Chapter 2

The waiter placed the soup on the lazy Susan and left.

Serena was still holding a grudge about how I reacted earlier.

She said, "Mom, what's wrong with you?

"Why didn't you bring the dish when I told you to? You're sitting closest to the door, so it's your job to serve the food."

Without saying a word, I filled my small bowl with soup and flung it straight at Serena.

The scalding soup made Serena scream as she leapt to her feet, desperately trying to shake the hot liquid off.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?" Serena shouted.

Everyone was stunned, staring at me in disbelief.

I sat back down, watching Serena go hysterical, and remarked calmly, "I'm just teaching my disrespectful daughter a lesson. What's the problem?"

Serena was about to argue back, but her husband pulled her down into her seat.

Grace spoke up in a disapproving tone, "Margaret, there's no need to be so strict with family. Why are you being so petty with your own child?"

Out of nowhere, Henry, who'd been sitting quietly, picked up his plate and hurled it straight at me.

Food and soup splattered everywhere, leaving my clothes a total mess.

"Bad woman! I'll beat you up!" Henry yelled.

He kept flinging food at me, over and over.

I jumped up, tossed the food straight into the steaming soup, and slammed the bowl down right in front of Henry.

"Oh, you wanna play? Go on, play all you want. Bet it's way more fun when it's soaking wet," I said.

Henry's hand stopped in mid-air, and he was clearly spooked by my move.

The room went quiet again, and Grace stood up for Henry.

She said, "Margaret, that soup is super hot. What if Henry gets scalded?

"You know he's a bit slow and can't remember anything, and you're still making fun of him?"

"Yeah, Mom, you really scared Dad!" Serena added.

Serena pushed me away, her eyes wary, clearly afraid I might pull another stunt.

I just watched Henry, completely indifferent as he kept pretending to be clueless.

Honestly, if I really paid attention, he was a terrible actor.

How did I let him fool me for so long in my previous life?

"His condition keeps going up and down. The meds probably aren't doing much. I'll book an appointment with a top specialist downtown," I said.

"No way!" Serena snapped, not even pausing to think.

"Dad's already so old. Dragging him to different hospitals is just too much for him," she added.

"I've already made up my mind. No one can change it," I said, my voice cold and resolute.

I glanced at my panicked daughter, at Grace with her sullen, uncertain expression, and at Henry, still putting on his clueless act right beside her.

Turns out, they'd also be afraid.

After Henry was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I made up my mind. No matter what happened, I would look after him for the rest of his life.

Even when he hit and kicked me, I never flinched or backed away.

I considered him my responsibility.

But it wasn't until the very end of my life that I realized that none of it was real.

I was the only prey in their whole scheme.

Serena knew exactly what was going on, but she still chose to help them cover up the truth and deceive me.

I was the only one left clueless, slaving away for them like some hired hand.

I'd like to see how far these people would go with their little charade this time.

The welcome dinner ended in a mess.

When we got home, Serena poured water for Grace and Henry, completely ignoring me.

She glanced over at the guest room.

"Mom, what's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to get the guest room cleaned up beforehand? Grace is moving in tonight," Serena said.

I said, not bothering to hide my indifference, "Since you invited her, you should clean it up. Serena, I'm not a servant."

Serena choked on her words, totally caught off guard.

Grace just smiled nonchalantly from the side.

"Serena, don't stress about it. The room's clean enough. I can stay here, no problem," she said.

I patted my knees, stood up, and gave Serena a wry smile, shrugging.

"See? It's totally fine to stay in. You're just fussing over nothing," I said.

I turned and headed into my bedroom.

This old apartment was assigned to me by the factory back in the day.

Henry got a bigger place from his school, but he let Grace have it instead.

The old apartment had three rooms.

Henry and I each had a room, and the third was the guest room.

Back in my previous life, when Grace moved in, Serena made me clean up the master bedroom.

I did exactly what she asked.

But Grace insisted I take apart the bed slats and wash each piece one by one.

The cabinets had to be wiped down with a damp cloth and then dried off with a dry one.

She wanted new curtains, a clean drinking glass, and a fresh mat by the bathroom door.

If anything was even slightly off from what she wanted, she'd insist on replacing everything.

I cleaned over and over, but nobody ever bothered to ask if I was tired.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of smashing and crashing coming from outside my door.

Henry was "having an episode", hurling pots and pans all over the kitchen.

Dark liquid was splattered across the walls, and the air was thick with the smell of soy sauce.

The whole living room was a total mess. There was barely any space to stand.

Grace was standing in the only clean spot in the room, shooting me a desperate look for help.

She said, "Margaret, Henry's having an episode. I can't control him.

"I'm taking Henry over to Serena's in a bit. You can tidy up the place while we're out, right?"

Back in the day, I would've dropped everything and rushed over to try to settle Henry down whenever he had one of his episodes.

But now, I just watched him fake it and didn't lift a finger.

"The cleaning service number's on the table. Just call them, and they'll show up soon," I said.

I didn't hesitate to refuse and went straight to the bathroom to wash up.

When I came out, Henry and Grace were already gone, and the place was a total mess, nothing but chaos everywhere.