The last time she saw him in school, he looked like he had been living on the streets, despite the expensive fur coat on his shoulders.
I wonder where all that money went…
Penelope buried her face in her hands in despair. “What do I do? I won’t be able to return the money in time… “
“Have you called the police?”
“I did, but the police didn’t seem to care. I told them about it a long time ago,” Penelope said.
Suddenly, Skylar’s phone buzzed, and she took it out of her pocket.
She tapped on the new message from Tobias to read its contents.
Tobias: I’ll be home at seven tonight. You’re cooking
Skylar glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed when she realized that it was already past six o’clock.
How the hell am I supposed to rush back and cook for him in less than an hour?
She put down her phone without replying Tobias and turned to Penelope again. “I just received two hundred thousand from the movie. Take it and use it to pay your debt,” she said as she pulled out a brand-new bank card and handed it to Penelope.
Penelope took the card without hesitating, obviously frightened by the scare tactics the debt collectors have been using.
“I’ll make sure to return you the money as soon as possible. I’m so sorry for all the trouble, Skylar,” Penelope said, lowering her head in shame.
“It’s fine. I don’t have a lot of friends to begin with, so I have the obligation to help you,” Skylar said through a mouthful of pasta.
Penelope looked up all of a sudden. “Your Aunt Sharon is going crazy over your mom’s habits, you know. She’s complaining about her to every neighbor she bumps into, but she’s nothing compared to your mom.”
Skylar smirked. Aunt Sharon is nothing but a cowardly bully, after all! She wouldn’t dare to get in the way of a so-called murderer!
She raised her hand and asked a waiter to help her pack a portion of pasta while Penelope looked on incredulously.
“Are you really that hungry? You’ve already had such a portion!” she exclaimed.
Skylar took the plastic bag containing a box of steaming pasta and smiled. “Someone’s waiting for me at home, but I don’t have time to cook for him. This will do.”
Penelope fell silent, knowing full well that the five hundred thousand Skylar gave her last time must have been a gift from the ‘someone’ she had been talking about.
Are they living together now?
Later, Skylar noticed Avery standing not too far away from her as she was waiting for her cab. She had seen the fur coat that Avery was wearing online, and it had cost about fifty thousand.
Skylar watched as the family’s Mercedes-Benz pulled up next to Avery and looked away after she got on the car.
She had heard rumors about how Thomas’ company was going downhill, but Avery’s extravagant lifestyle did not seem a single bit affected by it, had it been true.
When the cab came to a stop outside her house, she leapt out of the cab at lightning speed and rushed over to the door, almost running into her neighbor’s dog in the midst of her frenzied race.
Just as she was about to step into the house, she rammed headfirst into Tobias’ chest, making him groan out loud.
“Really? Hugging me in public?” he said, frowning.
Skylar ignored him and walked into the kitchen to serve the pasta she packed from the restaurant into a plate.
“Dinner’s ready!” she called.
Tobias glanced at the pasta and made a face. “That’s all?”
