Chapter 3
Emma started venting in the family group chat, complaining that Eddie had married a lazy wife who was no help when it counted and didn't care about Haylee's happiness.
When Eddie got home, he gave me the cold shoulder for the first time and crashed on the couch.
He told me I'd embarrassed him and his mom in front of all our relatives.
From that day on, I felt like half my heart had frozen over.
But the last straw that broke me was my mom's hospitalization.
She had a sudden heart attack and needed immediate surgery, which would cost 25 thousand dollars.
I'd saved up some money over the years, but it still wasn't enough. The first thing I thought of was our joint savings.
I grabbed the bank card and went to Eddie to talk it over, but he stammered, "Honey, bad timing. I invested the money in my buddy's project a while back. He said the returns would be huge."
"What project? How much did you put in?" My heart sank.
He stammered, "Just... 50 thousand dollars. Almost all our savings are tied up in it. Don't worry. Once the project pays out, we'll get the money back."
I was losing my mind. My mom's surgery couldn't wait. I had to swallow my pride, go back to my dad and scrape together whatever I could. I even borrowed money from a few close friends just to barely cover the surgery costs.
On the day of my mom's surgery, Eddie was nowhere to be found.
He just sent me a WhatsApp message, [Work called. Something urgent came up. I can't leave.]
I was all alone outside the operating room, signing endless papers, enduring the most agonizing hours of my life.
Later, Grace Wood, my best friend, couldn't stand it anymore and quietly told me her husband had seen Eddie's so-called buddy, Haylee's new boyfriend, with all the money, driving a brand-new SUV, taking Haylee and her whole family out for a day trip to the suburbs.
Grace said, "Cora, I looked up that car. It's worth about 50 thousand dollars. Just keep your eyes open."
It turned out, that so-called "high-return project" was just Eddie using our hard-earned money to buy his sister's boyfriend a brand-new car, paid for in full.
It was all just so Haylee could look good in front of her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, my mom was lying in a hospital bed, waiting for the money to save her life, and Eddie could just say, "I'm busy at work" without a shred of guilt.
I felt like I'd been plunged into an ice-cold abyss.
The day after my mom's surgery, Haylee finally graced us with her presence.
She walked in carrying a clear plastic bag with three bananas that were black and shriveled, looking like they'd been fished out of the trash.
She just tossed the bag onto the nightstand, not even bothering to take the bananas out.
She barely stayed in the hospital room for five minutes, spending most of the time glued to her phone.
Just before she left, Haylee put on a mocking tone and said to my mom, "Take care and get well soon. But I heard from my brother that hospital bills are crazy expensive now.
"Cora, you guys better watch your spending. Don't come ask my brother for help again if you run out."
I would never forget that stuck-up attitude, looking like she was tossing us scraps.
I was shaking with rage, ready to call her out, but Eddie grabbed my wrist and dragged me out into the hallway.
He gripped my wrist hard and hissed, "Come on, what are you trying to do? She's just a student. She doesn't have much. At least she brought something for your mom.
"That's what matters. Do you want your mom to think our family is cheap? Stop making a scene!
"It's the thought that matters, right?"
So that was what they called "the thought."
Every little thing, every moment, flashed through my mind like a movie.
I caught sight of the slap mark on my face in the mirror and just laughed.
I couldn't help but laugh at my own stupidity and naivety these past three years.
It turned out that "family" just meant I was the outsider they could squeeze dry and take from endlessly, and I was not even allowed to say a word about it.
It turned out that "thought" came with a price, and it all depended on how close you were to them.
Buying a car for his sister's boyfriend? Of course that was fine.
Saving my mom's life? That was just me being a burden.
Haylee showed up with three rotten bananas, and somehow that was a precious gesture.
I gave back four fresh bananas, and suddenly, it was like a mortal sin, a challenge to their authority.
All my efforts, all my patience, and all the humiliation I swallowed meant nothing to them.
The spotless white hotel sheets stung my eyes.
No, I couldn't stay there any longer.
This place was way too spotless for me.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
I said, "Hey Grace, can you do me a favor? Shoot me the contact information for that top divorce lawyer you know."
"Cora, you finally came around?" Grace sounded so relieved on the other end.
"Yeah," I said, staring at myself in the mirror, voice calm. "I've made up my mind.
"I'm getting a divorce.
"And I'm going to make them pay for every bit of their greed and heartlessness, even if it means losing everything."
At two in the morning, my phone suddenly lit up with a text from Eddie.
His words oozed with superiority, threats wrapped in the kind of mercy that felt more like an insult.
Eddie: [Cora, are you done with your little tantrum? Get your ass back here tomorrow and apologize to my mom. Do that, and I'll let this slide. If not, don't bother coming back!]