In a Love Nest with the Aloof CEO novel Chapter 183

“I’m thinking of visiting my mother. Do you know if she’s well enough to see me?” Skylar had dreamt about her childhood several times already.

She was still not mentally prepared to face it.

“Don’t go just yet. I’ll ask the doctor tomorrow and arrange a suitable time for both of you to meet.”

Skylar suddenly realized that Tobias did not keep track of her mother’s condition, so he was in the dark just as much as she was.

They were not related to each other whatsoever, so Tobias was not obligated to care for her.

Skylar watched Tobias’ tall and straight back as he walked away and retrieved her gaze only after a long time.

As usual, Tobias walked in long strides, picking up the pace as he went.

Meanwhile, Skylar shuffled back tiredly with an odd gait.

Last night had completely drained her. She resembled a rag doll during the entire process, allowing Tobias to do whatever he pleased with her body.

She threw on a simple outfit and went out to meet Penelope who was waiting at a nearby café.

When Skylar arrived, she saw Penelope wiping her tears away with a piece of tissue. Then, her gaze landed on the table which was littered with balled-up tissue papers.

Skylar could only imagine how long her friend had been crying.

“Babe, you’re finally back. Do you have any idea how much I missed you?” Penelope seemed to have her hands full as she cried and wiped her snotty nose, all the while not forgetting to drink her hot chocolate.

Skylar raised her hand to call for the waiter and ordered a cup of lemon tea. She decided not to have any caffeinated beverages lest she struggled to sleep at night.

She took the seat across from Penelope’s and said, “Haven’t gotten over the last guy you dated? How long has it been? Judging by your speed, isn’t breaking up a common occurrence?”

As it turned out, Penelope was not crying because of her breakup, but because she was swindled out of her money.

She had fallen victim to a long con and all of her money was gone. To make matters worse, she now owed a huge debt. She did not dare to tell her family about this because she knew that telling them would be useless anyway.

Even if she reported this to the police, they wouldn’t be able to catch those people. The police claimed that they had received many cases like this and getting back the money would be close to impossible.

The more Penelope thought about it, the more hopeless she felt. Every tear she cried was for each cent she lost. In the end, she sobbed uncontrollably while announcing, “Skylar, I fell victim to a long con but you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Skylar, who was still wet behind the ears, did not know what Penelope meant. Furrowing her brows, she asked, “What do you mean ‘fell victim’? You look fine.”

Penelope wiped her eyes and explained, “The other day, a man messaged me on WhatsApp. He was very handsome and gentlemanly. Later on, he said he was in the investment industry and gave me the website for a very good project, saying that we could all earn money together. It was as if he brainwashed me and I kept putting money in. Just a few days ago, I realized that he was a scammer because I couldn’t withdraw any of the money I put in. All of my savings are gone now and I even invested half a million. My whole life is done for.”

Skylar was listening intently the whole time.

By the time Penelope was finally done, there was a look of astonishment on Skylar’s face. She swallowed before asking, “Where did you even get half a million?”

“I borrowed it and I don’t have a single cent to pay it back. I’m going to officially be a debt dodger from now on. Even if I sell myself, I won’t be able to gather so much money.”

Skylar never thought that Penelope would do something like this because as far as she knew, Penelope had always been shrewd and more mature than those of her age.

Penelope’s parents were both honest workers. They were not well off, so Penelope had always aspired to marry into a rich family since junior high.

She had a bumpy love life. Even though she had dated a few young men from wealthy backgrounds, none of them worked out in the end.

All the men gave her the same reason; they weren’t meant to be.