They Sold Me for Five Million, So I Collected It Myself novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: May
"I'm not here to ask for anything," Noreen said.
She stood on the landing in her brown coat with the shoebox held against her chest.
She looked ten years older than the woman who had read my invoice on the quad.
Her hair was not set.
"I sold the lake house," she said. "The pontoon boat. The truck. A lawyer says Roland will plead, and the judge wants restitution. It won't cover half of it. I wanted you to know I'm not hiding."
"All right," I said.
"This is yours."
She held out the shoebox.
I took it.
It was lighter than I expected.
"Photographs," Noreen said. "From the hospital bag. Your mother's rings were in it, and her recipe cards, and a picture of your father holding you on his shoulders at the county fair. Roland said to burn them. I couldn't."
I looked down at the box.
I didn't open it yet.
Behind me, I heard Dane come to stand in the doorway in his T-shirt, and he didn't say a word.
"You kept them eighteen years," I said.
"I kept them in the closet."
"You could have given me one."
"Yes," said Noreen. Her mouth shook. "I could have."
I looked at the cashier's check on top of the lid.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of They Sold Me for Five Million, So I Collected It Myself are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend