From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent

Chapter 6

Anthea looked at Carole, her eyes softening. “Mom, I’m home.”

“What… what did you just call me?” Tears welled up in Carole’s eyes.

Carole went to see Anthea just the day before, but Anthea refused to reunite with her. Worse still, Anthea had lashed out, shaming her, saying she could never have such a pathetic mother. Heartbroken and powerless, Carole had left. Anthea was unwilling to be her daughter, and the Morris family was happy to keep her, so Carole could only give up on her daughter.

But Carole never expected that just one day later, Anthea would return, even calling her “Mom“! Was that a dream?

Carole had quite a story. At the tender age of nineteen, Carole fell in love and got pregnant with twins. But during childbirth, she was told one was stillborn.

After her daughter was born, her once–devoted lover vanished without a trace, not to be seen for the next eighteen years.

It was only after reporting him missing at the police station that she discovered the truth. Everything about him had been a lie. His family, his address, and his name were all fake. He was a con artist, a smooth–talking Casanova.

in those days, for a nineteen–year–old girl, having a child out of wedlock was a scandal. After the birth, Carole’s parents wanted to abandon the baby and arrange a marriage for

Carole.

with her infant daughter. Defying her

and left home.

daughter alone. Life as a single mother was tough, but

saying, “Mom, I’m sorry for the way I acted before. Please forgive

joy streaming down her face as

villa, the Yeager family’s dim basement was more than modest.

living room was a tight ten square meters, with peeling, yellowed wallpaper and a concrete floor cracked and damp. A three–legged table stood against the wall, its fourth leg replaced by a

this ancient cabinet – it

Chapter 6

it was still around in this

the place was old, it was clean,

some water,” Carole