Chapter 3

The next day was Christmas.

My phone rang again.

It was my sister Jessica calling.

I hesitated for a few seconds but answered.

She got straight to the point. "Clara, Mom slipped and fell looking for you last night. She broke her leg. Come home and take care of her."

My mind was still foggy. "Broken leg? Where did she look for me? Why didn't she call me?"

"Hurry up. Derek and I still have dissertation work. We don't have time."

I sat up and rubbed my temples.

"Didn't she give you both four million total? Can't you hire a caregiver?"

Jessica got defensive. "Clara, what's that supposed to mean? She's your mother too, right? Taking care of her is your responsibility."

"Derek and I have studies to focus on. We don't have time for this pointless argument."

I smiled. "So you take the money and I do the work? I'm just a free caretaker, is that it?"

"Have you no shame?"

Jessica's voice suddenly rose. "Clara! Mom raised you and you don't even care about her—"

I gripped my phone tighter. "The way she raised me was making me collect recyclables for textbook money, making me eat leftovers and do all the housework, giving all the property money to you two, and then expecting me to take care of her in old age?"

"Do you have a conscience? Is this fair?"

"Fair?" Jessica laughed bitterly. "The world isn't fair."

"You're a high school graduate. How much can you make in a month? I have an MBA from a top business school. My starting salary will be several times yours. My future social status is something you can't even dream of."

What's wrong with Mom investing money in people with more potential?"

As I listened, my heart sank more and more.

So in their eyes, people really were only worth what they could earn.

"So because I have no value, I deserve to be sacrificed, is that it?"

Jessica's voice was full of impatience:

"Good that you understand. Cut the drama and just get over here!"

"I'm not coming." I said firmly.

"What did you say?!"

"I said I'm not coming." I enunciated each word. "You took the money. You take care of her yourselves. As of last night, she's not my mother anymore."

Jessica cursed at me through the phone:

"Clara! You're such a bitch!"

"I'm telling you, if you don't come today, don't ever think about stepping through that door again!"

I laughed dryly. "I never wanted to go through that door again anyway."

I hung up.

Then I blocked her too.

I hadn't slept well last night and had a bit of a headache. I turned over, planning to sleep a bit more.

Just as I was dozing off, the phone rang again.

This time it was my aunt—Mom's sister calling.

I was annoyed as hell and almost hung up immediately.

But she'd been relatively decent to me before. I didn't know what I was hoping for, but I answered.

Her voice was a bit hoarse. "Spending Christmas alone out there... You're not freezing, are you?"

My heart softened slightly. I answered quietly, "I'm okay."

She paused, her voice gentler:

"Your mom fell. She's lying in bed and can't move... Can you come back and take care of her?"

That little bit of warmth in my heart felt like it had been pricked with a needle. I didn't know what to say.

"I know you're hurting." She sighed. "But honey, she's your only mother. Can you really be so heartless? What if you regret it later?"

She was here to persuade me too.

My heart instantly went cold.

I didn't want to say anything else.

Only the sound of breathing remained on the phone.

"...Think about it carefully. Call me if you need anything."

She sighed and hung up.

I held my phone in silence for a long time, then went through my contacts one by one, blocking all those relatives' numbers.

I took a deep breath and pulled back the curtains.

Outside was a white expanse.

From today on,

I would only live for myself.