Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

In a world where marrying into wealth often meant ignoring infidelity. Beverly had seen it all. Men of status frequently had mistresses tucked away. Everything else was fair game as long as the lawful wife remained intact.

As a mother, she never interfered much. Today was supposed to be when she officially offered Roseanne a place in their prestigious family.

But the gratitude Beverly had expected was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she got a cold sneer from Roseanne. "Mrs. Sherwood, keep your charity for someone else. I don't need it. Besides, I've broken up with Murray. It's best if we take each other as strangers from now on."

Roseanne had once tolerated Beverly for Murray's sake despite Beverly's disdain for her lack of academic and professional achievements, deeming her unworthy of her precious son. But Roseanne no longer cared for Murray's approval, nor Beverly's. Why should she dance to their tune?

"Oh, Mrs. Sherwood," Roseanne added with a slight smile, "you might want to be less harsh with your words. They can come back to bite you. And remember, dressing up a monkey doesn't change its nature." With that, she turned on her heel and walked into the Kingswell University library, leaving Beverly frozen in shock.

Beverly couldn't believe her ears. "How dare she say that to me? Who does she think she is? Does she not want to marry into the Sherwood family anymore?"

daughter, Hertha, was shaken by Beverly's grip, snapping back to reality. "Mom, did Roseanne just

you believe

nodded. "Right, they've 'broken up' many

Murray, loyal as a devoted dog. But Hertha

deep breath to calm her rage. "Let's go. We can't

...

of knowledge, was where Roseanne went after the confrontation. She wandered until she found a seat near the bioinformatics section, which

like Owen's personality, deep, expansive, and serene. The book,

afternoon, Roseanne's stomach reminded her to take a break.

"Leda, what's up?"