Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



The first to receive the invitation was Duke.

Thanks to the wonders of express delivery, Mamie had sent it off to the state of Georgia two days in advance.

When the courier called, Duke was somewhat baffled.

Another online shopping spree by his wife?

But why use his number?

Don't tell me... she bought a Hermes and chose cash on delivery?!

"Damnation!"

Meanwhile, Mamie's mother, Henrietta Finch, who was in the middle of a yoga session with essential oils, was utterly confused. "What's with him now?!"

Duke stomped down the stairs to grab the package and then stomped back up.

Seeing the sender's name

Ah, from my darling daughter!

His face lit up with joy instantly.

"Whose package is that?" Henrietta asked, waving her yoga mat in the air, filling the living room with a mystical vibe.

"Just our girl's," Duke said, tearing open the package with his bare hands.

"Hmm?" Henrietta immediately leaned in closer. "What did our daughter send back? Why's it a document envelope? Don't tell me it's bills?"noveldrama

Duke paused in his unwrapping. "No, can't be. I just gave her a million dollars a while ago!"

Hearing this, Henrietta got irritated. "She asks for a million and you just give it to her? What if she asks for the whole treasury next, are you going to rob a bank?!"

"When I buy a few purses, you nag for months. Last month when I wanted a new car, you said no. Why is it that whatever our daughter says goes? She's my child too!"

"Who knows what she's doing with that million? Hope she's not getting into trouble!"

Duke replied, "Didn't I tell you? She's building a lab!"

Henrietta scoffed. "Building a lab? Only you would believe that! The country's top university can't provide a lab for her use, so she needs to spend her own money to build a new one? As if she has money to burn!"

"I read in the news yesterday about wealthy college kids spending millions at clubs, splurging on male models. With all that money you gave her, what if she's being scammed by some guy?"

"It's also my fault for not giving you a son. All this money and it's going to our daughter, who'll eventually belong to another family..."

As she spoke, tears began to well up in Henrietta's eyes.

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She had lived a charmed life, the beloved youngest daughter in her family, later marrying Duke, who was then a businessman. When the Finch family property was redeveloped, they struck it righ overnight and became landlords.

The one blemish in her life was not having a son.

Which family in Georgia didn't have a son?

None. It was a point of pride.

Although Duke never minded and his parents never gave her trouble over it, Henrietta couldn't let it go.

Every time she thought about it, she felt diminished.

"Look at you, getting all worked up again! You've been obsessed with having a son since we were young, and now you're still stuck on it. How many times do I have to say it? Mamie is all I need in this life!"

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"Our girl has always been healthy, a voracious eater, top of her class in school, top ten in the state for her college entrance exams, and then she got into Kingswell University for grad school. Who wouldn't say the Finch family is blessed?"

"I don't mind, so what's your issue? Seems to me like you're still stuck on this outdated idea of valuing sons over daughters. You're a woman yourself, how can you look down on our daughter? The old

saying goes, women hold up half the sky!"

Henrietta pouted. "If I had given you a son, you wouldn't be saying this..."

Duke, at a loss for words with frustration, let it go.

He had already opened the envelope and pulled out a thick card, red and festive.

Flipping it over, there were words.

As Duke read, the frown on his face transformed into a wide grin, "Hahaha... that's my girl for you! Always making us proud!"

Still caught up in her own thoughts, Henrietta perked up, "What is it?"