Chapter 252

Since moving out to live alone, Freya had been too busy with work to buy clothes in recent months. With the season about to change, she realized her wardrobe was looking a bit sparse. On Saturday, she went out shopping. She spent over an hour trying on clothes, also picking up a few items for the other members of the Miller family. Afterward, she sat down on a sofa to rest while waiting to check out.

Just then, a voice called out to her from the door. “Cousin?”

Freya turned to see Jane Hill standing at the entrance. Jane was the daughter of Lauren, only a few months younger than Freya. They had grown up playing together and were quite close. However, since Freya’s mother had divorced Logan, they had rarely met. The last time they saw each other was three or four years ago.

Back then, before Matteo had met Raven, Jane had somehow found out that Freya’s uncle’s business was in serious trouble and on the verge of bankruptcy. She had made the effort to travel all the way from Y City to give Freya the tens of thousands of dollars she had saved up over the years, hoping it would help.

Freya smiled. “Long time no see.”

“Long time no see,” Jane replied, visibly excited. Then, as though remembering something, she looked at Freya with concern and asked, “Cousin, are you… are you okay?”

Freya guessed what she was thinking. She was well aware that Jane knew about her complicated situation with Raven and Matteo.

She knew that Freya had loved Matteo for many years, but he had never returned her feelings, and that he had immediately been captivated by Raven when he met her. Jane understood just how attractive Raven was to men. Over the years, she had witnessed countless men become obsessed with her. Even her high school crush had initially been interested in her just to get closer to Raven. But Raven, undeniably, was an exceptional and charismatic woman.

Jane could imagine the pain Freya must feel, watching the man she loved be taken away by another woman, unable to fight back, especially when she considered the complicated situation with Janice and Sally.

Freya opened her mouth to reassure her, but before she could speak, Lauren entered the store. Seeing Jane, she snapped, “What are you doing running around? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? You didn’t answer your phone, and now—”

But before she could finish her sentence, Lauren’s eyes fell on Freya. Her expression immediately darkened.

Just then, the store clerk approached Freya with her receipt, saying, “Miss Miller, your items are all packed. Here’s the bill. The total is $723,680. Please verify the amount.”

Freya nodded, took the receipt, and began checking. They were at an LV store, and the items Freya had purchased were neatly packed into over thirty shopping bags, which were now stacked on the floor. The total bill was quite substantial.

Lauren and Jane froze for a moment. Freya had spent over seven hundred thousand in one shopping trip?

Lauren quickly regained her composure, thinking to herself that Freya was just trying to keep up appearances. She believed Freya was putting on a brave front, pretending to be doing well despite the obvious financial struggles of the Miller family. After all, if it weren’t for Matteo, even someone like Raven wouldn’t be able to spend that much on clothes in a year, let alone the Miller family. Freya’s family was currently struggling financially, and she didn’t seem to have any significant income herself. So where was this money coming from?

Jane, however, seemed more worried. She had heard that while the Miller family hadn’t gone bankrupt, their business was far from thriving. Spending over seven hundred thousand on clothes like this… wasn’t it a little reckless?

Lauren scoffed but didn’t say anything further. She turned to Jane and said, “Your uncle is almost done with the meal. Are you planning to make everyone wait for you? Hurry up and go!”

Jane glanced at Freya and nodded before quickly following Lauren out of the store.

Previously, Jane had heard that the house the Miller family lived in had been bought by Matteo for Janice, for a sum of over one hundred million. This didn’t even include the expensive furniture and decorations. When Lauren mentioned that just the large vase in the living room was worth over a million, a gift from Matteo to Raven, Jane had been shocked. The other luxury decorations were equally eye-popping.

She had grown up in a wealthy family herself, but this was her first time seeing such a lavish and extravagant mansion. She was completely taken aback, walking through it cautiously as if afraid to break anything.

Sitting casually on the sofa, Sophia couldn’t help but laugh at Jane’s nervousness. “You don’t have to be so careful. It’s just a bunch of trinkets. If you break one, we’ll just replace it.”

Raven, walking down from upstairs, noticed Jane’s stiff demeanor and casually remarked, “It’s just some decorative stuff. Don’t be so tense. If you break anything, just replace it.” Her nonchalance made it clear that she didn’t value these things much.

Jane was stunned. Just how much had Raven changed in such a short time?

Sophia smirked, “My brother-in-law has plenty of money, and he’s very generous with it. If my sister wants to play with something, he’d be happy to buy her another one if she breaks it.”

Jane was left speechless. She had heard rumors that Matteo was very good to Raven, giving her money, shares, and connections to help the Brown family get established in the city. But hearing about it was one thing—seeing it with her own eyes was another.

What really struck her, however, was the contrast with Matteo’s treatment of Freya. From what she had heard, Matteo seemed very stingy with Freya, unwilling to help when her family was in trouble. Yet with Raven… he was nothing but generous.