Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

She sighed, her voice dripping with something that sounded like benevolence, but the more you listened, the more off it seemed.

Raven's eyes twinkled, "I still don't know what Anne's been up to in Lumina City. Must be something big, right? After all, regular folks don't just stumble upon millions." Roseanne frowned, and Madge took her hand, signaling to let her handle it.

"Oh, you jest, sisters. After college, Anne didn't go on for further studies but she wasn't just sitting around either. She switched a few jobs, saved up a little."

Alva sneered, "As long as it's honestly earned, that's fine. Just worried about girls not following a straight path, you know?"

Madge's expression stayed calm, "Thanks for your concern, Alva. But the kid's grown now, has her own plans. We, as her family, just need to support her."

Abbey raised an eyebrow. "Plans? So, what's Anne up to? Heading back to Lumina City for a job? Or scouting new opportunities? Next Thanksgiving, will she bring home another few million?" She drew out the word "opportunities" intentionally, her tone laden with unmistakable insinuation.

Madge's face darkened, just as she was about to speak, Roseanne's phone rang.

"Mom, I gotta take this..."

"Sure, go ahead." Madge took a deep breath, reminding herself that patience was a virtue.

"Leda, what's up? Something wrong?"

Leda's voice was laced with urgency, "The GRE results are out! Check yours, see if you passed."

Roseanne calculated the dates; indeed, it was today!

She had totally forgotten...

"Alright, checking now," she said, hanging up and rushing upstairs.

Reaching her bedroom, she booted up her laptop, navigated to the results page, and quickly entered her registration number and password. Just as she was about to hit enter- "Roseanne, are these bags for real?"

Suddenly, a voice came from the walk-in closet.

Startled, Roseanne turned to see

Lauretta

a

ding a Chanel bag,

c Louis Vuitton drape

her shoulder.

"Who let you in here?"

Lauretta blinked, "Your mother said I could browse around."

"Browsing doesn't mean rifling through my things."

"What's the big deal? It's just looking at bags. Are they that precious?"

Roseanne's tone cooled, "We were taught as kids not to touch other people's stuff."

"So what if I did? It's not allowed?"

"No, it's not."

"Please, I took it, so what? It was probably some guy who bought them for you anyway. What are you acting all high and mighty for? At the end of the day, you're nothing but-" en.swhovels.net

Before she could finish, Roseanne's hand flew, landing a slap across Lauretta's face.

"That's to teach you not to be so rude. It could get you in trouble."

"... You dared to hit me?!" Lauretta's eyes widened in disbelief, trembling with rage.

"I did. What, should I have marked the calendar first?"

"Roseanne-I'm gonna make you pay!"

conversation still

revolved around Roseanne, everyo tiptoeing around how she made her money.

Even Hickey and Joie weren't exceptions, subtly trying to pry.

Just then, a scream pierced the air from the second floor.

Abbey's face went pale, and she leapt up, "That's Lauretta! Lauretta's screaming!"