"Howard had an affair."
Coralie Chariott lowered her head, but she seemed indifferent.
"Oh. Fortunately, Andrew didn't cheat on me." Josephine Lowell let out a long sigh and she seemed relieved.
Coralie noticed that Josephine was still wearing the coat that she had when she was in college, which showed that her current situation was similar to her previous situation. She should have been able to find a decent job if she hadn't wasted those years.
"So the reason you came to me today is... to talk about the old days?"
Coralie didn't mind talking about the old days with Josephine, but Josephine seemed like she had something to discuss with her. However, she seemed embarrassed to speak about it.
Seeing that Coralie brought up the topic, Josephine, who was a little embarrassed, said, "In fact, I wanted to ask you to lend me some money. You know that Andrew and myself are from outstation. We don't have any friends in A City... We only know Howard and you."
"Well, how much money do you need? What is it for? Actually, I have just divorced Howard and I don't have much money."
In fact, Coralie had already guessed this. Josephine was so anxious to meet her, in order to borrow money from her.
"I know, Coralie. In fact, I have no other options. You know, Andrew and I have a tough life... anyway, he recently found a way to make money, but we don't have any start-up money."
Speaking of this, Josephine's eyes lit up.
However, when Coralie heard this, she knew that there was something wrong. "Tell me the details."
How could there be such good things in the world? It was probably a scam.
"We are actually investing in rare metals. There are professionals guiding us..." Josephine explained briefly to her. In order to persuade Coralie, she took out her cell phone and showed her the information. "We have already made some money. In fact we have also cashed out some of our earnings. Look, this is our earnings from last week."
Coralie saw the text message from the bank. Indeed, it said that money was transferred.
However, the common operational procedures of these scams were easy withdrawal of money at the beginning. Once the invested amount became bigger, the problems will start appearing.
"Josephine, here's the thing." Coralie thought for a moment and tried to phrase her words in a euphemistic manner. "If you have difficulties with your life, I can lend you some money, but I have limited funds as well. We are friends, and it's alright for me to lend you a few thousand dollars, but if..."
"Coralie, I know that you think this is a scam, like the Ponzi scam, but Andrew said that we will not be cheated, as long as we are not the last to exit the scheme. We are doing this, because life is tough right now." Josephine collapsed suddenly on the table and started to cry.
Coralie was a little shocked. She didn't know if she said something wrong which caused Josephine to cry all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry, Josephine. Is there something wrong with your family?"
Only then did Josephine tell her about her family.
Andrew refused to work and he kept thinking about getting rich overnight. A while back, he had some problems at his workplace and he resigned to become a game streamer. Sometimes, his monthly income was less than a thousand dollars. They also have a child who was only one year old. They needed money, and this was the reason why they thought of this idea.
"How could he do this? He's already a father. Besides, game streamers usually work at night? He could still get a full-time job."
Coralie frowned. She also knew a little about streaming. Most people did this as a part-time job.
"I did speak to him about this, but he didn't listen to me. Now, I'm at work during the day, and my mother helps me take care of the child. When I go home at night, I'll clean up the house. Whenever I ask him to help out, he will say that he's working and making money... I have thought of getting a divorce, but my child is only one year old. I don't want him to grow up without father."
Josephine needed a confidante to complain about these matters. She couldn't help telling Coralie everything that was in her mind. As she spoke, tears were already welling in her eyes.
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