After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 658

Mandy reminded Deborah of herself. She was younger, pretty, and had the kind of body that turned heads. Deborah had started keeping her guard up around Mandy long ago.

Whenever Deborah went back to her hometown, Mandy would always look at her with barely hidden envy. Sometimes she’d even ask, half-joking, half-serious, if Deborah could introduce her to some rich executives. Mandy wanted it all. The mansions, the flashy cars, the kind of life most people could only dream about.

Deborah never agreed. She knew exactly what came with that kind of life, and it wasn’t all luxury and glamour. For ten years, she and Kevin hadn’t had to worry about money, but she was always in the shadows, just a secret mistress. Kevin was a secret too, an illegitimate son no one talked about.

She didn’t want Mandy stepping into that kind of world.

But if she was honest, Deborah also didn’t want Mandy to have what she had. She liked being the star when she visited home, the one everyone tried to please, the one people whispered about and watched for approval.

“Jackson, I’m hanging up now. Tell Mandy to wait in your office. I’ll come pick her up.”

Deborah had no intention of letting Mandy stay at her place any longer than necessary, but she kept that to herself. If she said it out loud, Jackson would think she didn’t care about family.

A day or two wouldn’t cause any trouble, she figured. She just needed to help Mandy land a job as quickly as possible. Not with The Lane Group, and definitely not at one of their subsidiaries. Deborah had been with Jackson long enough to know plenty of other women in similar situations, so finding Mandy a position somewhere else wouldn’t be hard. As long as Mandy didn’t cross paths with Jackson again, they could still be cousins, no drama.

“Alright. Come get her. Have the housekeeper set up a guest room for Mandy. She’s young and doesn’t know much about the world. Living on her own isn’t safe. Let her stay with you for now, and once she finds work, you can both figure out the next step.”

She hesitated, lowering her voice. “Mom, you know how Mandy is. She’s always been jealous of me, always wanted the life I have. Her coming here isn’t just about needing help. She’s ambitious. What if she stirs things up between me and Jackson? That would be bad for all of us.”

Deborah sent her parents money every month. More than they could ever spend, really. The rest went to help other relatives, and Deborah didn’t care. Once the money left her hands, it was theirs to do with as they pleased. She barely noticed the tens of thousands it cost.

Jackson gave her an allowance of a million a month, with extra gifts on holidays. He bought her designer bags, jewelry, even a few apartments and shops to collect rent from.

Just the rent brought in over a hundred thousand every month. The shops were in prime locations, big spaces, each one pulling in more than twenty thousand. Life was comfortable. Too comfortable to risk, especially for someone like Mandy.