Josefina glanced at the delivery receipt and couldn't help but notice how little had been bought—it seemed pretty stingy, honestly. Spending the Harrison family's money without wanting to spend on the Harrisons themselves was just tacky.
Ryan felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment for Lena. How could Miss Josefina be proud of such a meager seafood haul? It was practically insulting.
Clearing his throat, Ryan said, “So, all that fresh seafood we saw earlier wasn’t actually for Miss Josefina. When those folks came by offering it to her, I assumed it was for Miss Lena.”
Josefina explained, “My mentor doesn’t know all the details here; he thinks I’m the household’s Miss Josefina. It’s my fault for not clearing things up with him. Won’t happen again.”
Ryan nodded, “I get it, that’s on me too. I should’ve checked who’s who. We’ve had some changes and the titles have shifted. I should’ve confirmed. Miss Josefina mentioned she bought the seafood, so I didn’t double-check.”
Lena stayed quiet but seethed inside. Why drag her into this mess? She hadn’t said a word, yet here they were, pointing fingers at her!
Finally, Lena spoke up, “Ryan, I did buy seafood, and when those people said it was for Miss Josefina, I thought they meant me. I had no idea it would turn into such a fiasco.”
Damn Josefina! She did this on purpose!
As Lena tried to defend herself, Annika jumped in with a hint of accusation, “Miss Josefina, you should know better than anyone how much seafood you bought, right? Since you didn’t purchase those gifts, you should’ve clarified that sooner. Imagine if there was a mix-up and people thought you were trying to claim those items for yourself. Losing face over this would be an even greater loss.”
Lena glared at Annika, but Annika couldn’t care less. She wasn’t alone in her thoughts; others felt the same way. They couldn’t understand Lena’s logic—for a bit of seafood, she’d risk her reputation? Hadn’t the Harrison family given her enough? Wasn’t it worth more than a seafood dinner?
The tension was thick until Grandpa Robert’s stern face sent chills down Lena’s spine.
Hattie broke the ice with a warm tone, “Josie, why did your mentor send us so much seafood? It’s too generous; he shouldn’t have gone to such expense. Later, let’s pick out some nice gifts to send back to him.”

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