Chapter 35

Joan walked into the house with a small box in her hand. She sighed when the fine aroma of bayleaf hit her nostrils. Her mom was making her famous chicken fried rice with bayleaf as the major ingredient for its unique aromatic scent.

She put the box on the small table in the living room, then looked around for any sign of her father but saw him nowhere inside. Joan removed her jacket and put it on the sofa. She stood in the middle of the room, taking in every detail of her parent’s living room. She remembered when she and Camila were staying here before her marriage, but now she stays with her husband.

“Oh dear, do you want to give your poor mother a mini heart attack?” Flora’s voice broke through her reverie. Joan turned to her mother, a smile on her lips. “I thought it was a burglar when you didn’t enter the kitchen after getting in,” she chuckled.

Joan walked to her mom and wrapped her arms around her in a warm embrace. She pulled away, looking into her mom’s pre