CHAPTER 131: CHAPTER 131: MEMORIES (31)

She didn’t even dare to look at Ethan.

"Where are you going next, it’s so late, shall we go back?" Ethan asked her.

Florence mumbled, "I’ll find a hotel nearby... I’ll take the day off from my part-time job tomorrow, then go look for a place."

"Let’s go back and stay for the night first," Ethan suggested. "Leave your stuff in my car’s trunk, and I’ll go with you to find a place tomorrow."

Florence thought that would work. "But Aunt Monrose..."

Ethan understood what she meant. "Let’s not say anything for now."

Florence nodded repeatedly.

"But she will definitely ask," Florence said, feeling troubled. "If she asks, I might not be able to help but tell her, what should I do?"

"It’s around ten o’clock now," Ethan analyzed. "She should be in her room. Not sure if she’s asleep, but if worst comes to worst, we can sneak back in quietly."

Florence thought for a moment, "Let’s go back."

Back at the Monrose Family’s house, Abigail was indeed already asleep, and there was a night-duty servant. Seeing the two of them return, the servant asked if they wanted a late-night snack.

Florence was hungry too.

"Sure."

While eating, Florence thought about how to explain things to Abigail the next day. Not saying anything for now felt like hiding things from her, which didn’t sit right with Florence.

"Stop overthinking," Ethan patted her hand. "If you don’t want to say, Mom knows not to pressure you."

"Let’s just go with the flow," she thought aloud. "I just feel it’s not right to hide things from Aunt Monrose."

Ethan pinched her cheek. "Eat up."

____

The next day.

Florence’s body clock woke her up early. She tidied up and went downstairs to find Abigail by a daybed leafing through a magazine.

"Aunt Monrose."

Abigail looked up and waved at her. "I heard from the night-duty servant that you and Ethan came back very late last night. Why are you up so early?"

"I woke up, so I came down," Florence couldn’t help but yawn. "I had to get up early for school before."

Abigail chuckled. "How have you been adjusting to school?"

"Pretty well."

"Must be tiring. You haven’t come back to see Auntie for a long time."

"Well, I’m back now," Florence smiled. "I’ve been thinking about you, always."

Abigail looked at her, at the cheerful girl in front of her, then held Florence’s hand, turning a bit more serious. "Tell me honestly."

Abigail was always gentle and kind, and this was the first time Florence had seen her serious. Florence wondered if her secret had been found out.

But that couldn’t be the case. Ethan knew, and he wouldn’t have said anything.

Florence thought for a moment. "Aunt Monrose~"

Abigail looked at her.

"What do you know?" Florence glanced at Abigail’s face.

"A few days ago, that girl from the Fuller Family made quite a few excuses to come over," Abigail looked at her. "And you, child, didn’t come back to see me."

"Clara came here?" Florence was surprised. "What did she want?"

"A few days ago, she came over, saying you had a fight with your father and were kicked out of the Fuller Family. Did you know Auntie was worried sick?"

Florence pursed her lips.

"When I called you, you said everything was fine, so casually."

Florence hadn’t expected Clara to come to the Monrose Family to say such things. She couldn’t quite understand and had to explain to Abigail. "I think... even without the Fuller Family, I can live on my own."

Abigail understood her pride.

"You child," Abigail sighed. "I know you don’t want to talk about it, but Auntie isn’t going to push you for details. I just worry about you. Haven’t you had any trouble with the city official’s child that you hit?"

Florence pouted. "She even told you about the fight."

Abigail remembered what Clara had said back then, feeling that Clara had been embellishing the truth quite a bit.

On the surface, she seemed worried about Florence’s safety after being kicked out of the Fuller Family, but in reality, she was hinting that Florence had acted recklessly, jeopardizing the peace of the two families’ arranged marriage.

After listening to this, Abigail calmly asked Clara to leave, then immediately called Florence. This girl on the phone sounded so relaxed, mentioning how busy she was with her studies and extracurricular activities, that she had no time to visit yet.

Abigail knew the child wasn’t ready to be honest, so she just went along with Florence’s wishes.

"I did beat him up that day," Florence felt it was necessary to explain. "He recognized me on the very first day of class, and it was the Fuller Family who arranged this marriage, not me. He was being handsy, and I couldn’t take it, so I hit him. But it’s been over half a month now, and he hasn’t come to school, and I haven’t had any trouble, right?"

The Fuller Family should have been the one in trouble. She beat up someone, and the city official would definitely hassle Michael Fuller. Rather be kicked out of the Fuller Family than apologize and let the official vent on Michael Fuller instead.

"You still need to be careful," Abigail advised. "Are you getting by okay on your own?"

"Pretty well," Florence didn’t see a need to hide anymore. "I found a part-time job."

"Doing what?"

Florence bit her lip. "Shaking coffee."

Abigail nodded. "Not bad."

The Fuller Family cut off her allowance, yet she didn’t immediately seek shelter with the Monrose Family. Instead, she knew how to support herself, which wholeheartedly won Abigail’s admiration. "Florence, you’ve grown."

Florence felt a bit embarrassed. "Auntie, I’m just making drinks."

Abigail shook her head. "You’re a girl with determination. Auntie thinks you’re impressive."

Florence couldn’t help but smile.

Ethan came down and found the two chatting happily. Once everyone was there, they went to have breakfast together.

After breakfast, Abigail had to rush out for some business. After seeing her out, Florence waved to Ethan, and they sat on the sofa.

"I checked out some places around the school last night before bed," Florence handed him her phone. "Here they are."

Ethan took a look. "Which one do you like?"

"This one, the single-bedroom in an apartment. It’s convenient to get around, a bit pricey but manageable. I’d have to take one subway stop to school, but I thought of buying a mountain bike. If I can’t catch the subway after my part-time at night, I can ride back."

Since Florence had already planned everything, Ethan had no objections. "Let’s go check it out."

"Let’s go."

After checking it out, they quickly settled on it. Florence called her previous landlord to terminate the lease, and she moved into the apartment that afternoon.

"How long do you plan to stick with the part-time job?" After finishing up and heading for a meal, Ethan asked in the car.

"I have to keep at it until I can manage my finances," Florence said, half of her wallet’s balance was gone. "I need to hold on until the investment money comes through."

Ethan squeezed her hand. "Hang in there, it won’t be long."

Florence nodded.

The days that followed were quite calm. She attended classes, spent her free time in the library, and went to her part-time job. Time flew by in this busy routine.