HIS CLAIM

30

Elsa

Things had calmed down a bit at work. I was taking a lot of stress off my mother’s shoulder now that I was back because other than her, I was the only one skilled enough to sketch customers’ wishes.

We did have one more worker in the boutique, but she was a seamstress and would take on the job of measuring our customers and helping them find their dresses. She only worked a few hours a week since she was an older lady but still wanted to move around a bit. We did sell many stunning, high-end dresses, both our own and other designers’ work.

However, many of our customers preferred to get a custom-designed dress.

Time was going by so fast with the amount of work there had to be done, and before I knew it, three weeks already went by. It felt like time was going by even faster because as soon as I got home from work, I would pass out as soon as my head hit the pillow. I haven’t been talking much to Nicholas , only squeezing a text message here and there. He called me last night and I was so tired that I fell asleep while talking to him, but he knew how busy things have been. I did feel guilty that I barely had any time for him when he always made sure to have time for me. And he was the one with multiple businesses and running a Mafia…

Lately, I was feeling like I didn’t get much sleep and would run late for work a few times. My mother was always the one who left for work first to make sure the boutique is in a presentable state and sort out any form of paperwork that had to be done. It was not like I couldn’t wake up by myself. It was just that I would hit snooze way too many times. And because of my many late mornings,

Logan  had to give drive me to work. He even had coffee and breakfast ready for me in the car since it became a routine, and he would drop me off a block away from the boutique so my mother wouldn’t notice. She thought I was taking an Uber for work.

“Are you sure you can keep the boutique open while I’m gone?” My mother asked for the hundredth time.

“Yes, I’m sure I can. You just focus on relaxing because you’re seriously all tensed up.” I chuckled.

“Besides, things have calmed down a lot so I can manage.”

“Okay, good. If not, you call me and I will come right away.”

“No. I can’t believe I have to force you to take a break!” I shook my head and made a tsking sound.

It was evening and my mother would leave for her trip with Mrs. Park tomorrow morning, and I was helping her pack her things. It took way too long as I went through her clothes and assembled outfits for spa days, cocktail hour, dinner, and whatnot. You might as well look your best when you were going away for a week with your bestie.

Mrs. Park and my mother have been friends ever since we moved here, and I was also close friends with her daughter, Jenny, who was currently on a very hot vacation. And by hot, I was referring to her being with one hot guy after another. She sent me pictures of them and even rated them from one to ten on how good they were in bed. And other detailed information I didn’t need to know about. She was definitely going to be the hot, single, rich Asian auntie in the future.

“Mom, what’s this?” I frowned down at the paper in my hands that I took out from her purse. She turned to look at me, stopping in her tracks when she noticed what it was.

“You were not supposed to see that. Not yet at least.” She sighed.

“You bought a property?” I asked confused as I read the paper in my hands. My eyes suddenly went wide when I read where.

“You bought a property in Greece?”

“I did.” She smiled and took the paper from me.

“But why?”