Resign with Grace Return with Fire novel Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Only people with no real ability would believe nonsense like that,” Ariana said.

Warmth spread through my chest at her words. My nose stung; years of pent-up grievance made me pull her into a tight hug. “Being with you is great, Ari.”

Not long after that, I brought Ariana back to my hometown and introduced her to Mom.

Mom’s face lit up with joy when she saw us together, and she nodded approvingly. “This is lovely! Ari is a wonderful woman. You’d better not let her down, Fred!”

Ariana was polite and responded warmly to everything Mom said. She smiled the whole time, too. She even jumped in to help when Mom cooked.

I couldn’t help thinking back to the first time I’d brought Sandra to my hometown. Her expression had gone stiff the moment she’d seen the modest, outdated living conditions, and her every move had dripped with disdain.

When Mom cooked, she’d shown no intention of helping. All she’d done was watch with cold detachment.

Later, when Mom got overwhelmed and asked Sandra to help bring a dish to the table, she looked at Mom’s oil- stained hands with disgust. After setting the plate down, she had made a beeline for the sink and scrubbed her hands with soap no fewer than ten times. ⚫

Some time after that, Mom came to the city to visit Sandra and me, bringing some local specialties. She’d even remembered that Sandra had irregular periods and had thoughtfully brought some herbs to help with that.

But Sandra despised Mom for being from the countryside and was convinced that she would dirty the apartment. She’d had a hideous look on her face the whole time. She’d made Mom wear shoe covers inside and hadn’t allowed her to touch anything in the apartment.

That wasn’t the worst of it. After Mom left, Sandra had tossed the medicinal herbs that Mom had painstakingly gathered from the hills into the trash without hesitation.

“Who even takes herbal concoctions anymore? Modern medicine is the way to go! She’s such a typical hick- superstitious and ignorant!”

I’d had a massive fight with her over that. It was Mom who’d helped smooth things over before we made up.

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