Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



One evening, Roseanne's bank account mysteriously swelled by two million dollars.

The moment she received the notification, she froze, then flung off her covers, jumped out of bed, and raced to the next room—

"Mom, why are you transferring me money?"

Madge and Norris exchanged a glance, seemingly anticipating her reaction. "Your father and I discussed it. You spent a fortune on that mansion, and we couldn't chip in before, but now we can. It's not much, but at least it's something."

"I don't need money!"

"I gave it to you not because I thought you needed it," Madge said softly, with a smile. "The mansion is where your dad and I live, and it's only right for us to contribute towards its cost now that we can afford it."

"But we're family, we don't need to split everything so clearly."

"I agree, so do you still want to keep things so separate between us?"

Caught off guard, Roseanne was speechless. "But..."

"Enough with the 'buts'," Norris interrupted her, "Just listen to your mom. Besides, if we need money in the future, you wouldn't hesitate to help us, right?"

Roseanne: "...Of course not."

"That settles it then. Look, it's getting late, and we have to catch the train tomorrow. You better go back to sleep."

"...Okay, I'll hold onto the money for now. If you need it, just ask."

"Alright, off you go."

Only then did Roseanne head back to her room.

Madge whispered, "That silly girl is probably overthinking this."

Norris added, "Actually, Anne probably doesn't care about the money..."

He had a vague idea that his daughter must have a significant amount, though he never asked about the specifics. It likely wasn't less than eight figures.

Madge suddenly became serious, "No matter how much she has, it's hers. What we give, no matter how little, is our way of showing our love as parents."

It wasn't about the amount of money, or whether it was needed or not.

"We couldn't afford a mansion for her when she was young. Now, we're living in a great house thanks to her, but none of this should be taken for granted."

Norris sighed, "I feel useless..."

"You're not useless."

"Honey..." Norris was moved.

"Without you, I couldn't have had a child, and there would be no Anne."

"?"

...

The next morning at nine, Roseanne dropped her parents off at the train station.

She watched them walk away until she could no longer see them, then turned to leave.

When

into

One got home, she bumped

who was about to knock

on her door with a stack of pock

hand.

SwnoUpstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

"Mr. Reynolds." Roseanne climbed the last step and stood face to face with Owen.

"Is your father home?" asked Owen.

"My parents went back home today. Were you looking for him?"

"He

papers for him; I've printed them aff out here." He patted the

hand.

"Oh? They just left..."

his

"No worries, I have the digital copies. I'll email them to you, and you can forward them to him."

"Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for going through the trouble!"

"It's no trouble. Your father... he's a very interesting man."

Except for one thing-he insisted on treating Owen like a brother.

After her parents left, Roseanne's life returned to its routine of moving between home and the library.

Time flew by, and before she knew.

it,

September arrived, marking thee the new semester for elet

graduate students...