Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

At the breakfast table, Murray frowned. "Where's the cereal?"

Sadie wasn't sure. "You mean the blueberry almond oatmeal?"-

"Blueberry almond oatmeal?" Murray was curious.

Sadie added, "Yeah, the one Ms. Cole used to make with low-fat milk, frozen almonds, and blueberries, right? Oh, I didn't have time to prepare that. Just freezing the almonds and blueberries takes a long time, and you must get up early to start making it."

"And the proportion has to be just right. I don't have Ms. Cole's patience to do it accurately. It just wouldn't taste the same. Also..."

Murray interrupted, "Get me some beef paste."

"Coming right up, Mr. Sherwood."

"This doesn't taste right." Murray glanced at the jar. "And the packaging is off."

Sadie explained, "That jar ran out. That is all we had."

Murray ordered, "Grab a couple from the supermarket later and stock them at home."

"We can't find it there." Sadie offered an awkward smile. "Ms. Cole used to make it herself. I don't know how to..."

Crash!

Sadie asked, "Eh? Mr. Sherwood, you're not eating?"

Murray scoffed, "Hmm, not in the mood."

Sadie watched Murray ascend the stairs, utterly baffled, wondering why he suddenly lost his temper.

...

"Laziness incarnate! Time to rise and shine!"

Roseanne turned over, barely opening her eyes. "Quiet down. Let me sleep a bit more..."

With her makeup perfectly done, Leda Reynolds was choosing a purse. "It's almost eight. Don't you have to rush back to make breakfast for Mr. Sherwood?" Roseanne sometimes spent the night, but she always rushed back home before dawn to whip up her blueberry almond oatmeal for Murray and his sensitive stomach.

Leda found it ridiculous.

Was Murray laid up or something? Couldn't he just order some takeout on his phone?

It was all just spoiling him rotten!

Deeply asleep, Roseanne brushed off the comment with a wave. "Not going back. We broke up."

"Oh, planning to split for a few days, then?" Leda teased, "Then sleep well. Breakfast is on the table. I'm off to work. I have a date tonight, so you don't need to cook for me. You'll probably head back soon anyway. Could you close the balcony window on your way out?"

Roseanne woke up hungry. Munching on her best friend's sandwich, she gazed at the brilliant sunshine, struggling to recall the last time she woke up naturally.

After finishing her brunch, she changed and headed straight for the bank to cash a check for fifty million. It was always safer to have the money in hand.

Then, she visited the bank next door. "I need to speak with your private banking advisor. I want to deposit ten million."

The branch manager offered a decent annual interest rate. Roseanne negotiated for an additional two percentage points, reaching a satisfactory agreement. Following the same strategy, she deposited ten million in two other banks, negotiating better rates each time.

When exiting the last bank, Roseanne was a millionaire, armed with three black cards, thirty million dollars in deposits, and twenty million in liquid assets.

"Not a bad split," she thought, having essentially struck gold overnight.

Passing by a bustling hair salon, Roseanne walked in. She instantly splurged on a two-thousand-dollar membership for VIP service.

Sitting in front of the mirror, Roseanne looked at her brown, wavy hair and felt a tinge of disdain for the first time.

The hairdresser praised, "Darling, your hair's fantastic, like a doll's..."

She kept her hair long and wavy because Murray loved the feel of it, especially the atmospheric vibe it gave off after their intimate moments. But maintaining beautiful curls meant dedicating even more time to grooming.