Chapter 197: Chapter 209

Chapter 0209 Hannah I quickly made my way downstairs to let Viona in. I clutched my robe around myself, glad to see that the house had long since gone quiet and that the festival had come to an end-and that Noah had apparently gone to sleep.

As soon as I opened the back door, Viona rushed into my arms, tears streaming down her face.

“Hannah, I’m so sorry to bother you this late,” she sobbed.

I hugged her tightly, shivering in the cold night air. “It’s okay, Vi. I was still awake. Come on, let’s go inside and talk.”

Viona nodded and let me lead her inside. I strode into the kitchen and flicked on the light, gesturing for her to sit at the spot by the kitchen island while I began boiling water in the kettle.

“Thank you, Hannah,” she sniffled as I prepared two cups of tea.

I simply shrugged. My eyes wandered over to the two duffle bags sitting on the floor by her feet. Something had clearly happened tonight, although I wasn’t going to pry until she was ready to talk about it.

A few minutes later, once we were settled in the living room with two cups of steaming chamomile tea between us, Viona took a deep breath and began to explain herself without me even having to ask.

“I went home after the festival and tried to talk to my parents about Andrew,” she said, her voice trembling. “I told them that I didn’t want to marry him, that I wasn’t ready for marriage at all.”

“Good for you.” I touched her arm and gave it a squeeze as I sipped my tea. “You should stand up for yourself, especially when it comes to marriage.”

Viona let out a bitter laugh at that. “Yeah, well, my parents don’t see it that way. They gave me an ultimatum: either marry Andrew or get out.”

“They really did that?” I murmured, my eyes widening. “To their own daughter?”

“Yep. Obviously, I chose the latter. So I packed my bags and left. No amount of money is worth what they’re trying to put me through.”

I let out a soft sigh. “That must have been really difficult, Viona. But I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Hannah,” she muttered, reaching for her teacup. “Although, I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I’ve never had to support myself before...”

There was a long silence after that as Viona shakily sipped her tea. I frowned slightly as I watched her; Viona’s parents were loaded, and she had always lived in the lap of luxury. I knew it sounded like a first world problem, but if they were really going to stick with their decision to cut her off and make her live on her own, that would be a tough adjustment.

I thought for a moment, then an idea struck me. “What if you worked for me? I could use another assistant for the eating disorder campaign. It would only be part-time and temporary, but I could pay you and it would look good on a resume.”

Viona’s eyes lit up, and she nearly dropped her tea. “Really? You’d do that for me, Hannah?”