The Day I Kissed An Older Man

"No, that doesn't make sense. If he's capable of influencing the real estate market as Rita claims, then why would Mom and I be living in poverty back then?"

It was not until Karen and Sadie moved with the Russells did they truly escaped their hardships. Just the thought of the past made Sadie's face darken. If it was possible, she would gladly sever all ties with those memories.

She did not care even if people accused her of being ungrateful. Whoever wanted to relive her past could go ahead, but she had no intention of doing so. She did not want to return to those dark days. There was no way she would allow Karen to mess up their current lives.

The only way for them to go was forward, not backward.

'Where should I start?' Sadie pondered. 'If Mom isn't willing to tell me, I should find out who that man is on my own.'

The next day, Rita left early. She had volunteered and made plans with Virgil a couple of days ago to take the children from the welfare home out for a day of fun.

On the way, Camille repeatedly reminded her of the importance of the children's safety and stressed they must not lose any of them.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

"Don't worry. I won't be the only staff there. I promise we'll safely return the children to the welfare home as they are!" Rita smiled as she spoke.

Although she had volunteered at the welfare home several times before, Camille always repeated these instructions every time.

She did not find it annoying at all. Instead, she felt like she had finally found a career that interested her, thanks to Camille. In fact, she was quite surprised to find herself being so patient with the children.

Camille once said something to her that left a deep impression: For them, visiting the welfare home was just a visit, and these children were merely passing through their lives. However, for these children, this place could very well be their permanent home.

Rita had also asked if they would put these children up for adoption, but after thinking about it, Camille shook her head.

"I'll put them up for adoption if the children really want it and just so happen to meet a family who they can get along with. But for me, this is a matter that needs to be handled with the utmost care. They're here because they've been abandoned once by the adults they trusted. I don't want them to get hurt again. These children are innocent. None of them asked to be born just to be abandoned. It's not something they can choose."

"Now it's just you alone. The staff can't help you with so much. Do you want me to do an interview for the welfare home? It might help the home attract a few more kind-hearted volunteers," suggested Rita.

Camille chuckled. "Forget about it. I

can do this alone. The welfare home is running fine, and if I finance it myself, nobody can have a say in how I run it! Besides, promoting the welfare home will only make more parents think they can abandon their children without consequences. They'll probably think that sending their children to the welfare home is giving them a way out. So, no, the welfare home doesn't need any publicity."

Rita sighed. Upon careful consideration, Camille's words made sense.

After all, if the welfare home were to be publicized, things might turn out worse than they imagined. Families wanting only boys, or with children with congenital diseases, or anyone with an excuse to abandon their children would turn to Camille's welfare home.

As it stood, the welfare home was doing fine. After all, Camille's family was financially well-off, so she had every means to provide the best conditions for the children. Moreover, given Camille's family status, those who wanted to work with them would occasionally donate money to the welfare home, which Camille readily accepted. However, whether her family would collaborate with them depended on her father's opinion.

Camille rolled her eyes. "It's not like I forced them into donating the money. We're all mutually consenting adults. Believe it or not, even if I tell them my dad has no intention of collaborating with them, they'll still willingly give money to my welfare home."

"You're quite the schemer," Rita remarked.