"Hayley?" James Reed looked in surprise at Hayley Cole, who was panting at the door, and asked in confusion, "It’s so late, how did you get here?"

"I’m going to stay at your place." Hayley Cole ordered imperiously.

"Stay at my place?" James Reed drew in a sharp breath. "That’s not really appropriate, how about we..."

"Forget it, if you don’t want me to stay, then just forget it." The moment Hayley Cole saw James Reed hedging, she turned around to leave.

Nobody wants her, nobody wants her—does that mean she has nowhere to go?

She’s got plenty of friends!

"That’s not it, Hayley." James Reed hurriedly grabbed Hayley Cole. "How could I not let you stay? I’d be more than happy to have you."

After James Reed invited Hayley Cole in, he called his mom downstairs.

"Hayley, you finally came over to hang out, I’ve missed you so much." Charlotte Reed lit up the moment she saw Hayley Cole and greeted her happily. "Come on, come upstairs with me. That room, I’ve still kept it for you. I was even thinking of having James call you one of these days to ask you over. Look at that, you beat him to it and came first. That’s wonderful."

"Auntie, if you miss me, just call me yourself. Why do you have to wait for James to call?" The moment she saw Charlotte Reed, Hayley Cole’s mood lifted a little. It was still warmer here, more like a real home, completely different from the cold, stifling Cole Family house.

"How could I do that." Charlotte Reed said with a smile. "You’re so busy, I’m afraid of disturbing you."

"Oh, Auntie, why are you still being polite with me, talking about disturbing or not disturbing?" Chatting with Charlotte Reed, Hayley Cole went upstairs to the room she’d stayed in last time.

When Hayley Cole opened the door and saw the inside, her heart gave a jolt. She’d just thought Charlotte Reed was being polite, but she hadn’t expected the room to be tidied up spotlessly clean, and there was even a bouquet of her favorite fresh flowers arranged on the desk. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Auntie... you still clean this room every day?" Hayley Cole asked in shock. If it wasn’t cleaned every day, how could there be such fresh flowers in here?

Charlotte Reed couldn’t help laughing. She glanced at the closed door, lowered her voice, and said, "Let me tell you a little secret. Actually, I always wanted a daughter, but in the end I had a stinky boy instead!"

"When you came last time, I felt we really clicked, and I just started seeing you as my daughter. I’ve been looking forward to you coming over every day. So I keep this room cleaned up every day and pretend my own daughter just went out to work and will be back in a couple of days."

"Hayley, me thinking like that, you won’t... Hey, Hayley, what’s wrong with you? Did I say something over the line? That’s just what I think to myself. If you don’t like it, just tell me directly, okay? Don’t wrong yourself."

Charlotte Reed turned her head, only to be startled by the tears streaming down Hayley Cole’s face.

"Auntie, you’re the only one who’s truly good to me!" Hayley Cole threw herself into Charlotte Reed’s arms like a wronged child who had finally found her mother.

While Charlotte Reed was comforting Hayley Cole upstairs, downstairs Ethan asked, "How come she’s here?"

"Maybe she had a fight with her family." James Reed guessed. "I’ll let her stay a couple of days. Once she’s cooled off, I’ll have Mom talk her into going back. It’s not good to keep butting heads with your family."

"James, I think this Miss Cole treats you pretty well." Ethan probed.

"Yeah, she’s always treated me like a friend, never putting on the airs of a chairman’s daughter." James Reed said with a smile, with no extra thoughts at all.