Even her lunches were rushed.


    "You don''t get it," Mamie said one day.


    Scales was confused. "?"


    "The pressure is just too much! Waaah-"


    "So, what can I do?" Seeing actual tears well up in her eyes, he panicked.


    "I''m not getting enough sleep... Can we shorten our morning run by ten minutes? Please?" she whimpered.


    "Okay," Scales agreed.


    Mamie blinked. "?" Huh? Was it that easy? Maybe she should have asked for more.


    As if reading her mind, Scales added, "But no more than that."


    "..." Fine.


    But the tears in Mamie''s eyes at that moment hadn''t been fake. She had genuinely felt like crying. The pressure was real, and so was the sleep deprivation. It was just a fleeting moment of feeling overwhelmed, and she quickly pulled herself together. "Back to work!"


    That evening, Mamie finished her tasks and stretched with a long, satisfying sigh. She had finished half an hour earlier than she''d expected. Pleased, she turned to Scales. "Caley, are you done over there?"


    "Almost."


    "Let''s go into the city and see a movieter, okay?"


    Scales froze, his head snapping up. She was asking him to a movie?! His heart began to pound,pletely out of his control.


    When he didn''t answer, Mamie asked again, "Wanna go?"


    Scales nodded vigorously. "Yes!"


    Mamie smiled, then turned to invite Roseanne. "Roseanne, a newedy just


    came out yesterday with great reviews. Want toe with us?"


    Scales felt his heart sink. “?” Huh? So she wasn''t just inviting him...


    Roseanne waved her hand. "I''ve still got a while to go here, so I''ll pass. You two have fun."


    Mamie hadn''t really expected to be able to drag Roseanne out, so she wasn''t disappointed. She was still cheerful as she said, "Okay, then is there anything you want to eat can drive back and bring you something after the movie."


    "No, that''s okay. I''ll be leaving soon after I''m done. It''d be a waste of your time toe all the way back."


    "Alright, then. Don''t work too hard!"


    "I won''t-"


    After Mamie and Scales left, Roseanne stayed for another half hour to finish her work. She changed out of herb coat, locked the door, and left. She had driven today and the traffic was light. After parking in the garage, she took the elevator straight to the supermarket on the ground floor. She was running low on some household supplies and figured she could also grab some groceries to make a simple dinner at home.


    By the time she had picked out her items and paid, half an hour had passed. Just as she reached the entrance of her apartment building, she ran into Owen, who was returning from his evening run.


    "Let me get that,” the man said, naturally taking the shopping bags from her hands. "Just getting back from theb?"


    "Yeah," Roseanne nodded, not arguing with him.


    They walked up to the elevator together. Midway up, Roseanne suddenly spoke. "Professor."


    "Hm?" Owen turned to her. "What is it?"


    "The verdict for the Moore brothers came down. For intentional injury, provoking trouble, human trafficking, and group drug use... multiple offensesbined. One was sentenced to eighteen years, the other to fifteen."


    "I know."


    "On top of that, the entire Moore organization is being dismantled. Rted individuals, including Nash Oakes, have been detained. Even smaller yers like Malloy and Neal weren''t spared."


    Roseanne had read about it in the news that morning.


    "The wicked have finally been punished," Owen said calmly. "The Smith family won''t have to live in fear anymore."


    "No," Roseanne said, lifting her gaze to meet his directly. "That''s not what I wanted to ask."


    Owen looked at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes.


    Roseanne''s voice was steady. "Was this your doing?"