Chapter 3

My words left all the relatives, even my parents, completely stunned.

If I'd said something like this before, they would've totally lost it and smacked me until I was bawling and begging them to stop.

But today... I actually caught a flicker of happiness in my parents' eyes.

"Jessica, don't do anything rash, you..." My youngest aunt couldn't help but try to calm me down.

"Don't stop her!" Mom suddenly stood up with a hard expression.

"Alright then, you said it yourself. We've raised you all these years, so we've done right by you," she said.

She continued, "Our family's just too poor to handle someone like you. We can't afford your medical bills. If you really mean it, then don't come asking us for a donor match or money again, because we won't be there for you anymore!"

Dad just sat there in silence, took a sip of his drink, and I could see he looked like a weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders.

I pulled out the agreement I'd been keeping in my bag and slid it across the table to them.

"Go ahead and sign it. We'll get it notarized tomorrow, and after that, I'm done with both your families."

It was only then that the relatives who'd been shocked earlier finally snapped out of it.

"At least she's being sensible. A disease like that would drag the whole family down. We just can't afford it," one of them said.

"Seriously. Mark raised her all these years for nothing. She's not even married yet. What a waste... all that effort, just gone," another chimed in.

I blocked out all the noise, keeping my eyes glued to my parents as they signed the papers.

The instant their signatures hit the page, relief flooded through me.

For the first time since my comeback, I finally felt the weight lift off my shoulders.

This was exactly how I knew things would go down.

The next morning, the whole family was supposed to head into the city together to get the papers notarized.

But my brother said he was too tired to get out of bed and told us to go without him.

I knew exactly what was going on.

He was already in the late stages of kidney failure, and after pigging out and drinking like there was no tomorrow yesterday, of course, he was feeling even worse today.

But I didn't say a word. I just went with my parents to the city.

By the time we finished all the paperwork, it was already afternoon.

"Alright, Jessica Young, we'll just accept the fact that raising you was all for nothing," Mom said.

Dad said, "Since you're sick, we won't expect you to pay us back. Just focus on getting better, and don't come running to us if you get into trouble again."

My parents kept up their annoyed act.

But I could see they were secretly relieved to finally be free of the dead weight.

"Mark Young, Linda Young, that goes for you too," I said.

I smirked, but there wasn't a hint of a smile in my eyes.

"The city's so far... and now there's no ride back. You'd better pay us back for the travel expenses! We wouldn't have had to make this trip if it weren't for you..." Dad grumbled.

He kept muttering under his breath, clearly annoyed.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He picked up without even checking the caller ID.

"Hey, Emily? We're heading back soon. Did you cook for Tim yet? He..."

Whatever Emily said next made Dad's face go sheet-white, and his lips started to tremble.

"What? Tim... he's got kidney failure?" Dad stammered.

Mom staggered, grabbing the doorframe just to keep herself upright.

I'd seen this coming, but I didn't expect it to hit so fast. I was hoping to make a clean break while I still could.

I pretended not to hear a word and turned to leave.

But before I could step out the door, Dad rushed over and grabbed my arm.

"Wait! Jessica, don't go yet!" he called out.

I frowned and jerked my arm free.

"What are you doing?" I snapped.

Dad opened his mouth to say something, but just stared at me.

"Your brother's really sick. Come with us to the hospital and see him. He's your brother," he pleaded.

I let out a cold laugh and waved the severance agreement in my hand.

"Are you serious? You're not my parents anymore, and now you want me to go see that so-called brother?" Jessica retorted.

"You! You really think a piece of paper can just erase everything between us after we raised you for over twenty years?" Dad snapped.

He glared at me while Mom broke down in tears right next to me.

"You can't just walk away! Your brother's in trouble, and we don't know anything about it. You have to come with us!" she pleaded.

She even dropped to the floor, grabbing onto my leg and sobbing as if her life depended on it.

Her outburst drew a crowd of onlookers.

Even the staff had enough and ended up calling the police.

Not that the cops could do much once they arrived.

It's not like they could force me. I had my own rights, and that notarized document in my hand said it all.

"Keep this up, and we'll have to take you in. Seriously, just go see your son at the hospital," the officer said, clearly fed up.