Helen’s POV
It was one of the rare occasions when I managed to get off work early this evening 1 left the office
building of Zhester Technology with Lucy On the way out, Lucy suddenly received a text message She
read it and immediately her cries of joy rang in the air.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she handed her phone to me. She said, bubbling with excitement,
"George has paid me my commission as promised.He really transferred the money into my account!"
I touched the tip of my nose and praised him sincerely.
"He is actually a very good soul A rare find."
But George and I were not meant to be together After all, the matter concerning Jane had driven a
wedge between us Lucy guffawed and took back her phone she couldn’t get over how many zeroes
appeared after the whole number She looked at her phone and murmured, "Yes, he is a good man but
he is just not suitable for you By the way, if you have time, you can do a web search on the Affleck
family in Washington."
"The Affleck family?" It seemed that I didn’t know George’s complete identity.I had not paid much
attention to him when I was in high school in Philly After we met again, we simply had a casual sexual
relationship for a period of time.
But we both felt that our relationship hadn’t evolved sufficiently to get to know each other’s families
"Yes, George is the only son of the Affleck family Since he hails from such a noble and prestigious
family, obviously he will marry a woman of the same social standing Don’t worry Jane does not stand a
chance with him.
It’s impossible for an illegitimate daughter like Jane to marry into such a noble family she has no legs to
stand on"
"If you say so," I answered absent mindedly I had never been interested in his family background
before, and now that I had nothing to do with him anymore.
I couldn’t care less Lucy held my hand and said in a whisper, "I’m going to pay off the bond on the
house first Then, I’ll find a better hospital for your mother so that you can visit her any time you please"
"No, that’s not necessary.The hospital she is in is good enough.When I save enough money.I will move
her to another hospital." I refused on the spot.
I didn’t want to become a financial burden to Lucy.
"And when will you have enough money to move her to another hospital? Do you ever have more than
ten thousand in your bank account? You don’t have money left over at the end of the month to save.I
know you live from paycheck to paycheck.How can you turn down my sincere offer? Besides, I’m not
giving it to you as a gift.You have to pay me back when you are in a position to do so.I’ll keep a record
of this loan then you can pay me back with interest."
As Lucy spoke, she began to transfer money from the banking app on her phone Within seconds, I
received the message that the money had been transferred into my account I looked down at the
amount indicated in the message Tears flowed freely from my eyes as my heart overflowed with
gratitude How could I be blessed with a friend like Lucy?
"Thank you, dearest Lucy My mother’s hospital was a private one with good facilities.However, the
hospital did not allow random visits.You had to have an urgent reason to pay the patient a visit This
suited neither my mother nor I .I needed to see my mother often.
But sadly for now, I could only get feedback on her condition from the consulting doctor I was going to
apply for a transfer, but I hadn’t decided which hospital to transfer her to because of my financial
constraints, Now with Lucy’s loan, many problems would just disappear.
Over the next few days I was very busy at work.I had little time to look for a suitable hospital.
Some private hospitals were charging exorbitant rates.I had to be selective After finalizing the hospital,
I especially requested an afternoon’s leave to help my mother complete the transfer procedure She
was feeling much better now Then she held my hand and asked, "Helen, can I go home with you?"
"Mom, the doctor and I agreed that you can come home every weekend." The doctor had made this
recommendation and I supported it.
My mother had been recuperating in a psychiatric hospital for so many years.
If she suddenly left the hospital, we were afraid that she would not be able to adapt to the outside
environment easily Most importantly, I couldn’t take care of her at home 24 hours a day Nor could I
afford a caregiver at this point.
My mother nodded silently in reply.
The new hospital and ward were much better than the previous one.
My mother’s activities were not restricted she could walk around freely in the garden accompanied by a
nurse Her mental health was much stronger too.
It seemed that she was making substantial progress My work went well.
In the next two weeks, I could finish all the preparatory work Pretty soon, the negotiation and
transaction including the final delivery between Zhester Technology and Smart Technology Company
would be completed with the assistance of Anya and Phil My work would be completed As long as this
case was completed, there would probably be no reason to see George and Jane again My life would
be back on track soon I was so looking forward to that day But to my surprise, Libby re-entered my life
When I saw her, she was in the staff canteen of Zhester Technology.
Libby and Jane were seated in George’s exclusive dining area, having a meal with him and Boswell.
As I was waiting in the queue for food in the staff canteen, I overheard someone whisper, "Is that
Jane’s mother? It must be.They look so alike.What a graceful lady!"
"I heard she was living abroad and only just returned."
"Did you notice how extra respectful George is towards her? She must be here to meet her son-in-law
My heart skipped two beats.I couldn’t help but turn in Libby’s direction and look at her It was true what
they said.
She looked elegant and beautiful, as if time had not left its mark on her face She could easily pass off
for Jane’s sister Somehow, my nose twitched irritably Only a few days ago, I had helped transfer my
mother to the new hospital She had been languishing in the hospital all year round.
Her skin was sallow and dull, punctuated with wrinkles.
She looked a decade older than she was.
Compared to Libby, my mother seemed to be from another generation What a cruel contrast! What
would my father think if he were still alive? Suddenly, my eyes moistened and my vision became a blur
I could feel deeply buried painful emotions beginning to surface.
So I quickly made up an excuse and said to Phil, "Sorry, I forgot to put away an important document.I
have to go back to my office now"
When I turned around, Libby also turned around and caught my eye.
A flash of unpleasant surprise crossed her eyes.
She probably wasn’t expecting to see me at Zhester Technology Time seemed to stand still for a
moment.
All sounds around me drowned and it seemed as if just the two of us were in the canteen.
My mind drew a blank and my heart froze in my chest I looked at her with disgust and I honestly felt like
throwing up.
It once again reminded me of my father’s funeral when Libby came uninvited and wanted everyone to
know Jane was my father’s daughter.
After seeing me, Libby assumed an arrogant posture She looked at me with disdain and then snubbed
me.
She turned around as if she did not know me She continued to laugh and joke with George and
Boswell even more boisterously I took a deep breath and calmed myself down I would not allow Libby
or Jane to affect me anymore I would distance myself from them and resume a normal life So after
taking a deep breath, I remained in the canteen and faced my demons instead of running away and
hiding in my office.
Even if the sky fell, I had to eat After lunch, Phil and I walked out together As luck would have it, I
couldn’t avoid them, so we met Phil was oblivious of my history with them.He went ahead and greeted
them cheerfully "Mr Affleck! Miss Campbell! What a lovely coincidence!"
George nodded at him in response, and his eyes turned to me I looked up at him, and then at Libby
and Jane beside him My heart felt as if a heavy rock had been lodged within it As for Libby and her
wonderful daughter, they completely ignored me "George, I have a couple of errands to run this
afternoon, so I’ll be leaving you now Thank you for your great hospitality today"
When Libby spoke to George, she feigned elegance and kindness.
"Well, let me see you off,"
George said politely, and accompanied Jane to see Libby off The two of them stood side by side,
merrily chatting and laughing with Libby As people had said, it indeed looked like Libby had come to
have lunch with her daughter and future son-in-law.
I withdrew my gaze, smiled bitterly in my heart, and secretly chided myself for being disappointed I kept
telling myself to ignore George, but my eyes were magnetized by him What’s more, all my thoughts
centered around him.
But I still felt that I had made tremendous progress.
At least when I saw Libby today.
I didn’t lose control of myself and become an emotional wreck like I had when I saw Jane again after so
many years.
After returning to the office, I quickly replaced my vulnerabilities with solid work Currently, nothing was
more important to me than working hard and making money, wasn’t it? My life was also moving in the
right direction.
I could now take my mother home for the weekend and she could finally leave the hospital when she
got better.
As long as I thought that I could live with my mother in the future, I was not afraid of anything I didn’t
need anyone else After work, I redecorated the spare room and transformed it the way my mother
would like I had to learn to cook healthy meals as well.I couldn’t let her eat takeout foods all the time.
But cooking was such a challenge for me.
No matter how closely I followed the recipes and no matter how many times I watched the videos, I still
couldn’t get it right.
The weekend was approaching, so I was forced to buy frozen meals from a grocery store.
All I had to do when I got home was to heat the meals.
That made life much more easier for me
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda