"What are you doing?" Mary shouted, her voice cold and furious. "Why are you grabbing like that? Are you insane?"
Laura froze.
For a mont, she simply stared at Mary, her mind going blank.
'She… doesn't recognize ?'
"So this is how you talk to your mother?" Laura hissed, her voice dripping with accusation.
Mary's eyes widened instantly.
"…Mother?" she whispered, her voice faltering.
Now that she looked closely, the familiarity beca undeniable.
The sharp lines of the face, the eyes she had once feared, the voice she could never forget… it was her.
A complicated expression crossed Mary's face, her lips parting slightly before she spoke, her tone distant and devoid of warmth.
"What are you doing here?"
Laura's irritation surged again, but she suppressed it quickly.
'If not for her current status… I wouldn't even bother with this ungrateful girl,' she thought bitterly.
"Oh, nothing much," she said lightly, her tone deliberately softened. "I just thought… since I'm alone these days, I'd co and see you."
With slightly trembling fingers, she pulled out a crisp hundred-dollar bill and held it out.
"I don't have much," she added, her voice feigning sincerity, "but you can keep this… consider it a gift for our first eting after so long."
Mary hesitated.
The sight of the money, combined with her mother's seemingly softened deanor, stirred sothing fragile inside her.
'Has she… really changed?' she wondered, her heart wavering.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice quieter now. "Mother… why don't you co stay with ?"
The mont those words left her lips, Laura's eyes flickered with triumph.
'Finally… I've caught the big fish,' she thought, barely containing her satisfaction.
However, rembering the advice she had once received, that Mary responded better to gentle manipulation, Laura forced herself to hesitate.
She glanced down at her own worn-out clothes, then shook her head slowly.
"No, no… there's no need," she said, her tone modest. "You go on. I'm doing just fine on my own."
With that, she turned and began to walk away, her steps slow, deliberate. 'Stop … co on, stop ,' she urged inwardly.
But Mary didn't.
She stood there, conflicted, her thoughts tangled.
'Let's see whether she has truly transford or not?'
In the end, she let Laura leave without another word.
As Laura walked away, her expression darkened with irritation.
'Stubborn girl…' she cursed silently, though she quickly regained her composure.
'Fine… I'll just create more "coincidences." Sooner or later, she'll feel pity.'
That night, Mary returned to her apartnt, her mind restless.
The next day, on her way to the university, she saw Laura again, this ti near the subway area.
Laura stood with a small stall, selling trinkets with a tired expression.
Mary paused for a brief mont.
Then she walked past silently.
The previous night, she had spoken to Adam, his words still clear in her mind.
'Even if you feel pity… don't forget who caused your suffering. So truths don't change.'
Mary clenched her fingers slightly.
'She forced … she pushed into that marriage… even when I was pregnant…'
With that, she hardened her resolve and chose to ignore Laura completely.
Days passed.
After a few more "accidental" encounters, Laura disappeared.
Half a month went by without a single sighting, and gradually, Mary began to think she had been overthinking everything.
'Maybe she really didn't have any ulterior motives…' she wondered, her guard slowly lowering.
Until one day... she saw her again.
Laura was running.
Her breathing was ragged, her steps uneven as she fled from a group of rough-looking n whose shouts echoed through the narrow street.
When her eyes t Mary's for a split second, Laura gritted her teeth, hesitation flashing across her face, but instead of running toward her, she turned away and continued fleeing.
That mont broke sothing inside Mary.
"Wait!" Mary called out instinctively, her heart tightening as she chased after her.
After a short pursuit, she finally found Laura crouched behind a dented dustbin, her body trembling as she tried to stay hidden.
Up close, Mary could see it clearly. Laura looked older, more worn down than before, the lines on her face deeper, her eyes filled with exhaustion.
Mary's chest ached.
She approached slowly and asked softly, "What's going on?"
Laura flinched at her voice, then quickly shook her head. "Nothing… it's nothing," she muttered hurriedly. "You should leave. Don't stay here."
Her eyes darted around anxiously, scanning the surroundings as if expecting danger to appear at any mont.
"What are you looking for?" Mary asked, her concern growing.
Laura blinked, then shook her head again.
"You shouldn't get involved in this," she insisted.
Mary hesitated, then softened her tone. "If you tell … maybe I can help."
Laura fell silent.
For a long ti, she seed to be weighing her options, her expression shifting between reluctance and calculation. Finally, she sighed and spoke, her voice low and strained.
"My useless son…" she began bitterly, "he took on a debt… and now those people are after because he couldn't pay it back."
Mary listened quietly, her brows furrowing.
Laura continued, "They've been hunting down… I can't even stay in one place for long."
Mary's gaze sharpened slightly.
'But… why is she being chased…?' Mary recalled clearly that Laura owned a substantial amount, more than enough to settle such issues.
"I have one million dollars that I have saved up." Laura said with a wry smile, "Your brother got to know it and used ."
Mary sucked in a deep breath.
'She always hid money… every single bit she got from all seven of us… she pocketed our book funds… even demanded a huge amount during my wedding…'
Still, she exhaled slowly, forcing her thoughts into order.
'She wouldn't co to for money if she already had that much… she doesn't need to flatter …'
Her guard loosened just a fraction, enough for her voice to soften as she looked at Laura.
"If that's the case… I can help you report this to the police," Mary said, her tone steady but cautious.
Laura blinked, her expression shifting into hesitation as she lowered her gaze slightly.
"Won't that… disturb you?" she asked, her voice laced with feigned concern.
Mary waved her hand dismissively, her brows relaxing a little. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
At that, Laura's lips curved into a faint smile, though her eyes flickered with sothing far less innocent.
She quickly masked it with a pitiful expression and said, "If you can do that for … it would be a huge favor."
Soon, Mary brought her to the police station.
After filing the report, things escalated quickly. The goons were caught within a short ti, dragged in with scowls and loud protests.
Laura imdiately shrank behind Mary, clutching her sleeve as if terrified, her body trembling just enough to appear convincing.
anwhile, the goons glared furiously, their voices rising in anger.
"We only lent them $1,000 a few weeks ago!" one of them barked, his tone heated. "Even our boss said we could wait until they had the money, we just asked for an extra $500!"
Another spat to the side and growled,
"But they tried to play smart… and consistently tried to delay. That's why we went after them!"
Their accusations filled the room, exposing fragnts of the truth.
Yet Laura lowered her head, hiding her expression, letting Mary remain the shield between her and the situation.
After everything was settled, Laura's mood noticeably improved.
With Mary standing firmly beside her, she easily avoided deeper questioning, smoothly steering the conversation away from the reality that she had provoked the situation and owed far more than she admitted.
'Having a capable daughter… really is useful,' Laura thought, her lips twitching faintly.
Mary, however, looked at her mother carefully.
"You can co stay with … at least for a while."
Laura imdiately stiffened, her expression turning conflicted as she shook her head.
"No… no, I can't trouble you like that," she murmured.
Mary stepped closer, her voice reassuring.
"It's fine. We have space. You can stay for a night or two… and leave whenever you feel better."
Laura's nails dug slightly into her palms.
'Just a night? This girl… how dare she limit like this? Shouldn't she be begging to stay?'
Her irritation surged, but she suppressed it instantly.
Instead, she grabbed Mary's hand, her grip trembling as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," Laura choked out, her voice breaking convincingly.
Mary froze, caught off guard.
"I was blinded by money back then," Laura continued, her words flowing with practiced emotion.
"Even now… I regret it every single day. I tried to find you… I even asked others to bring you back… but it was too late. I didn't even know where you had gone…"
The performance was flawless, each word carefully chosen to pierce through Mary's defenses.
Mary's vision blurred slightly.
She quickly wiped the moisture gathering in her eyes and gently patted Laura's hand.
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