Sweet Subterfuge by Trina Duo

Chapter 285

Larissa stared at the money in his hand, and her eyes grew as round as saucers. This was the first time in her life to receive cash as a gift. As a kid, she envied Lana every New Year because she received stacks of money. Just the money she got from Xavier and Yvette was already worth thousands, whereas Larissa had nothing.

Larissa felt like taking the money but suppressed her urge in the end. “I’m already an adult. Why are you still giving me money?” She smiled slightly and pushed Kevan’s hand away. “Give it back to your grandpa.”

“Give it to him yourself if you want to.” Kevan stuffed the money into her hand and said, “I don’t run errands for other people.” With that, he went back into his room. Old Mr. Rogers had given her a very thick roll of money. Just by feeling it, Larissa guessed that there was at least a few thousand dollars. However, she couldn’t accept it, so she did not unbind it to check. She just left it on the coffee table.

…

one!” Following the strike of the clock, loud cracks and booms sounded outside. Larissa drew the curtains aside and saw colorful fireworks exploding in the night sky. The smog in Bartham was very severe, and fireworks were prohibited during New Year’s. There used to be fireworks shows, but they had been canceled over recent years. Those fireworks were obviously not

it seemed more like an initiative from the hotel. Larissa went out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing. Watching the dazzling sky, she suddenly felt like drinking. There

fireworks. “Too bad Sadness slowly overwhelmed her until she was drowning in it. Very quickly, she reached the bottom of the bottle. She lost her grip, and the bottle fell to the floor,

of pain felt magnified on a night when everyone else seemed to be reveling, and the effects of alcohol had loosened her grip on control. She flung away the broken piece and sank to the floor, hugging her knees, and wept bitterly. Filled with hope and anticipation, Larissa had believed that this year would bring a change. She had thought