Chapter 109
Glanna wasnât crying anymore, nor was she feeling down anymore.
She was all spruced up, dabbed away her tears with the mirror in Anastasiaâs car, fixed her makeup, and became the glamorous Gianna again.
There was no trace of the previous desolation and helplessness.
âAnastasia, thanks a lot for today. Iâll treat you to a big meal once Iâve sorted this out Glanna said and got out of the car, looking like she had a big fish to fry.
Gianna was the kind of princess whoâd been pampered since childhood, and she was quite a tough cookie. How could she just swallow the bitter pill?
Anastasia waved her off: Til be waiting for that meal.â
Watching Gianna leave, Anastasia drove back to the complex to pick up Salma.
She gave Salma a call, and ten minutes later, Salma came out of the complex.
âMom, over hereâ Anastasia waved at Salma.
Seeing Anastasia, Salma walked towards the car: âAna, werent you at work? Why are you off so early?â.
âYou mentioned thereâs something delicious this morning. I wanted to tryâ Anastasia didnât tell Salma she got fired.
Salma chuckled: âAlright, letâs go home now, Iâll cook for you. Donât rush back later, letâs shop for ingredients first.â
Anastasia started the car and asked. The old market again?â
âYep. Salma replied, âItâs cheaper there.â
Itâd been a while since they had eaten together. They shopped for ingredients at the market.
Salma with groceries in hand, went into the kitchen and said, âAna, call my son-in-law and invite him for dinnerâ
âHeâs busy. He told me earlier that he has some social gatherings and wonât be coming home for dinner, Anastasia said as she began cooking.
âMy son-in-law is really busy, he needs to take care of his health. Salma said, Take some food back later, so my son-in-law can eat something decentâ Thinking about their wild scene earlier in the morning, Anastasia couldnât help but smile: âYes, he should eat something good to keep fit.â
Salma didnât know what Anastasia was thinking, she started cooking
They chatted while cooking, and the topic turned to Gianna.
Salma said, âOnce people get rich, they can easily turn bad. When Gianna just married Joey, he was only an intern at the hospital. Now heâs become a jerk after getting promoted Poor Giannaâ
Anastasia said, âI ran into Gianna at the complex entrance earlier, she seemed pretty upbeat. Donât worry mom, Gianna wonât be taken advantage of â âShe has given eight years of her youth, itâs a loss no matter what.â Salma said, âHow many eight years does a woman have?â
Anastasia couldnât rebut that.
True, Gianna had given her best years to her marriage.
Anastasia looked at Salma, the sunset shone through the window, casting a golden glow on her.
She noticed that her motherâs hair had started to show a few strands of gray, and there were some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
âMom, youâve also given your best years to me. Why didnât you give me to someone else? Then you wouldnât have had to work so hard, you could have found someone to rely on, and have a happy family. Have you ever thought about finding a companion?â
Salma had been a single mother for over twenty years, and her daughter was her everything.
Salma paused what she was doing, looked at Anastasia and smiled gently: âHaving you in my life is what I want. I brought you into this world and I am responsible for you.â
âMom.â Anastasia was touched, she hugged Salma and asked hesitantly, âMom, are you still waiting for dad to come back? Why did he leave us in the first place? Where did he go?â
Ever since Anastasia could remember, there was one time that someone called her the child without a father, and she ran back home to ask Salma where her father had gone.
But seeing Salmaâs teary eyes and choked voice, Anastasia never asked again.
After all these years, this was her second time asking about her father.
Anastasia had no memories of her father. She didnât know his name, what he looked like, and there wasnât even a picture of him at home.
Salma couldnât answer. She wiped her hands nervously, forcing a smile: âHe didnât leave us, he had his difficulties, Ana, donât blame your dad.â
âWhat difficulties could make him abandon his wife and daughter for over twenty years?â
Salma didnât know how to respond, but the doorbell rang. providing an excuse to avold answering: âIâll get the door, watch the foodâ
Salma quickly left the kitchen to get the door.
I was Monica standing at the door. She came from the hospital, and anxiously told Salma: âCason knows about Anastasia, Iâm afraid we canât hide it anymore.â
Anastasia came out of the kitchen: âWhat canât we hide anymore?â