She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 28

She didn't waste time wondering where Callie had gone. The moving truck had already arrived, and she needed to focus.

She had lived in this house for years, but now that it was time to leave, there was shockingly little she actually wanted to take with her.

Aside from her clothes and everyday essentials, the only things she packed were her professional reference books and three entire drawers full of handwritten manuscripts.

In total, it only came out to a few large boxes.

The movers stared at the small pile in disbelief. "Is this really it?"

"Yes. Please load them into the truck, thank you." She was leaving everything else behind.

The movers didn't complain. They were getting paid a flat rate anyway, so less work was a win for them.

When she finally arrived at the new place Brandon had arranged for her, Hulda was utterly speechless.

She had assumed Brandon would put her in the institute's staff dormitories or rent a small apartment nearby.

Instead, she was staring at a massive, standalone villa.

At first, she thought she was just renting a room, but once she stepped inside, she realized she had the entire place to herself.

Panicking, she immediately called Brandon.

"The dorms are completely full," he explained calmly over the phone. "I had to find you a temporary place off-campus."

"You could have just rented me a standard apartment. You didn't need to spend this much money!"

"It didn't cost a dime. You're our highly-paid Director of Research." Brandon laughed proudly. Anticipating her next argument, he quickly added, "And I didn't rent it. It belongs to a friend of Conrad Atherton. It's been sitting empty anyway, so you can crash there for the time being. Free of charge."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. Make yourself at home and get comfortable. If you need anything, just let me know. Alright, I've got work to do."

Before she could get another word out, he hung up.

Hulda looked up at the towering three-story villa, then down at her measly stack of boxes, feeling completely helpless.

"But..."

Hulda didn't care to hear the rest of her excuses and ended the call.

She placed her phone face down on the desk, but the tight, aching heaviness in her chest refused to fade.

Miles was her son. He was the child she had poured all her love and devotion into.

And that was exactly why it felt like a knife twisting in her gut when he declared that he didn't want her, that he wanted Sylvie Sinclair instead.

...

At school, the final bell was just about to ring.

Miles hadn't paid attention to a single thing all afternoon, his eyes glued to the window.

He was searching for Hulda's car, the one that was always waiting for him at the gate well before school let out.