Chapter 94: A New Company
The next day, Sheri let out a long moan as she twisted and turned in bed. The bright ray of sunlight piercing through the curtains hit her face, forcing her to squint. Slowly, her eyes cracked open, only making the pounding in her head worse.
"What the... where am I?" she groaned, clinging to the edge of her quilt.
Looking around, the space felt familiar, because it was . She was in her own bedroom.
"How did I even get here? I can’t... I can’t remember anything from last night."
Bits and pieces started to resurface. The fundraising event... the drinking... the tears rolling down her cheeks. And then, Max. Her eyes widened as the final memory clicked into place.
Immediately, she yanked the sheets over her head and curled into a tight ball.
"No, no, no... I cried in front of Max," she thought, mortified. "And I cried so much! I leaned on him. What was wrong with me yesterday?!"
Her face was burning. It didn’t help that she still had no idea how she’d gotten home. But if she was back here, that meant something else too, her mother was home.
Sheri and her mother still lived together in a luxurious apartment in the city. It spanned two floors, complete with a sea view framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. The upstairs housed their bedrooms, while downstairs was an expansive open-plan space: kitchen, lounge, and dining area all flowing into one.
The calm silence of her room felt like a temporary shield, a break from whatever storm was waiting for her just outside the door.
When she glanced at her clock, the numbers glowed back at her, it was already midday.
"I guess Mum didn’t bother to wake me up for school," Sheri muttered to herself. "She must’ve seen how much I drank... I guess she understands."
But the moment she thought of her mother, her heart started to pound. Her stomach twisted, sinking lower and lower. The dread weighed heavier than the throbbing pain in her skull, because this wasn’t just a hangover.
This was the fear of facing her.
’After what I did... she’s going to kill me. She’s going to kick me out of the house. I don’t even know what’s going to happen!’
Sheri curled up under the covers again, suffocating in her own panicked thoughts. All she’d had to do was one thing. One simple thing, and everything would have been fine.
But her mouth was dry, her head ached worse than before, and she knew she couldn’t stay in bed forever. Sooner or later, she’d have to face her mother.
’It can’t be that bad, right?’ she told herself. ’I mean... if it was, Mum wouldn’t have brought me back home at all...’
Eventually, Sheri tiptoed out of her room and stepped onto the upstairs balcony that overlooked the open-plan living area. She moved quietly, hoping to hear if her mother was even in.
That’s when she heard it, a faint whistling sound.
’That’s... odd. I don’t remember the last time I heard her whistling .’
Then, something else hit her, the smell. The delicious scent drifted up from the floor below, and as she peeked over the edge of the balcony, what she saw confirmed it.
’Did Mum cook a meal for herself... and she’s the one whistling? When was the last time that happened?’
None of it made sense to Sheri. Had her mother finally snapped after everything that had happened? Had she gone completely off the rails?
Taking slow, cautious steps down the stairs, Sheri descended with her whole body trembling, and that’s when Sanna looked up and noticed her.
"Oh, look who finally decided to wake up!" Sanna said, her voice chipper and bright. "I made you a smoothie for your headache. Judging by how much you drank yesterday, I figured you’d be hungover. These smoothies used to clear them right up, remember?"
Sheri stepped into the kitchen, still stunned. Her mother... smiling? Talking softly? Food laid out on the counter... and the smoothie, waiting just for her?
"I figured you’d be feeling a little unwell, so I called the school this morning and gave them a heads-up. You’ve got the day off."
She sat at the island, staring at the smoothie and the meal. Part of her wondered if it had been poisoned. Nothing about this was normal.
"Mum... what happened yesterday? You seem to be in a really good mood," Sheri asked cautiously.
"I’ve been holding it in, but I just can’t anymore," Sanna replied, barely containing her excitement. "It happened last night, a few hours after the event ended. The fundraiser itself was a success, no problems there, but honestly, I thought I had failed. I didn’t manage to convince anyone to invest in the business. No matter what I proposed, it was like they had already made up their minds."
"But then, I received news, a VC firm has decided to invest in us! In exchange for fifty percent, they’re willing to clear all our debts and offer us a line of credit for whatever we need! Do you understand, Sheri? We’re going to be okay. The family, the business, all of it, we’re going to be okay!" her mother exclaimed, rushing over and embracing her in a tight hug.
In that moment, the two of them broke down into tears, but for the first time in a long time, they were tears of happiness. All the weight that had been pressing on their minds was beginning to lift.
"Does this mean... I don’t have to suck up to Chad anymore?" Sheri asked, wiping away the last of her tears.
Her mother looked away. The guilt was clearly eating at her, but she gave an answer.
"There’s no need to do that anymore. Someone out there is really looking out for us."
Despite the flood of relief, one question still tugged at Sheri’s mind. She had been spared the worst of her mother’s wrath, but that didn’t explain everything.
"Mom... what happened yesterday?" Sheri asked. "Did Max call you to come get me? Did he... say anything?"
"Max Stern?" Sanna replied, scoffing. "Forget about that useless boy. You can forget about all of the Sterns, we don’t need to worry about them anymore. Honestly, it’s a good thing we don’t have to rely on them. And Max Stern is not good enough for you, anyway. None of them are."
Sheri let out a small laugh, but she wasn’t so sure about that. From the school fight to what he’d done at the event... he seemed pretty reliable. She kind of hoped she’d get to see him again.
In the middle of her thoughts, something suddenly dawned on her.
"Wait—Mum, are you sure this isn’t some kind of scam? What if they’re trying to trick you just to get half the company?" Sheri asked, her voice filled with concern.
"I’m very sure. You don’t have to worry about that," Sanna answered. "I already received the funds almost immediately. I was suspicious too, especially since they’re a new VC I’ve never heard of before. It’s something called Billion Bloodline. Strange name, right? But I had everything checked out, everything’s good."
Sanna then clapped her hands together, a surprising brightness still lingering in her mood.
"Honestly, the deal they offered is more than generous, and definitely in our favor. I’m sure someday we’ll get the chance to meet the chairman of the company, and when that day comes, I’ll make sure to thank them properly. No matter what, Sheri, remember this, we are in their debt. "