Rebecca didn’t find out Lottie had stopped by until she got home from work that night.
She washed her hands and sat at the dinner table, rolling up her sleeves. “What did she want?”
Samantha didn’t notice how Rebecca’s voice lacked its usual enthusiasm when she mentioned Lottie.
“She had the day off and just came to visit me.”
Rebecca nodded and started eating, not asking any more questions.
Last night’s encounter with Lottie had made one thing clear. Whatever they used to have, it was gone for good. But her mom was different. Her mom still treated Lottie like family. As long as Lottie didn’t mean her mother any harm and still acted as close as before, there was no reason to tell her mom everything and make her worry for nothing.
Samantha almost mentioned that Lottie hadn’t just visited, she’d also borrowed some money, even though it wasn’t much.
Rebecca didn’t seem to be in a great mood. Then Samantha remembered what Lottie had said earlier. She’d told her that Rebecca had left NovaStack Cloud, was struggling to find work, and was even sneaking into industry forums just to look for job openings. Lottie had also said she saw Rebecca shopping for a bunch of luxury stuff last night and hinted that maybe the money wasn’t exactly earned the right way.
Samantha set down her bowl and chopsticks, hurried off to her bedroom, grabbed a wallet, and came back to the table.
“Here, take this.” She pushed a bank card across to Rebecca.
Rebecca stared at it, confused. “Mom, why are you giving me your card?”
“I know you’re job hunting and must need money. Just take it.”
Rebecca understood right away. Lottie must have told her mom about last night. She pushed the card back. “I already found a new job. The pay and benefits are twice as good as before. I don’t need any money. You should keep this, Mom. It’s your hard-earned retirement savings. I won’t take it.”
Samantha looked surprised. “You already found a job? That fast?”
Rebecca grinned. “Of course. I’m talented, you know. Lots of people want to hire me.”
Samantha smiled and reached over to ruffle her daughter’s hair. “You are amazing.”
But then her smile faded as she thought about Rebecca and Bruce. She hesitated, then asked gently, “So… is there really no chance between you and Bruce? I always thought he was a good kid. I saw him come by the other night.”


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