She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 344

Was Caspian protecting her?

Hulda's distraction only lasted a brief moment before pure rationality snapped back into place.

It was an instinctual defense mechanism. She refused to revisit the agony of having her heart ripped in two, and she certainly had no desire to entangle herself with the Sterlings ever again.

She turned to Abby and flicked her lightly on the forehead. "Focus on your work and stop letting your imagination run wild."

Abby clutched her forehead with a dramatically pained Yelp, drawing a chorus of laughter from Dr. Lynch and the other men.

She shot the laughing men an annoyed glare before pouting and getting back to her tasks.

As their lunch break approached, Zane arrived with the cafeteria staff to deliver their meals. Trailing right beside him was a completely transformed Katherine.

"Katherine!" Abby stared in disbelief, her eyes widening at the sight of the little girl.

Dr. Lynch and the others walking over for their food were equally stunned.

Clothes really did make the person. Dressed in her new outfit, the little girl looked like an entirely different child.

"Shocking, right?" Zane laughed. "Mrs. Gable brought her to us today, saying the chief consultant demanded the kid be scrubbed clean and put in new clothes. She even promised us she'd never let her scavenge for garbage again."

Zane was clearly thrilled, gently patting Katherine's clean head. "Our female clerk spent over an hour bathing her. Finally got her all cleaned up and into these new clothes. I was just about to bring you guys lunch, and this little one insisted on coming with me. She probably wanted to show the chief consultant."

He looked around the site. "Where is she? Why isn't she coming over to eat?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Katherine bolted.

Hulda had just finished the last of the morning's debugging and was walking toward their break area. Before she even reached it, she spotted a tiny figure bounding excitedly toward her.

She recognized her instantly. "Katherine!"

She had bathed her before, so she remembered what the child looked like under the grime. Even though the new clothes made her look entirely different from her ragged past, Hulda knew her at a single glance.

Seeing the girl looking so bright and clean brought a huge smile to Hulda's face, and she jogged forward to meet her.

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