Chapter 2
I headed home by myself.
The moment I stepped inside, the aroma of meat filled the air.
My folks were always thrifty, but they'd only serve meat whenever we visited.
When Mom saw me come in alone, she asked, "Where's Eric? Didn't he come with you?"
"He had something come up last minute. Let's talk inside," I said.
I set my stuff down, changed my shoes, and headed inside.
Michael was in the living room, totally absorbed in his video game. He didn't even look up when he heard me come in.
"Grandma, is my pomegranate ready yet?" Michael called out.
"Just a little longer, sweetie. This thing's really tough to peel..." Mom replied.
Mom was struggling to pull the red seeds out of a half-peeled pomegranate. Her arthritis still hadn't gotten any better, so her fingers weren't very nimble.
I heard Michael mutter under his breath, "Useless."
"What did you just say?!" I lost it, snatching the game console out of his hands and tossing it aside.
Michael froze for a second, and then he burst into tears.
Mom rushed over from the kitchen, nudged me, and grumbled,
"It's the holiday—why make a fuss? Can't you just talk to him nicely?"
Feeling he had someone on his side, Michael wiped his tears, gave me a resentful look, and ran back to his room.
My dad walked over, carrying a box of stuff.
"Mary, Eric dropped off these nuts a few days ago. They look pretty pricey. He's got a lot of people to schmooze at work. Why don't you take them back for him..." Dad said.
Seeing that familiar packaging, I couldn't help but dig my nails into my palm.
Those were the nuts a friend gave Eric last year. Nobody liked them, so they just ended up sitting around until they went bad.
Why did he bring these over for my folks?!'
Every year during the holidays, I'd shell out nearly 6,666 dollars to buy all the New Year's goodies for Eric's family.
But when it came to my own folks, they just got a small box of expired nuts.
It all makes sense now—Eric never really cared about me,' I thought bitterly.
My phone buzzed with a message from my best friend. [Mary, I just saw Eric at the jewelry store with some woman. ]
[After they left, I asked the clerk, and she said he bought two 50-gram gold necklaces—he put one right on her, and the other was for her mom. What is going on?]
Just before the New Year, I wanted to get treatment for my herniated disc and asked Eric for 10,000 dollars, but he said he couldn't come up with it.
Yet when it came to more than 33,333 dollars worth of gold, he just gave it away to someone else without even blinking.
I took a deep breath. "Dad, Mom, there's something I need to tell you..."
Mom seemed to sense something, and her eyes welled up with tears.
Dad put down the box of expired nuts. His face was full of concern. "Is something wrong between you and Eric?"
"He cheated on me. So I want a divorce," I said bluntly.
Mom broke down in tears. "Such a tragedy... Why must he be so cruel? You two clearly had such a good life..."
Dad clenched his jaw and ripped off his apron. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"
"Dad," I said, grabbing his arm. "Let it go. It's no use—his heart's already gone."
Mom choked out, "But Michael is still so young. What's going to happen to him if you two get divorced?"
I glanced at the closed door. "He's eight now. So he's old enough to understand. I'll let him decide for himself."
...
"Auntie Riley, when are you coming to pick me up? You have no idea what that old hag is like..."
I pushed the door open, and Michael quickly hid his phone.
His face flushed red. "Why didn't you knock? And you're always telling me to be polite..."
I looked at Michael, the child I risked everything to bring into this world, and a wave of bitterness washed over me.
"I'm divorcing your dad. Who do you want to be with?" I asked.
Michael answered without a second thought. "Obviously Dad! Why even ask?"
Mom rushed in, and for the first time, she lost her temper at Michael.
"You ungrateful little turncoat! Do you even know what your mom went through just to bring you into this world?" she yelled.
"Mom, stop," I said softly, cutting her off. It wouldn't make a difference anyway.
He probably already saw that young, pretty girl from the massage parlor as his real mom.
That's fine. I don't have to work myself to the bone for him anymore. It's about time I started living my own life.
I called Eric and told him my decision.
He was silent for a few seconds before finally speaking. "Mary, I'm sorry. If you..."
"When are you coming back? We need to discuss how to split our assets. The sooner we settle this, the better," I said.
I cut him off, not wanting to hear any more of his excuses.
Eric paused before saying, "Alright, I'll come back as soon as I'm done here."