I looked at Spencer in confusion. What could Mr. Hastings Senior possibly have for me? He hadn''t mentioned anything about it on the phone this morning.


    Spencer opened his briefcase and pulled out a property deed. "Ms. Ashford, Mr. Hastings feels deeply sorry about everything... He instructed me to transfer this vi by Saffron Creek to you aspensation."


    I took the contract and nced over it. Mr. Hastings Senior had already signed his name. If I signed mine, this property, worth tens of millions of dors, would officially be mine.


    At that moment, countless thoughts rushed through my mind. I had always wanted to take Mom and leave the Hastings residence but had never acted on it because I had nowhere to go.


    I recalled the descriptions I had read online about the vibrant and luxurious neighborhood where this vi was located.


    But in the end, I simply smiled and pushed the contract back toward Spencer. "Please thank Mr. Hastings Senior for me, but as for the vi... Let him know that there''s no need for the Hastings family to talk aboutpensation with me."


    If anything, perhaps I was the one who owed the Hastings family more.


    After signing the documents, I set down the pen. I immediately felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.


    I was in a daze the entire afternoon. From my office window, I could see the café where I had met Spencer earlier. I stood there for hours, my emotions a tangled


    mess.


    "Serena, you''ve been standing here for two hours. What''s wrong with you?" Patricia frowned at me. "Did something happen?"


    I let out a long sigh. "Just something beyond my control. Thinking about it won''t change anything."


    She frowned even deeper. "If it''s something you can''t handle, why don''t you ask Mr. Hastings for help? You can''t keep getting lost in your thoughts all day."


    Putting my name in the Hastings family''s family treepletely ended any possibility of a


    rtionship between Alex and me. I thought I had already epted it,


    but when I heard his name again, my eyes still stung with unshed tears.


    Shaking my head, I picked up the documents on my desk and forced myself to


    focus on work. I silently signaled Patricia to leave the office.


    After work that evening, I was surprised by an unexpected visitor-Mom.


    She stood at the door, holding a thermal food container.


    "Mom? What are you doing here?" I frowned at her. "Why didn''t you call me first? I could havee home earlier to let you in."


    "Serena." Tears shimmered in her eyes. "I... I just wanted to see you. Are you... are you doing okay?"


    "Me?" I forced a smile. "Of course, I am."


    "Serena." Suddenly, she pulled me into a tight hug. "I know what happened today. Mr. Hastings Senior gave you a vi, and you turned it down."


    I let her hold me, feeling an ache rising in my chest. "Mom, I''ve already gained so much from the Hastings family. I can''t ept anything more from them."


    Mom loosened her grip, looking at


    me with nothing but heart


    "Serena, this is all my fault.


    always known you have feelings for Alex, haven''t you?"  fo


    The emotions I had been suppressing all day finally erupted. I took a deep breath.


    "Mom, none of that matters anymore."