Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



"Mom!" Owen Reynolds cut her off before she could finish, already knowing what was about to come, "I've told you before, I'm really not in the headspace for this right now."noveldrama

Silver waited a beat, then went for it: "Are you seeing someone? Is there a girlfriend?"

Owen was taken aback for a moment, Roseanne's face unwittingly flashing through his mind, but he eventually shook his head: "No, there isn't."

Silver wasn't buying it: "Then what's with the suit in your hands? Did you go shopping by yourself?"

Owen glanced down at the shopping bag he was holding, countered, "How did you know it's a suit?"

Silver's eyes flickered.

"...The logo on the bag is pretty obvious. They only sell suits there. What else could it be? Can I get an answer now?"

With a nonchalant tone, Owen replied, "Picked it out with a friend."

"A friend? Male or female? What kind of friend?" Silver prodded.

"Mom, did you ask me to come over just to grill me about this?" Owen frowned, "If there's nothing else, I should head back to the lab." Silver stared at him for a solid half-minute, but with Owen's impeccable poker face, she couldn't spot a single giveaway.

Just as she was about to press on, Ferdinand suddenly set down his coffee mug-

"Enough already. The boy's got things to do. He came all the way here just for your call. What more do you want?"

Silver knew she couldn't push too hard, but she couldn't let some barista keep shamelessly angling for her son, could she?

She was at her wits' end!

Over at the Sullivan household-

Kathleen had called her son home as well, though she was far less frantic than Silver.

Without beating around the bush, she went straight to the point:

"Have you switched your arm candy recently?"

"Arm candy," not even qualifying as a "girlfriend."

Corley raised an eyebrow: "Why the sudden interest in my love life?"

Can't blame him for being surprised. Kathleen had always been more focused on her husband and her social circles, making this unexpected concern seem all the more out of character.

Kathleen laughed off his reaction: "What, can't a mother take an interest in her own son now?"

"Sure, if it makes you happy," Corley nodded.

"So, you really did switch arm candies?"

"It's not an arm candy."

Kathleen paused: "...What do you mean?"

"Exactly what you think it means. Not an arm candy. A girl I'm seriously pursuing."

"So, you're not together yet?"

Corley shook his head: "No, not yet."

That genuinely surprised his mother: "My son has found a woman he can't win over?"

"Hey, let's correct that. It's not 'can't win over, it's 'hasn't agreed yet.

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Your 'can't win over' sounds can't

death sentence."

Kathleen's heart sank, though she kept her tone light: "So, this is serious?"

Corley: "I've always been serious."

Kathleen couldn't bring herself to smile.

Many heirs were raised to be wasteful, but her son was an exception.

Smart and opinionated from a young age, he had an innate drive for adventure; as an adult, he ventured into investments and finance, even starting his own investment firm.

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Though not self-made, he was undeniably accomplished.

The only gripe was his frequent change of female companions, yet to settle down approaching thirty.

Still, that never impacted his stellar performance in the business realm.

She never interfered with who Corley dated, knowing those were just flings, posing no real threat.