… can you please lend me some money to buy some jewelry and clothing?”
Emily did not refuse her request and asked, “How much would you need?”
“I don’t mind not customizing my outfit but it needs to be of high quality. I may need at least a hundred thousand to fulfill such criteria, right? I also need a few hundred thousand of funds to pick out the best value of jewelry for me…”
Azalea was very observant of Emily. She paused for a moment upon seeing the displeased look on Emily’s face and suggested, “There is no need for me to borrow the entire sum from you as I still have some money with me. Aunt Emily, I have an idea. You shall lend me two hundred thousand of funds and I will definitely pay you back upon receiving the endorsement fee as my income soon.”
Azalea had taken away more than half of Emily’s savings over the past few years. She had been using the same excuse whenever she intend to demand some financial assistance from Emily. She would claim to repay back the funds to Emily whenever she receive some fees after being a model, brand ambassador, or actress.
However, she had never taken her word seriously and Emily did not receive any money as payback from her ever before. Emily would not demand her in paying back what she owed as Azalea was her daughter after all. It was not possible for a mother to request such a bizarre demand from her daughter. Hence, Azalea had taken away more than half of the salary that Emily had received as an interpreter as time and years went by.
Azalea still intended to demand financial aid from Emily by utilizing the same excuse. Emily struggled to come up with something in continuing the conversation.
“Azalea, have you mistaken that I am a wealthy person? I am working as an interpreter and it is not as easy as you think. You might have assumed that I have a high salary but that is not the case. Besides, you have basically borrowed the majority of my savings throughout these years.”
Emily was being very indirect but Azalea did not share the same thought with her. How could Emily be such a stingy person?
“Aunt Emily, it is not my intention to not pay back the money that I have owed you. I am hanging by a thread in order to pay the funds off. Something bad will always occur whenever I receive my paycheck. That is why I have no savings with me at the current moment… I promise to double the amount that I have borrowed from you should I receive my income real soon. I will support your retirement life in the future since you don’t have any child to rely on.”
Emily sighed and said, “I know you are a good person, but I truly do not have much money with me now. To be honest, I still have yet to pay the repair fees to the car owner due to the accident last time.”
“Aren’t you well connected with others? You can always seek financial assistance from them. I am sure that your social circle consists of wealthy entrepreneurs. Isn’t it a piece of cake to borrow hundreds of thousands of funds from them?”
Emily felt disappointed upon hearing Azalea’s words. She finally understood why Thomas dislike Azalea so much.
She had two children with different personalities. One was a motivated and independent person who would never rely on others to achieve greatness. Her daughter, on the other hand, was over-reliant on others and would always take the easy way out. Azalea was clearly being unreasonable.
Emily felt a trace of disgust when Azalea had always taken things for granted despite Azalea being her child.
Azalea had never kept her promise well. How could one with a materialistic personality have a bright future?
Emily was skeptical that Azalea would always have a comfortable life without putting much effort into it. She had believed that one would have a solid destiny when doing things the old-fashioned way.
Azalea had been spoilt as a child and Emily felt that she was responsible for it. Emily could beg for Callum’s help for the sake of her daughter’s career. However, she decided to not pamper Azalea blindly.
Emily thought to herself and glanced at Azalea with a stern look on her face. “Azalea, your number one priority should always be to commence your job properly. It’s useless to go back door just to have the easy way out. Besides, you will not be attending a red carpet event as this is merely a signing ceremony. Why are you making such a fuss about it?”
“Aunt Emily, I’m not trying to be over the top. I just don’t want to embarrass the Floyd family as they are a large enterprise planning for a signing event. The public might assume that I do not take the Floyd family seriously if I were to dress casually, right? I’m intending to show my respect towards the Floyd family and let the public be aware that I value this collaboration agreement very much.”
Azalea’s words were somewhat reasonable. Emily sighed and said, “I truthfully do not have any spare cash with me but I have a suggestion. I shall lend you my jewelry for the time being. You can also have the formal dress that I used to wear last time.”
Emily did not have a habit of wearing jewelry. How could her accessories be of any good when she was not a wealthy person? Azalea thought to herself. Emily even said that she had a dress which she wore a long time ago. The outfit must be extremely old-fashioned judging by it. Azalea was definitely not looking forward to receiving them from Emily.
However, it seemed that Emily had already made up her mind not to provide her with financial aid. Azalea was also not in a good situation to get into a disagreement with her aunt. Hence, she eventually agreed with a disappointed look on her face.
“Alright. Thanks, Aunt Emily.”