My Mother Saw Me as Her Rival Chapter 02

My Mother Saw Me as Her Rival Chapter 02

My breath caught, and I forced out words slowly. “You turned my phone off?” 

She smiled warmly. “Sure did. That damn job’s wearing my 

poor girl out. It breaks my heart. Look, I didn’t wake you, and 

you slept straight till 10 AM.” 

“Don’t worry. I messaged your boss from your phone to warn 

him. If he keeps overworking his staff, I’ll report that rotten 

company. It’s already so late, you’re not going to work today. 

We’re shopping for 2 nice outfits for Doris. She’s got a date 

this afternoon, and we can’t let her miss it.” 

My throat burned dry. I stared at my phone after turning it 

on, seeing dozens of missed calls and hundreds of frantic @ 

mentions in the WhatsApp group. 

I typed just 2 words in the team chat. 

Ten minutes!” 

The meeting started at 10 AM. It was already 10:05 AM. My 

teammates bought me 10 minutes, and I still had a chance to fix this. 

I rushed into the bathroom, splashed water on my face 

quickly. I kept on yesterday’s clothes, grabbed a blazer and 

bolted out the door. 

But right before I stepped out, my mom grabbed me. “Riley, 

you can’t leave. I promised Doris you’d go shopping with her 

today. What will Doris do if you leave now?” 

A mix of absurdity and boiling rage shot straight up from my feet to my head. 

What little reason I had left stopped me from screaming at her. 

I pulled my hand free. It took every ounce of self control to speak. “Do you want to push me to kill myself before you’re satisfied?” 

She let go reluctantly and mumbled. “You’ll be back soon.” 

I was in such a hurry to leave that I didn’t think much about her words. 

I lost one high heel while running and burst into the 

meeting room sweating. When I booted up my laptop, I saw 

the blank blue screen of a freshly formatted drive. 

I froze. 

Cold fear shot through me and left my hands numb. 

It hit me at last what my mom had meant when she said I’d 

be back soon. 

Riley, where’s the proposal pitch deck?” 

My assistant Zoe’s voice shook. 

I braced myself against the table, fighting wave after wave of dizziness, and lowered my voice. “Bring the draft copy.” 

Zoe’s eyes widened, then she resigned herself and went to get it. 

I could remember the overall structure of the 100–plus–page 

pitch deck, but the tangled details were killing me. 

As if I didn’t have enough trouble already. 

The buzz of a vibrating phone cut sharply through the quiet meeting room. 

I quickly declined the video call, flipped my phone face down and kept presenting. 

Buzz buzz buzz… 

Boss Ethan’s face darkened little by little. 

could feel everyone staring at me. I picked up the phone and powered it off. 

picked up the laser pointer and only got 2 words out. 

Buzz buzz buzz… 

This time, it was his phone that rang. 

He stared at the incoming video call and held the phone out toward me. 

My mind went blank. I could barely breathe. I had no idea 

when my mom had added him on WhatsApp. 

You’ve got five minutes. Sort out your personal matter first.” 

I swallowed against my burning throat, bowed and apologized repeatedly to every client, then grabbed the 

phone and stepped outside the meeting room quickly, 

The video popped up. My mom was grinning, holding a floral slip dress up against Doris. “Riley, why didn’t you answer my video call? Doesn’t this dress look great on Doris?” 

My throat burned fiercely. My temples were pounding, and felt completely drained. 

All I felt was numb and helpless. “It looks nice. Buy it. Get anything else she likes. I’ll pay. Just stop calling anyone around me, okay?” 

My mom froze mid motion. Through the screen, her eyes welled up as she accused me. “You think I’m a burden now, don’t you? You promised Doris you’d shop with her and bailed. I’m the one keeping her company, and you’re blaming me?” 

pressed my fingers to my temple, telling myself over and over. She was my mom, my birth mom. Hold on, just hold on a little longer. 

“Mom, I only slept four hours last night. I’m exhausted. This project makes or breaks my career. The proposal pitch deck is ruined. I’m begging you, leave me alone this once, okay?” 

Her eyes widened, her face turned hurt, and tears rolled down. “Fine, fine. You’re busy with work, making big money, being an executive. An old woman like me is useless. I deserve to be looked down on. I won’t call you again, Even if I’m going to die, I won’t call you. Don’t you worry!”