Chapter 18
Chapter 18
“I’m in,” Robert said with a nod. “Let’s grab Nina a couple more outfits while we’re at it.”
Nina shook her head right away. “Nah, Mom, Dad, stuff at the mall’s way too expensive.”
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“But we have the store now, don’t we?” Yvonne said gently. “The lady upstairs won’t move out until tomorrow night, and then the place is officially ours. We’ll be making money soon.”
She wasn’t wrong, and Nina couldn’t think of anything to say back.
Therefore, the family drove straight to the mall after breakfast.
But just as they were about to get on the elevator, Nina suddenly felt a strange gaze behind her. She stopped and turned around.
She saw rows of cars parked neatly in the underground lot. Not a single person in sight. Maybe she was just imagining it.
“What is it, Nina?” Yvonne asked.
Nina smiled. “Thought I heard a cat meowing, but I don’t see anything.”
“It’s hot out. Maybe a cat came down here to cool off,” Robert said with a chuckle. “But they’re usually shy. Probably hiding because it saw us. Come on, let’s go.”
When they got to the mall’s first floor, the elevator doors opened, and Yvonne pointed straight ahead. “Look there, Nina.”
Right in front of them was a store with a sign that read Aqualore Uniform Co. The place looked classy but not flashy-clearly owned by someone with money.
But it wasn’t open yet. The sign said they opened at 10 a.m., and it was only 9. So the Edwards family wandered around a bit, nice and slow, until 9:50, and then walked into the store.
Just then, a chubby man in a suit was giving instructions to the store clerks. “Boys grow fast, so make the size a little bigger. But I need it done by tomorrow morning, got it? Mr. Green’s kid can’t miss his first day of school.”
The clerks nodded and smiled. “Yes, Mr. Edwards. Don’t worry.”
The man looked pleased-until he turned around and froze like he’d seen a ghost.
Nina raised an eyebrow. The man was Charles Edwards, Lucy’s oldest son.
Back when he first moved to the city, it only took him a few years to sweet-talk a snack shop owner’s daughter into marrying him. Later, he used her family’s connections to become the deputy mayor’s driver.
After that, he started acting like he was someone important and never came back to Sunvale. The real reason? People in the village always talked badly about Lucy, and he felt ashamed.
Afraid his city life would be ruined, he went around telling people he was an orphan, claiming his parents had died when he was young. That left Robert and Yvonne to carry the burden of taking care of Lucy all by themselves.
“Well, look who it is. Long time no see, Robert,” Charles said, eyes darting as he forced a warm smile. “What brings you here? You come looking for me?”
Then he spotted Nina and froze again. So they had found their daughter. That clearly caught him off guard.
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9:10 pm c
Chapter 18
“We’re not here to see you,” Robert said with a frown, clearly not in the mood for small talk.
But Charles bent down a little, grinning like they were close. “This must be your daughter, Nina, right? Nina, I’m-”
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“She’s shy,” Yvonne cut in, quickly stepping in front of Nina and leading her toward the clerk to get her measurements taken.
Charles’s eyes flashed with annoyance, but he quickly switched to a shocked expression. “Wait-you guys are here to order a
uniform?”
“Is that a problem?” Robert replied coolly, glancing at the mannequins dressed in school uniforms.
Charles’s face twitched. He smiled again, this time with a fake cheer. “Robert, Yvonne, don’t tell me you came here hoping I could pull some strings to get Nina into Aqualore International High School?”
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