Chapter 1084


    Susan was absent for a full 24 hours. When she finally arrived home at 9PM, her demeanor was


    downcast, and she walked unsteadily due to intoxication.


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    Clutching the door frame for support, she fumbled with her shoes in the foyer. The sound of stifled sobs


    from the living room caught her attention, and she looked up to find Lucy, her eyes red and swollen


    from tears, turning toward her with a glimmer of hope.


    Expecting to share the day’s family troubles with her daughter, Lucy was taken aback by the strong


    scent of alcohol enveloping Susan. Her maternal concern took precedence as she approached her


    wayward daughter.


    "Susan, honey, who were you out drinking with now? You''ve got to take it easy with the booze, you


    know," Lucy chided gently.


    Susan, shoes finally exchanged forfortable slippers, nced at Lucy through bleary eyes and


    managed a wry chuckle. "What, you think girls can''t hold their liquor? I can drink most guys under the


    table."


    Lucy''s face was a mix of exasperation and concern. "That''s not the point, sweetheart. It''s dangerous for


    a girl to be out drunk like that. And you''ve always been so keen on snagging a man like Lysander. If


    you''re not careful, if you lose... you know, your first time, Lysander might look down on you."


    Lucy''s voice held the weight of experience, her adviceing from a ce both protective and


    conservative.


    Ever since Susan was little, Lucy ingrained in her the importance of self-preservation, particrly when


    it came to matters of the heart and body.


    "Guard yourself," Lucy would advise, "especially from those boys who only have one thing on their


    minds. Aim high, catch the eye of someone with real prospects."


    Lucy''s worldview held a strong belief in a man valuing a woman’s first time, and she never hesitated to


    impress this upon Susan. "Save yourself for someone like Lysander; it''s the key to winning his affection


    and his sense of responsibility toward you."


    Susan''s simmering emotions boiled over at her mother''s words. She red at Lucy with fiery


    indignation. "I''m sick of hearing this, Mom! Twenty years of the same old speech! Who says Lysander


    would despise me if I''m not his first? Look at Thssa—she was with Leopold for two years before she


    met Lysander. She wasn''t ''new,'' and Lysander didn''t care one bit!"


    Her voice was a crescendo of bitterness and resentment. "As long as I am beautiful, as long as


    Lysander finds me attractive, nothing else should matter. I''m done being shackled by your outdated


    beliefs!"


    Thssa''s past rtionship with Leopold was no secret to those at Starhaven College. Their campus


    romance had been the talk of their generation. Susan, in her quest to win over Lysander, had made it


    her business to know Thssa''s history.


    Learning that Thssa had been with another man before Lysander, yet still held a special ce in his


    heart, stirred a toxic blend of anger and envy within Susan.


    Despite listening to her mother, abstaining from love and intimacy in anticipation of a wealthy suitor, her


    advances towards Lysander had been coldly rebuffed—not once, but twice.


    What did sheckpared to Thssa? Why was she treated differently?


    Overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and jealousy, Susan spiraled into despair.


    Her outburst, loud and piercing, left Lucy stunned. Lucy, already burdened with her own sorrows, had


    soughtfort from Susan, only to be met with her daughter''s fury.


    Shaken, Lucy''s emotions spilled over, and she broke into heart-wrenching sobs. "What have I done to


    deserve this?" she wailed. "My husband wants a divorce, and now my daughter turns against me too!


    I''ve ved over this family, and this is the thanks I get? Why is my life filled with such misery?"