My friend

Cathy POV.

Samantha had finally compromised.

She knew me well enough to know that what I was determined to do, no one could change.

I had been raised that way.

"Cathy, if you've thought this through, I will definitely offer you my sincerest wishes. But I truly want you to be happy and never let my failed marriage get in your way."

Samantha's words touched me and I embraced her, "Mother, thank you for your understanding."

"Cathy, you are my child and I will certainly give you my utmost support." She gently stroked my head.

After that, she began to ask me about how Richard and I had met, what Richard's personality and temperament were like, and she hoped I would bring Richard to see her some time; she wanted to get to know him properly.

I agreed to all of it.

Richard would be picking me up on Friday evening and I planned to speak to Richard then.

When I emerged from the ward, I sat deflated on a cushioned chair in the corridor.

I hugged myself tightly and couldn't help the tears falling from my eyes.

I didn't know what the future held, but after seeing that Samantha had gradually recovered, my emotions calmed down again.

The next night, just as I emerged from the operating theatre, I saw a sexy beauty leaning lazily against the doorway.

She was my best friend, Sandy.

At school, she was my schoolmate, and now she was also an obstetrician and gynecologist at this hospital.

Some time ago, she was seconded to help out at the branch hospital and wondered how she ended up here today.

"Hey! Cathy, you're finally out! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you here? Hurry up and get changed, I've booked a restaurant to have dinner with." Sandy urged me.

I looked at Sandy, who was hanging on like a kangaroo, and said helplessly, "Let me go first."

"I don't even mind you, and you mind me?" Sandy glared at me and silently let go of me.

"I thought you were seconded to the branch? Why are you back today?" I asked as I made my way to the changing rooms.

"Geez! How could I have stayed in that little city in the middle of nowhere? With all the hustle and bustle here, the hot guys, the parties, the variety of food, of course, I had to find a way to get back here!" Sandy exaggerated.

Sandy had gone to the branch for almost six months and it was a small, remote city, much different from here, both economically and in terms of urban development.

I could totally imagine Sandy's life there.

She always liked to party, handsome men, luxury cars, and there was nothing there, so she must not have been able to stand the loneliness.

Anyway, I was glad to have her back.

"Hurry up and get changed, I'll treat you to my favorite steak!"

She immediately dragged me out of the hospital the first time I finished changing.

In fact, we had more than just steak, we also went to a full-body spa.

Now Sandy had dragged me to the mall to shop again.

Looking at the fine clothes in the window, I suddenly remembered that I had to visit Richard's family tomorrow.

"Sandy, what should I wear to meet the parents?" I turned my head to look at Sandy.

Sandy froze for a moment and asked anxiously, "Are you going to visit Danny's parents? Are you guys getting ready to get married?"

When Danny and I first got together, Sandy had been the first to speak out against it.

I still remember what she warned me about. She said, "Cathy, I must warn you, you will regret going out with Danny, he's not as good as you think!"

At the time, I didn't love Danny and was only with him for his potential, so I didn't even care about Sandy's warning.

Now it seemed that Sandy was right, Danny was indeed a man of terrible character.

I shook my head and said calmly, "No, Danny and I have broken up. Half a month ago he and Billie cheated on me behind my back and I caught them red-handed."

It was something I hadn't told Sandy, otherwise with her personality she could have run back from the branch that day and killed Danny and Billie with a single shot.

"What? They actually got into it together??"

Sandy's eyes widened in shock, but her shock quickly turned to exasperation.

"I knew it! Neither of those two is good people! That bitch Billie, and that scumbag Danny, are no good!"

Sandy was originally trying on a dress in front of the fitting mirror when she heard the news and flung the dress in her hand in anger.

The frightened shop assistant next to her looked at her nervously, as if she was terrified that she would ruin the expensive dress.

I looked helplessly at a furious Sandy.

Just as I had imagined, she was as furious as a screaming groundhog at the news.

I immediately apologized to the shop assistant, pulled Sandy out of the shop, and found a nice cafe near the mall.

After Sandy had calmed down, I told her exactly what had happened, including the fact that I had married Richard to pay for my mother's surgery.

After hearing this, Sandy grabbed my hand in excitement, "Cathy, you're not lying to me, are you? You're marrying Richard? It's that Richard from the Grant family?"

I nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's him."

"Cathy! Look, Richard, your fiancé!" Sandy suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the television screen in the coffee shop.

At that moment, the television was broadcasting the financial news.

On the screen, Richard was being interviewed by the host.

He was sitting elegantly, dressed in a neat black morning suit, his delicate features giving him an unmistakably dignified look.

He looked a little different today, I think because of the extra pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.