CHAPTER TEN
Anna’s POV
When I got home, I found my mom in the kitchen, busy with dinner.
I frowned.
Wasn’t she supposed to still be at work? It was too early for her to be back.
A quiet unease settled in my chest.
I just hoped she hadn’t heard about what happened earlier. I didn’t want her worrying about me… not when things were already this bad.
“Hi, Mom,” I said softly.
She turned, her hands dripping with water as she rinsed a green pepper.
“Sweetie, you’re home.”
“Yeah…”
My eyes stayed on her.
“Shouldn’t you be at the store?”
For a split second—just a second—her smile faltered.
But I saw it.
And that was enough.
“They fired you again… didn’t they?”
My voice came out tighter than I intended.
She opened her mouth, probably to deny it—but then she looked at me properly an
