Startled by her own thoughts, Marissa couldn''t help but question her own sanity. Shouldn''t she be happy? Why did she feel a pang of pity for Tessa?


    Marissa quickly shook her head, trying to drop the ridiculous thought from her


    mind.


    Seeing how Marissa kept shaking her head, Tessa couldn''t help butugh and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "I think I''m going crazy. I just thought that it was a pity that things didn''t work out between you and Stephen."


    Tessa was at a loss for words before she drawled, "Then, I think you might indeed be losing your mind..."


    On thest day of May, Tessa flew back to Haverford.


    Back when she first fell out with her family and ran to Haverford for work, she had met a woman when she was looking for a rental.


    That woman''s name was Melody Brown. She was once Tessa''s neighbour and worked in sales. She was kind, energetic, and warmed up to people easily.


    Tessa remembered that she had once forgotten her keys when she was still staying there. She had called herndlord, but herndlord had asked her to wait as they needed to pick their kids up from school.


    Thus, she stood by the door and waited for a while.


    Back then, Melody lived in the unit directly opposite hers. When she saw Tessa waiting outside, she asked warmly, "Miss, did you forget your keys?"


    Tessa nodded. "I did. Myndlord has a spare. I just called her, but she''s busy now and said I have to wait another 30 minutes."


    "Do you want to wait in my ce?" Melody asked.


    Back then, their working hours were quite simr, so they''d bumped into each other often. Melody had taken the initiative to greet Tessa a few times, so they knew each other.


    However, they''d only greet each other when they met, and they weren''t particrly close.


    Tessa had taken Melody''s offer and waited for herndlord at Melody''s house. Melody had cut some fruit, and they chatted for a short while.


    Ever since that day, the two of them grew close and would often hang out during the weekends for either a meal or a shopping trip.


    It wasn''t a stretch to say that Melody was Tessa''s first friend from Haverford.


    However, Melody went back to her hometown to get married and have kids. And although Tessa had never seen her since, they would still chat asionally on WhatsApp.


    Tessa had gone back to Haverford this time round to meet Melody.


    A few days ago, Melody contacted Tessa, asking if she could represent her in court.


    After enquiring about the case details, Tessa found out that Melody''s husband, Mike Greene, had pursued a business endeavour with two of his childhood friends.


    He had invested over 200 thousand dors in the business, which was basically Mike and Melody''s entire savings.


    However, one of Mike''s friends


    ended up running away with the money They had lodged a report, and the police found the guy However, all the money had already been spent.


    The case wasn''t exactlyplicated as the three of them had signed a contract when they first started the business. There were transaction receipts of the money flow, so they had solid evidence.  s?novel


    However, the case wasn''t exactly an easy one either. The guy who had taken their money had spent it all and was currently unemployed with no ie.


    Even if the court ruled in favor of Melody and Mike, it would be difficult for them to


    get the money back as the defendant was penniless.


    Hence, Melody sobbed over the phone, begging Tessa to help her.


    Melody was currently living in a small town in Haverford, and she didn''t have many connections. Tessa was the onlywyer she knew who could help her, so she had no choice but to ask Tessa for help.


    Tessa always had a clear distinction between hatred and gratitude. She would


    repay anyone who had ever shown her kindness.


    She had always remembered Melody''s act of kindness on the day she had forgotten her key. Hence, she made her way to Melody''s town.


    The town was about 12 to 13 miles out of the city, and it was slightly secluded.


    Melody was staying at a self-built three-story house.


    When Tessa and Wynn first arrived, Melody''s family weed them warmly. However, there happened to be a storm on the day Tessa had prepared to leave.