"No... There''s no need for that!"


    Molly started panicking. She hurriedly grabbed a piece of vegetable and ate it slowly. Zachary wanted to scold her. But when he saw how pitiful she looked, he held himself back. Instead, he grabbed some meat and ced it on her te.


    Molly just focused on eating with her head down. However, she couldn''t stop crying while she ate.


    "Why are you crying now?" Zachary hated it when a woman cried because he didn''t know how tofort them at all.


    "I''m sorry, Zac! Please don''t be mad. I''ll stop crying now!"


    She ced her spoon down and wiped away her tears. However, the tears just kept getting more and more.


    "Alright, that''s enough. I was being too fierce earlier. Please don''t cry anymore. I''ll make sure I''ll be gentler from now on."


    He felt frustrated and was starting to regret bringing her home. If he had known she would be so troublesome, he would''ve turned her down back at the pub.


    Hearing his apologies, Molly looked up and said with teary eyes, "I''m not ming you, Zac. I was only crying because I was touched!"


    "You were touched? Why? Because I grabbed you some meat?" Zachary was a little confused.


    Molly softly said with her eyes still red, "That''s not entirely it. I''m touched because you''re nice to me. In fact, you''re being nicer to me than my parents ever did! You''re the first person in the world to treat me this way."


    "Well..."


    He didn''t know how to respond to that at all.


    "I grew up in the country, and my parents only care about my brother. They never liked me since I was young, and they always thought I was a waste of their money. When I started going to school, they tried to talk me out of it. They said studying was a waste of time and that I should just help out at home...


    "When I went to school, they never gave me a single dime. So, I had to do my best in my studies to get good grades and score a schrship. Then, I would work part-time during the weekends."


    Then, she exined, "I was at the pub yesterday because my parents wanted me to marry a contractor in the county. He gave them 200 thousand dors as the marriage gift. I didn''t want to marry him. My dad said I must do it unless I could bring him half a million dors. So, I had no choice but to go to the pub..."


    As she spoke, the tears started rolling down again. She kept wiping them off, but she just couldn''t stop crying.


    At that moment, Zachary''s heart


    went soft again. He had never experienced anything like this before. In fact, he never even heard of anything like it. He grew up i up in a big city, and his family had been


    doing well since he was a young boy.


    When his mother''s career started picking up, his life improved further. So, he couldn''t sympathize with someone pitiful from the countryside like her at first. However, he didn''t dislike her as well.


    After hearing her story, he started pitying her a little. He couldn''t help asking, "In that case, why were you homete today? Did you have a part-time job?"


    "I didn''t have any money for groceries, so I worked a little at the beverage shop. They gave me 20 dors an hour and paid me right away."


    She nodded as she pulled out some cash from her pocket. Those were the changes she received after buying the ingredients.


    With that, Zachary''s heart went soft entirely. He suddenly felt inhumane. After all, Molly''s life was miserable, and he had been fierce toward her earlier.


    "Let''s exchange contacts. From now on, I''ll give you monthly allowances, so you don''t have to work any part-time jobs anymore. Right now, your main focus should be your studies," he said as he took out his phone.


    However, Molly shook her head.


    "There''s no need for that, Zac. I can


    make my own pocket money,


    including the money for our


    groceries! Since you''ve already given me half a million dors, I can''t possibly take anymore from you!"


    "Are you going to listen to me?"


    His face fell, and she immediately shut up. However, she still didn''t take her phone out. So, he urged, "Take out your phone right now and add me on WhatsApp. I don''t have any cash on me!"


    "I... I can''t do that!"


    Molly''s face turned red, and she looked embarrassed. The phone she took out of her pocket was an old Nokia with buttons. Not only that, but the buttons had faded so much that the letters on them couldn''t be seen anymore.


    "I''ve never seen someone as pitiful as you!" Zachary sighed helplessly. "Let''s eat first. I''ll bring you to the mall tomorrow."


    He figured she would reject the idea, so he hurriedly added before she could say anything, "From now on, you can''t turn down what I say."


    She nodded and said nothing else. Instead, she just ate her food quietly. She was being so careful when she ate that she didn''t make a single noise.


    After they were done eating, Zachary returned to his room to take a shower.


    When he came out of the bathroom,


    she had entered the bedroom as well. She didn''t say anything and just headed straight into the bathroom. This time, she didn''t take a long time inside. Instead, she came out after just ten minutes.