Chapter 346

Ava Reed felt a soft stir in her heart. Back when she first left the country, life had been crushingly hard. She didn’t dare tell anyone where she was, too scared of being tracked down. Even using her old bank cards felt risky, so she’d left with only a bit of cash. After paying rent, she was basically broke. Determined to get through pregnancy and survive, Ava worked at a restaurant, scrubbing dishes with her baby bump. She barely spent any of the money she made—just enough to get by. The rest she saved for when the baby came. Luckily, about a month later, she landed a job as a designer. Her blend of traditional Eastern aesthetics and understanding of Western culture caught the eye of a local design studio, and they offered her a position. That was the turning point—life started to ease up. Looking back, Ava actually felt grateful for those long, sweaty days in the cramped kitchen. The folks at the restaurant had treated her kindly. Knowing she was pregnant, they’d let her take home l