Chapter 30
Adora shot back, “What, you think I stole them?”
She gestured for the workers to bring the two large boxes inside.
Knowing her room was too cramped to maneuver, she gave direct instructions.
“Assemble them here in the living room. Once they’re put together, I’ll move them in.”
Lilian pressed her fingers to her temples, taking a deep breath before speaking.
“Adora… your room is tiny. And besides, how much longer do you think you’ll even be staying here? Why go through all this
trouble?”
Adora let out a cold laugh, her gaze filled with disappointment.
“You’re counting down the days until I leave, aren’t you?”
“Even if you do stay, how much longer can you drag this out?” Ruby’s voice cut in from the staircase.
She was descending, her expression indifferent, but her words as sharp as ever.
Then, without waiting for Adora to reply, she turned to the workers and said bluntly, “She has HIV. Are you really willing to risk your lives doing business with her?”
“What?!” The workers recoiled in shock.
“HIV? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“She’s lying,” Adora stated calmly, then turned to the workers and sweetened the deal.
“I’ll pay you double your usual rate if you finish assembling everything.”
The two men hesitated, unsure who to believe.
By then, Ruby had reached the ground floor, keeping a noticeable distance from Adora as she smirked and said, “Just look at her
-her skin is already breaking down. If you don’t believe me, ask my mother.”
The workers glanced at Lilian, who remained silent.
That was all the confirmation they needed.
“To hell with this! Not even for ten times the pay!” one of them cursed, throwing down his tools before making a break for the door.
His partner wasn’t far behind.
Ruby smirked victoriously, her lips curling as she shot Adora a triumphant look as if saying, “So what if you bought them?
SA1/3
1/3
They’re nothing but trash now.”
Little did she know, her supposed victory would soon backfire spectacularly.
“Mary, get rid of this junk,” Ruby ordered smugly.
“Who dares?” Adora’s voice turned ice–cold as she locked eyes with Mary.
The housekeeper hesitated, swallowing nervously, caught between conflicting orders.
Without another word, Adora strode forward, picked up a hammer from the floor, and examined the instruction manual.
She was, after all, once a so–called child prodigy–assembling a wardrobe and a desk was hardly a challenge.
Ignoring the tension in the room, she sat down, laid out the materials, and methodically began putting the furniture together.
Ruby scoffed. “You’re really doing it yourself? Careful not to break your fingers.”
Adora didn’t spare her a glance.
She simply continued hammering away, her movements steady and precise.
If the workers had stayed, they would have finished assembling everything in half an hour.
They had power drills, making it easy to screw everything in quickly.
But thanks to Ruby chasing them off, Adora was left to do it alone by hand.
Naturally, it took much longer.
An hour passed, and the steady thunk of hammering and the screech of screws turning filled the living room.
Lilian, who was enduring the noise all this time, finally snapped.
Her head was pounding. “How much longer is this going to take?”
Adora didn’t even look up, carefully twisting a screw into place. “Almost done. I should be able to finish it before dark.”
“Before dark?” Lilian’s voice shot up an octave.
Upstairs, Ruby had tried to nap but was repeatedly jolted awake by the ceaseless banging.
Frustrated beyond belief, she stormed to the railing and yelled down, “You’re doing this on purpose, Adora! Fine, take it out on
me all you want–but torturing Mom? That’s just unfilial!”
Adora’s tone was casual. “If you want me to finish faster, why don’t you come down and help?”
“In your dreams!”
And so, the racket continued.
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Chapter 30
Every now and then, Adora would “accidentally” misplace a panel, mutter in frustration, then take it apart and redo it.
+15 Bonus
By the time the sky darkened, Theodore and Peter had returned from work, only to find Adora still at it, the half–assembled
furniture pieces scattered across the floor.
