The old woman''sst words echoed in her mind, followed by her devastated cries.


    Two dayster, Irene arrived at the Woods'' mansion after settling the old woman''s funeral.


    Ever since the old woman had fallen sick, Irene had been working in the kitchen of the Woods family''s mansion.


    The money that the old woman earned each month was sufficient to support Irene through college. Being the grateful child she was, Irene would help with chores in the Woods'' mansion whenever she had time. This was after the old woman had secured a job in the mansion.


    All the servants in the mansion knew Irene and took rather good care of her.


    "Irene, how''s your grandma? Are you still going to work here? The butler asked about her yesterday!" a servant who knew Irene asked.


    "Mrs. Flores, my grandma has passed away," Irene muttered while lowering her gaze.


    "Oh, dear! Perhaps it''s better that way. You will exhaust yourself, working between jobs while bncing school as you take care of your grandma!" "I''m fine." "Even if you are fine, your grandma wasn''t! Thest tI saw her, she was a living skeleton, and it was hard to watch. Now, she is free from her pain. Talk to the butlerter and beg him to let you stay, or you won''t be able to pay for your tuition." Mrs. Flores tapped her on the shoulder.


    "Thank you, Mrs. Flores." "You must be tired. Look at how skinny you are," Mrs. Flores said before handing her a piece of bread. "This is the leftovers from breakfast. Eat this! I feel sorry for you to have to live on your own from now on," she said, before sighing pitifully while staring at the scar on Irene''s face.


    Irene still felt ufortable whenever people stared at her scar.


    She took a bite of the bread, before turning around to take her phone out.


    been She had not been able to control her tears ever since the old woman''s passing, which was what happened at that moment. She chewed on the bread and randomly tapped on the screen of her phone, all while holding back her tears.  Through the tears in her eyes, she saw a familiar face on the screen.


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    Her best friend back in Hightide et Church, Rose, was having her eighteenth birthday party. In the photo, Rose wore a sophisticated tiara on top of her pale, long hair, dressed in a pink dress, she looked like a princess that walked out of a storybook.  Rose stood before a threeyered cake with her eyes closed as she made her wish.


    Once Irene finished the bread, she wiped her tears away and looked at the photo again.


    Avery had posted it on her social media ount.


    Avery would asionally share moments from her life on social media, and she always posted a photo of Rose celebrating her birthday every year. It was the reason Irene followed Avery.


    Though she knew that her path would never cross with Rose''s again, it was stillforting to know that Rose was happy.


    In another three months, Irene would be turning eighteen, but this time, she would be alone on her birthday.


    "Hey, something big is happening again! Mr. Woods brought han illegitimate son from his business trip! I heard that they are at the airport, and Mrs. Woods is losing her temper in her room as we speak!" "Tsk, tsk. Another illegitimate child? How old is he? I''m impressed by Mr. Woods, actually. It''s not easy to stay so ''active'' despite his age. It''s no wonder that Mrs. Woods is angry!" "I don''t know how old the kid is, but he must be of age. I heard that Mr. Woods is clearing the South Block for his son. I think there''s going to be a lot of  in the next few months! Let''s be careful not to irritate the family. Getting fired is one thing, but one wrong move might get us killed!"  eli