Chapter 3

I wasn't about to keep swallowing my own discomfort. And I didn't want another fight with her before I left this house.

Most importantly, I had to play along. I needed to act my part and let her twisted sense of control swell to its fullest.

"You think you're all grown up now, don't you?" Because I hadn't eaten the mango in front of her, my mother kept shouting through the door.

When I didn't come out to apologize, her face darkened immediately. She grabbed a broom from the corner and started pounding on my door. "Lily, open up. It's a nice day—I'm just going to wash your sheets."

I pretended I didn't hear her, thinking she'd get tired and leave.

But she didn't. If anything, she started pounding even harder.

I finally snapped and yelled, "Knock one more time and I swear I'll come out swinging!"

The hallway went dead silent. She only ever stopped when I lost my temper. Seriously, she was so damn disgusting.

My mother looked like the world had done her wrong, sitting in the living room with tears streaming down her face.

Lucas saw her and immediately lost it. He kicked my door open and yelled, "Who are you kidding? You do nothing all day and mess around with shady nonsense. Mom still worries about you and still waits on you hand and foot, and this is your attitude? Keep it up and get out of this house."

I let out a quiet, mocking laugh. He didn't need to kick me out. Once school started, I'd be gone—and I was never coming back.

Previously, after everything that happened to me, I was terrified she'd pull the same tricks on Lucas. So I kept a close watch on her, never letting my guard down. I made sure he passed his exams and landed a stable government job.

This time, I wasn't going to step in. I didn't owe him a thing.

He would never know how much it hurts until the whip landed on his own back.

*****

Once the admission results came out, I needed to mail my enrollment documents to the university. Just to be safe, I sent everything out that very day.

That night, after my livestream ended, I was half-asleep the next morning when my mother tiptoed into my room. She carefully picked up the document envelope from my desk.

I watched her quietly as she did her thing, then rolled over and went right back to sleep.

I didn't bring it up until noon. "Mom, where did you put the envelope that was on my desk?"

She gave me a placating smile. "I was worried the school might mess up your records, so I opened it and took a look for you. You're not mad at me, are you?"

I exploded. "You can't open that! Once it's opened, it's invalid. How am I supposed to mail it? How am I supposed to enroll? I told you not to touch my things. Do you even understand a word I say?"

She put on her most pitiful face and whined, "I didn't know. You never told me. I was just worried about you. How was I supposed to know it was that important?"

She kept defending herself. "I saw it sitting on your desk—I thought it was just a package."

Her voice broke, and she wiped at her eyes. "It's my fault," she said. "I was just trying to help."

This was her go-to move. The other two idiots in this house had fallen for it every single time.

As expected, her act worked.

The moment her hand went up, David kicked me hard and sent me sprawling to the floor. "What are you yelling about?" he barked. "It's just some stupid envelope. What's there to fight over?"

He'd been striking out on his night fishing trips for days and had a ton of pent-up anger with nowhere to put it. I just happened to be convenient.

"One envelope and you think you can't go to college?" he sneered. "Sounds to me like you were never meant for school.

"Good thing I wasn't planning to pay for it anyway. In a couple of years, we'll marry you off and use the money to help Lucas with his wedding."

I struggled to my feet and shot him a cold look. I'd expected this, yet my heart still sank. Tears welled up despite myself.

"Lily, don't blame your father," my mother said. "This is all my fault." She stood there wailing, but there was a flash of triumph in her eyes.

David gave me a look full of disgust and instinctively pulled my mother behind him. "So this is how you repay your mother? By talking back and acting like you don't owe her anything?"

As he spoke, he grabbed the document envelope off the table, ripped it clean in half, and threw it at my head. Papers scattered across the floor. He then leaned down and spat on them—again and again.

I held onto the table and watched him calmly, waiting until he was done. "Go ahead," I said quietly. "Spit some more."

Then I added, casually, "Oh—my mistake. I mailed my documents yesterday. That envelope looks like yours. Guess that new job of yours might be in trouble. And hey, don't take it out on Mom. It was just a stupid envelope, right?"

The papers on the floor, smeared with spit, seemed to be laughing at him.

David's face flushed deep red, like someone had him by the throat. A long moment passed, then his furious roar echoed through the living room. "Who told you to open my documents? Are you out of your mind?"

I didn't bother responding. I quietly closed my door. Relax. That was just the appetizer.