Aria Grant stared at the photos in the email all night, the only set of photos of her sister while she was alive.
Looking at the enlarged pictures on her computer screen, she couldn't help feeling her heart clench in pain, and tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Mom, can you take me to school today?"
Ivy meant to wake Aria up but found her staring blankly at the photos on the computer as soon as she opened the door.
"Weren't you the one who didn't want me to take you to school? What happened to pursuing an independent life?"
Ivy never liked people treating her like a child, so she requested to go to school and back home on her own starting from day one.
"I just want you to take me today."
Seeing her somewhat embarrassed daughter, Aria quickly hugged her. The warm touch finally brought a bit of warmth to Aria and gave her the courage to continue her struggle.
"If you keep dawdling, we'll be late. I want to eat shrimp soup at the school entrance!"
"Alright, but is that shrimp soup really that good?"
Ivy looked with disdain at the woman who had been sad a moment ago but now had bright eyes, but she had no choice since this was her mother!
The mother and daughter duo quickly got ready and left the house for the sake of delicious shrimp soup. When Dean Taylor woke up, he was baffled at the empty house.
Just yesterday, the boss ordered him to stay within 24 hours, but he lost track of them today. If the boss found out, he'd be skinned alive.
When Dean finally found the two, they were staring at each other over a bowl of shrimp soup.
"You're my mom so you should let me have it. This clam soup should be mine."
"Impossible, I paid for this clam soup so I should be the one to eat it."
The people around looked at the mother and daughter like they were crazy, fighting over a bowl of clam soup.
"Mrs.Grant, why don't we buy another bowl?"
"No, I only want this one. But if you're paying, I might consider it."
Dean looked at Aria's mercenary demeanor and felt like a flock of crows just flew over his head. She hadn't changed her ways even though so many years had passed. The first time they met was when she was arguing with someone over five cents.
At that time, he thought she was a stickler for details and found her very interesting, so they got to know each other. But later, he realized that she wasn't arguing over those five cents, she was just stingy.
"Don't give me that look. Not everyone comes with a life of luxury like you. Weren't you going to help me buy another bowl? She's almost done eating hers..."
Left with no choice, Dean bought two more bowls of clam soup and placed one in front of Aria. Watching her feast happily, he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes.
In fact, Aria wasn't like this from the start. It was just that after her sister passed away, she lost a major source of income. Although Joshua Mamet would still give her living expenses on time, it was far from enough.
At that time, she had to take care of Ivy alone, finding every possible way to save money. So, she couldn't help but become mercenary like this.
"Don't look at me like that. If you have nothing to do, help me send Ivy to school. Otherwise, I can't eat while watching your face like this."
"But I have so much left!"
Aria and Ivy then looked at him with their matching big eyes, as if he had committed an unforgivable crime.
Dean glanced at the clam soup in the bowl, then at the two of them and could only sigh in resignation.
After Dean and Ivy left, Aria immediately put away her casual demeanor and an unapproachable aura surrounded her.
She had to inspect her new company and check how well David Thompson had prepared her new identity.
However, this time she didn't want anyone to know that she was the boss of the company; she wanted to enter the entertainment industry as a ham actress and inquire about her sister's affairs.
As soon as she arrived at the company, she saw a woman with delicate features sitting in her office, swinging her leg and smoking. Aria hated people smoking in front of her the most.
"Who are you? How dare you just look at me like that. I'm the backbone of this company; when you see me, you should call me Sister Amelia."
After saying that, the woman gave Aria a sidelong glance and then picked up the trash on the table and ordered Aria to throw it out.
Aria sized up the arrogant woman in front of her. She had a standard nine-head body figure, though the flesh was somewhat loose. Her facial features were quite beautiful, but her skin was sagging due to her age, and makeup couldn't even hide the crow's feet on her face.
"Senior, the old should step aside for the newcomers to make way for the new. Don't you think?"
Amelia Morgan looked at Aria, who not only didn't take the trash bag but also pushed it back to her on the table, and her face cracked a little.
"Oh? But I think ginger gets spicier with age!"
"Of course, ginger does get spicier with age, but... women, the younger they are, the more popular they are."
Amelia couldn't hold back her anger when Aria mocked her age. She raised her hand and tried to slap Aria, but her hand was stopped in midair.
"What are you two doing!"
Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, David Thompson finally arrived. He had planned to wait for the boss in his office after receiving the message that she would come in the morning.
Who knew that he would step out for a while, only to return to Amelia Morgan arguing with the boss? If there was one thing David could say for sure, Amelia was a troublemaker. She had caused him problems just after joining the company, and now she was even picking a fight with the boss.
"Mr. Thompson, this woman is bullying me. She...she called me old!"
Amelia pretended to be weak while squeezing out a few tears, occasionally casting a seductive glance at David.
Aria looked at Amelia acting in front of David with amusement. She had good acting skills, but her face was too fierce for this soft act.
David felt somewhat nauseous looking at the middle-aged Amelia trying to act young. He turned his head and saw his boss watching the drama with her arms crossed, making him want to cry.
It was really tough dealing with such an unreliable boss!
"You go out first; I'll help you get justice for this matter."
Seeing that the boss had no intention of helping, David had no choice but to save himself, or else he wouldn't be able to stand Amelia's disgusting act any longer.
As David didn't take any actual punishment, Amelia was reluctant to leave at first. But when she saw his icy glare, she instantly ran out faster than a rabbit.
However, before leaving, she gestured at Aria as if to say, "Just you wait," a gesture that David didn't see.
Aria didn't bother to expose her. She just pretended she didn't see it. She didn't take such childish threats seriously.
"Boss, I'm sorry about today's incident. I didn't handle it well."
As soon as Amelia left, David dropped the unapproachable demeanor and became respectful to Aria.