Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

As she spoke, she handed over the documents she was holding.

After skimming through them, Roseanne confirmed they were the originals and promptly exchanged them with her own set of photocopies.

It was only after the exchange that Odette finally let out a sigh of relief, "I'm so sorry for the delay. This is my first time dealing with a property sale, and I'm still getting the hang of the procedures. I didn't mean to hold you up..."

"It's okay."

Abbey stood by, understanding each word but somehow lost when piecing them together.

"What... what contract did you say this was?" Abbey pointed to the documents in Odette's hand.

"It's a property purchase agreement."

"Whose?"

"Roseanne's, of course. She's the one buying the house."

Abbey swayed, nearly losing her balance. "You mean, she, Roseanne? She bought a house here?!"Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

"Of course." Odette looked puzzled, wondering why she was being asked such obvious questions.

"How is that possible?!" Abbey's pupils dilated in shock, as if struck by lightning, "Is it unit 19 or 20? Which floor? What layout? How many square feet?"

"Ma'am, you seem to be mistaken. Units 19 and 20 are just our standard high-rises. Roseanne purchased one of the high-ends villas."

What?!

"A high-end villa?!" Abbey could barely get the words out. "She bought a villa?! Like, by the lake?! How... how did she pull that off?!"

How could this be?!

Roseanne sighed, "Abbey, I guess I really am not doing too well. Here I am, in my twenties or thirties without a job, and all I could do for my parents is buy them a villa, just to show a little gratitude. I hope they enjoy it, and it eases your worry about them, don't you think?"

Abbey was speechless.

"We've got to get going and start decorating our new place, so we won't hold up your house viewing any longer." Madge offered a slight smile.

Suddenly, a sales associate came running over, looking for Irving and Abbey-

"Hey, I thought you went out to the I

restroom? How did you end up here? This is the VIP reception area. You folks sure know how to pick your spots..."

Irving tugged at Abbey, who was still in a daze, and had to apologize himself, "I'm sorry, we didn't realize..."

"Have you decided yet? Whose

name is going on the deed,

Nicole? Make sure the person,

or

comes over with their ID so we can finalize this purchase agreement."

Really, not knowing even this basic information had wasted her entire morning.

While Odette had just sold a villa, she hadn't even made a sale yet!

It's true what they say, comparisons really can be disheartening.

Why couldn't she have that kind of luck?

A villa, worth five million! Just thinking about the commission was enough to make her weep with envy...

Roseanne and Madge exchanged glances.

What had they just heard?

Emery? Nicole?

Weren't those... Abbey's parents' names?

"So, you're buying the house for your parents?" Madge said with a smile, "This community has a great environment, perfect for their retirement."

"That's not it—" Abbey instinctively protested, "It's just in my parents' names, but it's for the three of us to live in!"

"Is that so... Well, then put it in your names, or maybe Lauretta's, that would be more convenient."

"Exactly!" the sales associate chimed in, hoping to close the deal today, "Since it's for your family, just put it in your own names!"

"I bent over backwards because of

your link to Lauretta, hustling to lock down this property for you before other buyers could grab it. If you delay further, I can't guarantee we'll be able to hold it for you. Everyone knows, our properties sell as fast as they're listed, it's all about who acts fastest."

Abbey panicked. "We're buying! Absolutely!"

"Great, then let's get those IDs out and sign the contract right now."