Chapter 2
Although my heart was racing, I knew now wasn’t the time to let my guard down.
I took a deep breath, calming myself. While my mom was distracted with her phone, I hid the original scratch–off ticket in my bag, then grabbed another one, slipping the store clerk money for it.
I kept my head down as I scratched off the numbers, pretending to compare them to the winning ones.
My mom leaned over, asking, “Did you win?”
Seeing her calculating expression, I remained calm.
“No, it’s such a rare chance to win, I never expected it to be me.”
She looked at me suspiciously as if trying to find a flaw in my face.
“Then why did you look at it for so long? Let me see.”
My mom snatched the scratch–off from my hands.
In my previous life, she had done the same thing, taking the ticket from me and checking the numbers.
At that time, when she confirmed I had won the big prize, she
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hugged and kissed me happily.
“Good thing I listened to you and bought this ticket. Our family is finally rich!”
But this time, even though she was my mother, I wouldn’t trust her blindly anymore.
My mom carefully compared the numbers, confirming I hadn’t won.
She angrily threw the ticket in the trash. “I told you not to waste that twenty. Now look, it’s just a worthless piece of paper.”
She couldn’t stop complaining, dragging me out of the store.
I ignored her, following quietly behind her as we went home.
Once we were back, my mom put on a long face and started crying about our financial struggles.
She sobbed, saying that the landlord had suddenly raised the rent and we had to pay up in two days, or we’d have to move out. She even asked me for the money I had saved from my part–time job to cover the rent.
Azuria City was a big city, and rent wasn’t cheap.
The money I made from working part–time barely covered anything. I had to support both myself and my mom, and it was never enough.
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In my previous life, my mom had even pressured me to borrow money online to pay the rent.
Luckily, I had won the lottery, or she would’ve insisted on that.
Back then, I had suggested buying a house for us to live in, but my mom said buying a house was a big decision, and in the end, she chose to rent a pricey apartment in the city center.
That place was very close to where my dad and Wilbur lived.
I suspected that was when my mom started to feel affection for my dad again, forgetting all about the sacrifices I had made for her.
Now, facing the same problem with rent, I decided I wouldn’t give her any more money.
“Mom, the rent’s too high in the city. I really can’t afford it. Didn’t Grandpa leave you that house in the countryside before he passed? You can move back there. After all, you don’t need to work.”
My mom seemed to sense something off. She stared at me, her voice taking on a deeper tone.
“Alisha, are you hiding something from me?”
My heart skipped a beat.
