Chapter 1050: Chapter 1050: We Will Live Very Well
Bertha Swift had a decent day, but Milne Swift wasn’t so lucky.
The Swift borrowed thirty million from Mason Fletcher for emergency use, and now with Bertha Swift taken away from the engagement scene by Adam Piers, he inevitably has to face the Fletcher’s accountability.
After multiple failed attempts to contact Bertha Swift, Milne Swift angrily sought out Mason Piers. Although Mason was infuriated upon hearing about his son’s actions, he was used to being a dandy, so he made a show of it by calling Adam, only to be fiercely rebuffed.
Having been humbled before his son, Mason Piers vented his anger on Milne Swift, leaving Milne both furious and helpless against either Adam or Mason Piers.
At this moment, Mason Fletcher issued a final ultimatum for the Swift to repay the thirty million within three days.
The Swift had been mismanaged for years, and the company was already in such poor shape that it had relied on the Fletcher’s thirty million to take a chance on a new project, hoping for a turnaround—where would they find a penny to pay back Mason Fletcher now?
Unable to contact Bertha Swift, Milne Swift poured all his anger onto his wife.
The next day.
When Bertha Swift and Adam Piers returned to the film set, they saw Bertha’s mother, who was wrapped up tightly. With just one glance, Bertha noticed something was wrong with her mother. She rushed over and pulled off the scarf from her mother’s face, revealing bruising on her cheeks and lips. She lifted her mother’s clothes and, sure enough, there were bruises all over her body, both new and old scars. Her heart sank into a pit of fury, and she felt an urge to confront Milne Swift recklessly.
But Mrs. Swift grabbed Bertha, "Mom’s fine, Mom’s fine..."
Seeing her mother’s usual timid demeanor, Bertha despised it from the bottom of her heart, yet she couldn’t help but feel distressed. Resisting her sadness, she asked, "Did he tell you to come here?"
Mrs. Swift nodded and then shook her head, finally letting out a deep sigh, "Mom’s heard that Mr. Fletcher isn’t a good man. Don’t worry, I won’t advise you to marry him. I just came to see you. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters."
As she spoke, Mrs. Swift reluctantly patted Bertha’s wrist, forced a smile, and said, "Seeing you’re alright, Mom can rest easy now. I’m leaving."
Bertha frowned as she watched her mother turn to leave, feeling something was off.
How could Milne Swift simply let her mother go, or let her go?
Recalling her mother’s demeanor just now, Bertha’s heart skipped a beat, and she murmured softly, "Something’s not right."
Adam Piers heard her, "What’s not right?"
"My mom’s not right. Milne Swift wouldn’t have sent her here just to see me." Thinking of this, Bertha hurried to chase after her mother in small steps.
Adam Piers followed closely behind Bertha.
Just as Bertha trotted to the parking lot, she heard her mother arguing with that Uncle Service. Strangely, with her mother’s character, how could she dare to quarrel with Uncle Service? Who didn’t know that anyone in the Swift family could bully her mother?
And when had her mother ever dared to resist?
While pondering this, Bertha saw her normally weak mother suddenly pull out a dagger from nowhere and place it against her own neck.
Bertha was instantly drenched in cold sweat and heard her mother threateningly say, "Milne Swift is inhumane and doesn’t treat my daughter as a daughter, but I can’t let my daughter fall into this abyss like me. I won’t help him threaten Bertha anymore."
Uncle Service, just like Bertha, hadn’t expected Mrs. Swift, such a fragile and mild-tempered woman who had endured for years, to dare use a dagger to threaten herself. He sneered, "I don’t believe you dare to harm yourself."
Mrs. Swift’s eyes filled with tears. Upon hearing Uncle Service’s words, she forcefully closed her eyes and then suddenly made a move.
Startled, Uncle Service hurriedly went to stop Mrs. Swift. At this moment, Bertha and Adam Piers caught up. Seeing the dagger move on her mother’s neck, Bertha was so frightened that her heart nearly stopped, and she exclaimed, "Mom!"
Fortunately, Adam Piers swiftly knocked the dagger out of Mrs. Swift’s hand.
The dagger fell to the ground, and Mrs. Swift glanced at it, the next moment collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud. Bertha wasn’t any better off either; she hugged her mother tightly, "Mom, how could you be so foolish? What were you trying to do? What are you planning to do?"
She emotionally whispered hoarsely, her eyes reddening as she pulled her mother into a close embrace.
Mrs. Swift looked at her daughter with guilt, "I’m sorry, Bertha. I didn’t want this either, but Mom can’t help you with anything, and I still have to use myself to threaten you to do things you don’t want to do. Mom doesn’t want to live like this any longer. Better to die than continue living this way..."
"Mom, don’t talk nonsense. I’m doing fine, aren’t I? If you die, what am I supposed to do? Don’t worry about Dad and the Swift family. Leave it to me, I’ll handle it." Bertha comforted her mother softly.
Mrs. Swift shook her head, "You can’t fight him. How can a girl like you fight against him?"
"If she can’t fight him, doesn’t she have me? I don’t believe Milne Swift can do anything to us," Adam Piers interjected unexpectedly.
Only then did Mrs. Swift notice the handsome yet dandy-like Adam Piers standing beside Bertha Swift. She was taken aback, "Master Piers?"
"Auntie, you can just call me Adam or Adam Piers," Adam said humbly, for once.
But Mrs. Swift didn’t calm down despite Adam’s reassurances. Instead, she looked agitated as she pulled Bertha into her arms, "Is this the Master Adam who bullied you and then broke off the engagement, causing you to be kicked out by the Swift family?"
Mrs. Swift’s words left Adam Piers embarrassed, and he awkwardly explained, "Auntie, what happened back then was a misunderstanding. Bertha and I are doing well now, and we’ve decided to get married."
Bertha instinctively glanced at Adam Piers, wanting to refute him, but seeing her mother’s state, she reluctantly went along with him, "Yes, Mom, it was a misunderstanding back then. He broke off the engagement because he thought I intentionally aborted the baby and it broke his heart, so he made that decision. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, we’re back together."
"Re... really?" Mrs. Swift looked at her daughter with some uncertainty.
Bertha nodded, "Really."
"Then when... when do you plan to get married? Your dad won’t let you off easily!" Mrs. Swift still seemed anxious.
Adam Piers snorted coldly and focused his gaze on Uncle Service, "Go back and tell your master that Bertha Swift is the woman I, Adam Piers, intend to marry. Don’t even think about trying anything with her again."
Uncle Service was intimidated by the pressure Adam Piers suddenly exerted, and stammered a bit to explain, "General Manager Miller didn’t mean to make things difficult for Miss Swift; it’s just the Swift truly are in trouble, and with the Fletchers pressing, General Manager Miller is also forced to do this."
"That’s his own fault," said Adam Piers, who already had extreme disdain for Bertha Swift’s father. After speaking, he shielded Bertha and Mrs. Swift behind him, "You can get out now."
Uncle Service glanced at Mrs. Swift beside Bertha Swift, feeling somewhat troubled, but facing Adam Piers’s gaze, he didn’t dare say anything more and reluctantly got into the car.
After Milne Swift’s confidant left, Mrs. Swift was a bit flustered, "If I don’t go back, he will come looking for you again."
"Even if you go back, what can you do? Are you going to slit your neck again?" Bertha Swift glared at her mother and asked.
Mrs. Swift heard this and bowed her head in shame. Not saying more, Bertha just sighed softly, "Stay with me on the film set for a while. I don’t have an assistant or an agent; my daily life isn’t taken care of by anyone. How about you stay and care for me?"
Mrs. Swift opened her mouth as if to say something, but Bertha couldn’t help but ask, "Do you still have feelings for a man like Milne Swift?"
"I... I don’t." Mrs. Swift finished with a deep sigh, "I know he has blamed me for not giving him a son, and now that someone else has given him a son, why would he still need me?"
"Mom, are you stupid? Is he treating you like that because you couldn’t give birth to a son? He is inherently selfish and self-centered to the core."
Mrs. Swift herself knew, but she had always been like a quail, unwilling to face reality.
"Alright, this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go back first." Adam Piers noticed Mrs. Swift and Bertha Swift getting more and more depressed as they talked, and he softly urged.
The mother and daughter then came to their senses and followed Adam towards the crew’s hotel.
After settling her mother, Bertha reported her situation to Director Locke.
David Locke didn’t say much after listening, merely advised Bertha to be careful in the future and avoid causing any trouble.
Adam, listening on the side, was displeased, "Is it her fault for attracting trouble? Clearly, trouble is looking for her."
David Locke was not as courteous to Adam, glancing up coldly, "Does it make a difference?"
Adam, feeling slighted, glared at David Locke, who then tossed a pile of photos in front of him, "Take a look yourself."
Both Bertha and Adam looked at the photos on the table and were stunned, staring blankly at them—what was going on? Had they been secretly photographed?
Both of them felt awkward immediately, especially Bertha, who didn’t expect that her princess carry by Adam would be photographed and sent to Director Locke.
However, compared to Bertha, Adam had a thicker skin. After a moment of embarrassment, he picked up the photos, "Hmm, not bad shots, but they only captured a tenth of my handsomeness."
David Locke, "..." Is he complimenting himself?
"I bought the photos from the reporters, and I’ll send the bill to you now." After saying that, David Locke unceremoniously sent the bill directly to Adam’s phone.
Adam’s expression stiffened at the number, "We’re both newcomers, is it really worth that price?"
"In the entertainment industry, neither of you is really worth money, but they have identified your identities, and it’s such a dramatic wedding snatching scene. You tell me, is it worth money or not?" David Locke mocked.
Adam’s mouth twitched, "Alright, who’s gonna blame me for being so valuable?"
Bertha leaned towards Adam, wanting to see the bill on his phone to know exactly how much was spent, but Adam quickly put his phone away into his pocket, "Not much money, what are you worried about? I’m short of everything but money."
"Ha!" David Locke sneered sarcastically, ignoring them further and urged them to quickly prepare for the afternoon shoot.
Adam groaned, leading Bertha out of David Locke’s office, but after walking a few steps, he realized the person behind had fallen quite far behind and turned to ask, "What’s wrong with you?"
"How about we split the PR cost in half?"
"Are you looking down on me?" Adam glanced at Bertha with a complex look.
Bertha shook her head, "You know that’s not what I mean."
Adam suddenly raised his eyebrows, "Are you serious?"
Bertha softly agreed, though for some reason, she felt a bad premonition rising inside her.
In the next moment, Adam presented the bill that David Locke had just sent him, "It’s only two million, one million each of us?"
Bertha’s eyes widened, "What? Two million for PR, why not rob a bank!"
In Bertha’s concept, it’s just buying a few photos, at most a few hundred thousand, she never imagined two million!
She blushed instantly, not to mention a million, she didn’t even have ten thousand now, no! Not even enough for a thousand.
The woman who had just been talking so boldly immediately lowered her proud head, her eyes on her toes, muttering after a long time, "I have no money."
"No money? Just now, weren’t you insisting on splitting it evenly with me?"
Bertha opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
Adam couldn’t help but chuckle, leaning close to her ear, "How about paying with your body?"
Bertha’s eyes widened after hearing this, looking at Adam in disbelief, finally managing to squeeze out, "Shameless, brazen, unscrupulous scoundrel!"
After cursing, Bertha still felt unsatisfied, pushing Adam and then turned to run towards her room.
Adam stood behind her, laughing uncontrollably.
After a long time, wanting to go after Bertha, he arrived at her door only to remember that Mrs. Swift was there too, suddenly feeling a bit regretful. He should have settled Mrs. Swift in Kerry City, not within the crew, otherwise, it would be so inconvenient to see Bertha every day!
Feeling annoyed, Adam thought of Bertha’s reaction just now, couldn’t help but chuckle, fingers tapping on the keyboard, "Stop being angry, if you’re still angry, I’ll offer myself to you, how does that sound?"
Bertha returned to the room, her face still flushed, Mrs. Swift seeing this, looked at her daughter with concern, "Bertha, what’s wrong with you? Did something happen?"
"Mm, it’s nothing, I’m fine." Bertha replied with a guilty conscience, hearing a ding from her phone, opened it only to see a message from Adam again, cursed under her breath, then meeting her mother’s worried expression, forced a smile, "Mom, really, I’m fine."
"Then you and that Adam, what’s going on between you two?" Mrs. Swift still wasn’t reassured, feeling Adam was unreliable.
Bertha thought of Adam’s carefree dandy attitude, and those shameless words from earlier—clearly should be angry, but for some reason, felt flustered and awkward by his teasing, with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.
But in front of her mother, she couldn’t show anything, could only appease her, "Just as he said, we’re preparing to get married."
"Seriously? But that Adam doesn’t seem like a man willing to get married with someone else, I’ve heard his reputation isn’t very good." Mrs. Swift had somewhat inquired about Adam’s affairs.
"Mom, don’t listen to others’ nonsense, he’s okay." Bertha hesitated for a moment, thinking about all the things the man had done to her, sighed secretly in her heart, though the man wasn’t as bad as outside rumors, he definitely wasn’t a good person either.
But now she had no choice, especially since she had long realized she indeed had a little heart stir for Adam.
Mrs. Swift saw her daughter’s reaction, feeling even heavier in her heart yet couldn’t help her daughter at all, remorsefully sighed and wanted to apologize, but then her phone rang, not waiting to answer it, Bertha already hung up the call for her, "Mom, don’t answer Milne Swift and the Swift family’s calls anymore, I’ll take care of you from now on."
Mrs. Swift’s mouth opened slightly, then she stepped forward to embrace her daughter, "It’s mom’s fault, the reason you’re affected is because of me!"
Bertha merely patted her mother’s shoulder gently, "Mom, trust me, we’ll be just fine."