Chapter 244 Dirty Money
Laura's crying left Maggie at a loss. "Laura, what's wrong? What happened? Don't cry." Maggie handed Laura tissues to wipe her tears. Laura couldn't control her emotions.
At the moment the call ended, all her grievances burst forth, and the meaning of all her struggles became a joke.
Like a string that had been tense for years, it snapped in an instant.
Laura cried for a long time, attracting the attention of many customers in the store.
Adalia, sensible, used her small hands to wipe Laura's tears. "Auntie Laura, don't cry. I'll give you candy." Adalia didn't know how to comfort people, but she was willing to share her candy. In Adalia's world, eating candy made people feel better.
Adalia peeled a candy. Laura couldn't refuse the child. She had candy in her mouth, and the taste was indescribable. Her mouth was sweet, but her heart was bitter. She was no longer a three-year-old child. Candy couldn't offset all her grievances.
The sweeter the candy in her mouth, the more bitter her heart felt.
" My parents bought a house in the city without telling me; they used my money to purchase a wedding house for Tommy, who then set a wedding date. And no one informed me. What am I then?"
Laura erupted emotionally. "All these years, with everything at home, they've come to me for money. They've drained me. They've used all my money."
Hearing these words, Maggie also felt angry for Laura. Despite Laura's outward appearance, her family had already deeply hurt her.
Maggie comforted her for a long time until Laura's emotions stabilized. Seeing Laura in this state, Maggie didn't dare to ask anything else.
Laura's bad mood ended the meeting prematurely.
Maggie hailed a cab for Laura, and as she watched the car drive away, she stood on the street holding Adalia, feeling a sense of melancholy.
It turned out that everyone had their difficulties.
Laura took a taxi back to the shared house, feeling dazed. Her roommates noticed her pale face and asked, "Laura, what's wrong? What happened to you?"
"It's nothing." Laura didn't want to say anything, feeling extremely negative.
One of her roommates was the woman who had gone to Happy Pub with Laura last time. She remembered something and said, "Laura, that friend of yours from last time. She looked familiar to me. Did she help you when Robert bullied you a few years ago? "
Laura sat on the sofa playing with her phone, absentmindedly replying, "Yes."
"No wonder she looked familiar. I just remembered something. That night, I saw your friend running out of Robert's private room and heading to the rooftop. I followed and saw something shocking. I saw your friend with Mr. Flores from the Visionary Futures Group, right on the sofa in the rooftop suite. It was quite wild."
Laura hadn't really listened to a word her roommate said. Her parents' house purchase consumed her mind. After much hesitation, she finally made a call.
She entered her bedroom with her phone and closed the door. Laura quickly answered the call, and before she could inquire about the house-buying matter, her mother's voice rang out, demanding money.
"Laura, do you still have money? I scrounged up another twenty thousand dollars for myself. The person I hit last time is asking for compensation for lost wages and nutrition costs. They want twenty thousand dollars..."
Laura sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the sheets tightly, suppressing herself.
After her mother finished giving reasons for needing the money, Laura asked, "Mom, is Tommy getting married next month? Does the bride's family want $20,000?"
After purchasing the house, the only remaining asset was cash. If her mother suddenly needs another $20,000, it must be in cash.
On the other end of the phone, Linda Williams didn't seem embarrassed at all. Instead, she boldly said, "Yes, we’re getting married next month. Everything is set. As the older sister, you have the responsibility of overseeing your brother's wedding. The bride's family wants twenty thousand dollars. Can you figure something out? The wedding is almost here."
Laura's heart was bleeding, but she still held onto a glimmer of hope and asked, "Did our family buy a house?"
"Yes, we did," Linda boasted over the phone. "Paid in full, using the money you've given me over the years. It's a three-bedroom home with a large balcony and a great layout. Once Tommy gets married, your dad and I will move into the new house to help with the kids."
Laura said, "Buying a house is good. In a couple of years, I won't be working anymore. I plan to go back to our hometown so we can all be together."
Upon hearing this, Linda became particularly excited. "Why come back? Cyberland is where you can make money. Small towns are hopeless. Besides, there's no room for you at home."
" Mom, I'm exhausted from working outside for these years. I want to come back to be with you all and take care of you. Didn't Tommy buy a house?"
Before she could finish her sentence, her father's voice came through the phone. "We don't need you to take care of us. Tommy is enough. Tommy and his wife will have their own rooms in his house, and there will also be a designated room for the child. You're doing well in Cyberland. Why are you coming back?"
Her father's words made Laura burst into tears again. "Dad, Mom, I bought the house with my money, and I can't even live there. There's no room for me. I can't accept this."
"What's wrong with contributing some money? That's your brother," her father confidently said over the phone. "Hurry up and figure out how to come up with twenty thousand dollars.
Tommy's wife is waiting for cash."
Laura cried. "I can't come up with the money. I borrowed it from a friend last time."
Linda remarked, "Why don't you ask them for help again? He's your brother, if you can't find a solution, what can we do? Your father and I have no income in our hometown."
Linda, already in tears on the phone, deeply touched Laura's heart. She was most vulnerable when faced with her mother's tears.
In a moment of weakness, Laura responded, "Alright, let me think of a solution. When is Tommy getting married next month? I'll take some leave and come back early to assist."
Before she could finish her sentence, Laura encountered resistance from her father on the other end of the line. "No need for you to come back. What you're doing out there-if relatives see it, won't it be a joke? Where will your sister-in-law and their entire family hide their faces? You coming back isn't appropriate."
Those words broke Laura's spirit completely.
Laura felt a tremendous sense of discomfort and shock, realizing how debased and filthy she appeared in her parents' eyes.
"Mom, Dad, do you think I'm degrading my brother? Are you ashamed of my profession for being unsightly? I earn every penny you use. I supported him through college, used my money to buy him a house for his marriage, and now you deem my hard-earned money dirty?"
Laura was trembling all over, as though her parents' words were piercing arrows through her heart from all directions.
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