Chapter 12
Rosalie was alone in prison back then. If Lillian had not come to visit her from time to time, encouraged her, and tirelessly worked for her cause, she might not have made it out of prison alive.
It was Lillian who had been supporting her throughout those difficult three years.
“Her last hope?” His gaze flickered, and he pondered. It seems like Lillian holds quite a special place in her heart.” He then questioned. “But to regard someone as your last hope, don’t you find it a bit laughable? If this person is to abandon you one day, wouldn’t you feel more despair?”
“Lillian won’t,” she said with great certainty that there was absolute trust in her eyes.
Inexplicably, an uncomfortable feeling rose in his heart. It felt like he did not want anyone to be worthy of her trust to such an extent, as if she could do everything for that person.
Over the following few days, due to an impending inspection from higher authorities at the Environment and Sanitation. Administration, Rosalie’s workload increased and required her to work overtime.
Fortunately, when she got home, Jon had already prepared the food and waited for her, which made her feel touched.
She had also mentioned that if she came back late, Jon should go ahead and eat first, but he insisted on waiting for her to eat together.
At times, she would feel like the two of them were relying on each other in a small, humble rental home, much like siblings, Perhaps one would have this feeling when having a younger brother.
In the early morning, after cleaning the streets under her responsibility, Rosalie returned to the Environment and Sanitation Administration. After putting away her tools, she stood in the open space at the entrance.
In a short time, the inspectors from the Municipal Management Bureau would come. The staff in charge of street cleaning would stand there to greet them. It would also be convenient for her to report her work later on.
Rosalie’s slender figure stood amidst a group of middle-aged men and women, appearing quite conspicuous.
“Rosalie! You’re Rosalie!” When the inspectors arrived at the Environment and Sanitation Administration, a 27-year-old or 28-year-old woman suddenly shouted when she saw Rosalie.
Rosalie looked up and saw the other person wearing a light blue professional suit. Her hair was neatly styled in an updo. She had a round face and narrow eyes, an ordinary-looking appearance, but her makeup look was delicate.
Rosalie was stunned for a moment before she recognized that the person was Jennie Myers, her classmate in high school.
“It’s really you.” Jennie looked at Rosalie in surprise. “Why are you here? You’re… Are you working as a sanitary worker?”
“Yes, I’m working here now,” Rosalie responded without avoiding Jennie’s inquisitive gaze. After all, in life, one would inevitably encounter people from their past. Even if one might feel embarrassed, it was something one needed to endure.
“Jennie, do you two know each other?” Jennie’s colleagu
who came together for inspection, asked.
“Yeah, she’s Rosalie. She was the class belle and top student back then, always at the top of the list. There were countless guys in our class who liked her and pursued her, but no one caught her eye.” Jennie said to her colleague, seemingly intentionally boasting about Rosalie’s reputation.
The more it was like that, the more distinct the contrast became between the past Rosalie and the present one.
As expected, the colleague frowned. “She was the class belle and a top
udent? Are you joking?”
Jennie smiled faintly, feeling a sense of satisfaction in her heart. In the pas
the class, Rosalie was like a swan, admired by others, while the former felt like an ugly duckling, completely unnoticed by anyone.
Chapter 12
However, now, the swan was still sweeping the streets.
When some of Rosalie’s colleagues from the Environment and Sanitation Administration heard those words, they turned their gazes toward her. Their looks were varied. Some showed surprise, some sympathy, and others mockery.
The next day, after Rosalie finished her morning cleaning duties and was returning her tools, a young woman from the equipment department curiously asked her, “Rosalie, were you really the school’s class belle and a top student last time?”
Before Rosalie could answer, Queenie Franklin, another member of the equipment department, snorted coldly, “What class belle and a top student? Is that even relevant? Now she’s just a street sweeper. If she’s capable, she would have changed to a different job a long time ago.”
The young woman who asked Rosalie before looked at her awkwardly. The latter simply lowered her head, signed her name on the tool return log, and walked away.
Yulissa caught up with Rosalie and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t take Queenie’s words to heart. She liked Lucas from the transport crew, so she took out her anger on you.”
Rosalie wore a puzzled expression, utterly unaware of who “Lucas” was, as mentioned by Yulissa, and what connection it had
with her.
“Lucas is the driver of our transport crew. He seems to have some interest in you. Doesn’t he often say hello to you?” Yulissa said sincerely for the sake of Rosalie, “In fact, Lucas is a nice person. He has a permanent position in the department, and his parents have already bought a marital home for him. Why don’t you consider him?”
Rosalie shook her head. “No, I don’t want to get in a relationship for the time being.”
“You’re 27 years old, aren’t you? When a woman gets older, it’ll be difficult for her to find a suitable partner.”
“Then, I shall live alone.” In fact, Rosalie had no expectation of love since she was released from prison.
In the beginning, she and Zachary made solemn vows and promises. However, later on, when she was in prison and endured The agony of having her ten fingernails pulled out, he did not even furrow his brow. He simply uttered the words, “You brought this upon yourself.”
At that moment, all her emotions of the past felt as though they were completely annihilated.
Countless times, she would dream of that scene, only to wake up from the dream in a startle.
And how many times, when her fingers would ache faintly, she would tell herself what they called love was nothing but this kind of cruelty.
Now she did not want to fall in love again.
Besides, with her history of imprisonment, finding a job was already challenging, let alone finding a marriage partner. How many people could overlook her criminal record?
Yet, just as she said those words, Jon’s face flashed crossed Rosalie’s mind. Speaking of which, she could buy a phone for him with her upcoming paycheck in a few days.
“Well, you… Yulissa sighed, not pressing further on the topic.
On payday, after Rosalie finished work, she brought Jonathan to the mall to buy a phone.
“It doesn’t matter if I have a mobile phone or not,” Jonathan remarked indifferently. He had never thought Rosalie would buy him a phone.
“Who doesn’t own a phone nowadays? Having a phone is convenient for job searching and for the company to contact you. Distributing flyers every day isn’t a sustainable job.” Rosalie persuaded, “And besides, having a phone will make it easier for us to let each other know if something comes up and we’ll be late getting home.”
They arrived at a phone store in the mall. Inside, there were phones from various brands. The phones Rosalie could afford
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Chapter 12
at the moment were around 300 dollars. She had already looked up a few options online. So she directly picked out the models she had chosen, told Jonathan to take a look, and picked the one he liked.
“I can only afford these older models for now. But I’ve checked online, and they have good value for their price, and the specifications are decent. You can use one of these for now. When I’ve saved up more money in the future.
