The Bound Between Us

Chapter 13

“He had some stuff to deal with, so he left early,” Herman said, starting the car. I’ll drop you guys off”

Herman drove Anastasia and her mom back to their apartment, which was his first–time visiting Anastasia’s place. The apartment was tiny with only one bedroom. The living room had a bed separated by curtains. Despite its small size, it was very tidy Clearly, Anastasia was sleeping on the bed in the living room, leaving the room to her mother. Rent was pretty steep in Riverdale, and the mother and daughter’s income were just enough to scrape by Herman thought about the 50 grand Anastasia had given him for the car. That must have taken her quite a while to save up. To Herman, 50 grand wasn’t a big deal, but for Anastasia, it was a result of scrimping and saving for a long time.

Seeing Herman inspecting their apartment, Anastasia felt a bit embarrassed. “We only have water at home. Care for a drink?”

They didn’t even have coffee at home, and she didn’t usually drink coffee either.

The apartment was so small that there was no dining room. Anastasia usually ate at the coffee table in the living room. Compared to Herman’s three bedroom apartment, the difference was huge, and Anastasia naturally felt a bit awkward.

Herman didn’t show any sign of dissatisfaction and sat down on the sofa. “Sure.”

Anastasia poured him a glass of water, Salma suddenly said, “Ana, Herman’s off today. Why don’t you move

looked at Salma in surprise. “Mom, what about

clear from Salma’s words that she didn’t intend to move with

a year’s rent in advance, it would be such a waste if I move out now. I’ll just stay here I’m an old lady. I won’t bother you two,” Salma said,

While Herman was paying the bill, Anastasia told her that Herman wanted her to move in with them too. His intention was enough. Anastasia and Herman had just gotten married and didn’t have an emotional foundation yet. It wouldn’t be appropriate if she moved in with them.

said, “Mom, that’s not right. Your health is not good. What

save some rent. As for the rent you’ve already paid, I’ll talk to the landlord

only way to convince Salma to move

place. If anything happens, I can just call you. Ana, come on. Pack

to persuade Salma who insisted that Anastasia move

in considering that the new place was only a 20–minute drive away. So she packed

physically demanding and tedious task. After moving and organizing everything, it was already evening. She chose the bedroom on the left side