Chapter 3

The moment my old colleague heard what happened, she agreed right away. She even insisted on going back to the storage room with me to pack my things.

I tried and tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn't having it. I could only let her do what she felt she had to do.

When we stepped into that dark, dingy room with peeling paint and swarming bugs, her eyes grew red and she nearly teared up.

"Celeste, trust me. I'm not letting you down. I swear." she said, her voice trembling with emotion.

That night, for the first time in ages, I slept in a place that was bright, spacious, and actually had air.

No more wrestling with mosquitoes. No more worrying a piece of ceiling would crumble into my mouth while I slept.

Even my aching joints felt lighter. And for once, I slept all the way through.

But good days never seem to last long.

One evening after work, I walked in the door and hadn't even taken my shoes off when someone started pounding on it like they were about to break it down.

I didn't think too much of it and opened the door. There they were. Silas. Katherine. And Henry. All standing there like some kind of tribunal.

They didn't say a thing. They just shoved past me, dragging the kid in with them.

Their lack of basic manners caught me off guard, and I raised an arm to stop them.

"Get out. This isn't your playground!" I shouted.

Silas ignored me completely and started rummaging through the place, yanking open drawers, digging through everything like he was searching for buried treasure.

I was shaking with anger. I pulled out my phone to call the cops, but Katherine snatched it out of my hand and threw it hard on the floor.

She yelled, "Celeste, I knew it! You lied to us! Who in their right mind lives in a storage room for ten years?

"I kept telling Silas but he didn't believe me. Don't act like I can't tell. You've been sleeping here the entire time, haven't you?"

I stared at her, baffled, the only thing inside me left being bitter amusement.

They hadn't cared whether I lived or died. My friend stepped in because she couldn't stand watching anymore.

I stay a few days at her place and suddenly I'm hiding some grand secret? Absolutely ridiculous.

My fists clenched so tight my knuckles went pale.

I took a deep breath, walked over, and yanked the front door open. "Get out. All of you. You're not welcome here."

I didn't expect Silas to suddenly rush outside and grab my arm, screaming into the hallway, "Everybody look! My own mother has no shame!

"Not only did she refuse to buy us a house for our wedding, she even hid my father's death benefits and bought herself a new place behind our backs.

"There's no mother crueler than her. She's been lying to us for ten whole years!"

Neighbors started poking their heads out. Katherine, of course, seized the moment.

"We felt sorry for her, so we gave her our place for ten years," she said. "We let her live there for nothing. Not once did she show gratitude. Instead she complained it was small and damp.

"Celeste, how could you? Didn't you think about saving money for Henry? He's your only grandson. Did it ever cross your mind how he's supposed to get married someday?"

I almost laughed. Henry didn't even have all his baby teeth yet, and they were already talking about marriage?

Before I could say anything, Henry lunged forward and bit my leg, then threw himself onto the floor, rolling around and screaming, "Bad grandma!

"I don't want a grandma like you. I want a house! I need a house so I can get married!"

That sealed my reputation. The neighbors looked at me like I was some heartless villain straight out of a soap opera.

They didn't even hesitate. Every last one of them sided with Silas.

Someone shouted, "I've heard of single moms going crazy, but this is something else.

"Your son and daughter-in-law treat you so well and you stab them in the back?"

Another chimed in, "If a woman doesn't spend her money on her own kids, it can only mean one thing.

"Look at that rash all over her. She probably caught something from some guy. Shameless. People like her don't deserve sympathy."

They got more riled up by the second. Someone even tossed vegetable scraps at me.

Just then, my phone buzzed on the floor. I bent down, picked it up, saw the message from my best friend, and I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

I turned to the crowd and yelled, "Shameless? That's me. So what exactly are you planning to do about it?"

The moment those words left my mouth, the room fell into stunned silence.

No one could believe what they were hearing. I had done all the "bad" things, yet here I was, standing so unapologetically.

One of the neighbors even pulled out their phone and started streaming live.

Silas staggered back, his finger trembling as he pointed at me. "You—you really took Dad's money?

"And you're still out there keeping a man on the side? I'm beyond disappointed in you!"

"My promotion has been approved. It's going public next week!" he added, practically shouting. "I won't let someone like you drag me down. I'm cutting ties with you. You're no longer my mother."

Katherine, arms crossed, fired back angrily, "You idiot! How can you be so dumb? Silas is about to double his salary with this promotion.

"Don't you think he'll still support you after that?!"