The Bound Between Us

Chapter 13

“He had some stuff to deal with, so he left early,” Herman said, starting the car. I’ll drop you guys off”

Herman drove Anastasia and her mom back to their apartment, which was his first–time visiting Anastasia’s place. The apartment was tiny with only one bedroom. The living room had a bed separated by curtains. Despite its small size, it was very tidy Clearly, Anastasia was sleeping on the bed in the living room, leaving the room to her mother. Rent was pretty steep in Riverdale, and the mother and daughter’s income were just enough to scrape by Herman thought about the 50 grand Anastasia had given him for the car. That must have taken her quite a while to save up. To Herman, 50 grand wasn’t a big deal, but for Anastasia, it was a result of scrimping and saving for a long time.

Seeing Herman inspecting their apartment, Anastasia felt a bit embarrassed. “We only have water at home. Care for a drink?”

They didn’t even have coffee at home, and she didn’t usually drink coffee either.

The apartment was so small that there was no dining room. Anastasia usually ate at the coffee table in the living room. Compared to Herman’s three bedroom apartment, the difference was huge, and Anastasia naturally felt a bit awkward.

Herman didn’t show any sign of dissatisfaction and sat down on the sofa. “Sure.”

suddenly said, “Ana, Herman’s off today. Why don’t you move in with him? You’re already married. You

in surprise.

was clear from Salma’s words that she

a waste if I move out now. I’ll just stay here I’m an old lady. I won’t bother you two,” Salma said, looking at Herman with a smile. “Herman,

Anastasia and Herman had just gotten married and didn’t have an emotional foundation yet. It wouldn’t be appropriate if she moved in with

“Mom, that’s not right. Your health is not good. What if there’s no one to take

what Salma meant. “Salma, why don’t you move in with us? The environment there is better and it would save some rent. As for the rent you’ve already paid, I’ll talk to the landlord to see if we can get a refund. We are worried about your

only way to convince Salma to move was to bring up

place. If anything happens, I can

who insisted

a 20–minute drive away. So she packed her clothes and

was a physically demanding and tedious task. After moving and organizing everything, it was already evening. She chose the bedroom on the left side of the living room, while