"So, did you two get into a fight or something?"

Out of the office, Janie walked up to Nora.

"What are you expecting?"

Janie actually wanted Nora to fight with Lotty!

Janie was a gossipy woman who could quickly get the hang of everything going on within an organization.

She replied to Nora with a smile, "I heard Lotty is going to interview Alex Hoffman, the NS Group's president. Is she crazy? I mean, does she even know who Alex Hoffman is? He is probably beyond her reach."

Well, Janie was well-informed indeed.

Nora recalled Lotty's confident speech back in the office.

"She sounded like she is secure in her decision."

"What?"

Janie initially hoped to hear how Nora would depreciate Lotty.

Unexpectedly, Nora said that Lotty did have a chance to make it.

Instantly, Janie's smile disappeared.

Nora abruptly felt somebody coming over to them, then turned around.

Sure enough, Lotty's standoffish, sarcastic expression entered Nora's sight.

Feeling somewhat guilty at talking behind the woman's back, Nora heaved a light sigh, then ignored Lotty's gaze and sank in her chair.

In the first place, Nora participated in the competition for the subeditor's position because of her mother's medical expenses.

If she could obtain the position, her current salary would be tripled. Thus, she had no reason to give up such a great chance.

However, not long ago, her mother's condition suddenly worsened. Nora decided that she got no time to lose.

Even if Nora could eventually earn the longing post, it would be too late for her mother to get proper treatment.

Therefore, Nora thought of surrogacy, the fastest way she could call to mind to collect the funds.

What she did not expect was that the client was actually Alex. Nora even doubted that it was a deliberate trap from the man.

In the workplace, Lotty always had a problem with Nora. This time, the two women eventually got a legitimate reason to contest with each other.

...

At seven in the evening, Nora got back to Beyond the Waters.

The moment she entered the house, an intense and familiar smell of dishes drifted into her nostrils.

Nora immediately decided that the food was not made by Alex.

Sure enough, as she walked further inside, a familiar figure appeared before her eyes.

The two of them were startled almost simultaneously.

"Mrs. Davies, why are you here?"

Mrs. Davies used to be a servant to take care of Nora and Alex's daily life in the Stock Family.

She left the Stocks when Nora and Alex divorced.

It surprised Nora to see her back in the house.

Upon seeing Nora, Mrs. Davies hurriedly dried her hands, and the expression on her wrinkled face was full of care and love.

She nursed Nora from many years ago and witnessed the latter's growth, marriage, and then divorce.

In Mrs. Davies's heart, Nora was like her own daughter.

"Miss Nora, it's Mr. Hoffman who asked me to come back, saying that you miss the dishes I make. Thus, I'm back to make them for you."

Nora then noticed that the dining table was full of delicacies.

Nora stopped hesitating and walked up to embrace Mrs. Davies tightly.

At the same time, the sense of guilt struck Nora once again.

After the divorce from Alex, Nora often woke up in the middle of the night because of nightmares.

She hated herself and thought that it was her willfulness that had pushed the entire Stock Family into a pit.

If she had not fallen for Alex, the boy in the white shirt, at the freshman welcome ceremony that year, she would probably have met another man who pampered her, cared for her, or at least truly loved her.

In that hypothetical situation, Nora would lead a happy life with the presence of her parents. In reality, however, her father was imprisoned while her mother was terminally ill in hospital.