Chapter 2
In the blur of my memories, what stands out most is: One time, I accidentally broke Lily's bracelet. I was terrified of getting hit, but Oliver watched me with a smug grin, laughing at how clumsy I was.
But when Lily got home, he stepped up and took the blame for breaking the bracelet. He got a good beating for it.
I asked him why he did that, and he patted my head, acting all grown-up, and said, "It's because I want to protect you because I'm the big brother. Come on. Call me big bro."
I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled as I called out, "Big bro."
I thought to myself, next time I ran into him, I would say it to him properly. But...
The next time I saw Oliver, he was lying on the ice-cold hospital bed, his whole body hidden beneath a white sheet.
I stood at his bedside, crying my heart out.
He was barely eighteen. How could illness take him from me?
I couldn't accept it and broke down, shouting at Lily through my tears, demanding to know why this happened.
"We couldn't scrape together enough cash, and the hospital wouldn't schedule the surgery ahead of time. The damn place doesn't care if people live or die," Lily replied.
She tried raising hell at the hospital, hoping she could squeeze some money out of them, but she came up with nothing.
When she saw me spiraling after Oliver passed, especially with college entrance exams looming, she cried and tried to comfort me.
"Oliver was a sweetheart, always worrying about everyone else. Maybe he couldn't bear to see us struggle to afford his surgery, so he left us early, trying to spare us the pain," she said.
But soon, she started to mutter angrily, "It's all that damn homewrecker's fault. If it hadn't been for her, Richard wouldn't have walked out on us, and Oliver wouldn't have had to grow up without Lily around.
"He wouldn't have died so young. It's all because of that bitch. If he'd left us more money, maybe we wouldn't have been too broke to get Oliver treated."
She kept talking about money. Would Oliver have lived if we'd had enough money for his operation?
Back then, I was fine living modestly, but now I understood that being poor could be fatal.
I started putting more effort into my studies. For kids from families like mine, the only way to make real money was to work hard and get into a good university.
Three months later, I got accepted into one of the country's elite universities.
After starting college, I kept my head down and studied hard while juggling part-time gigs, handing all the money I made over to Lily.
She was thrilled. She'd tell anyone who'd listen how smart and mature I was, boasting that I was already making good money before finishing school.
If people echoed her praise and tossed in a few compliments, she'd light up more.
If they didn't, she'd be talking trash about them in an instant. The way she could flip from praise to criticism was shocking.
She kept fussing over me, always calling me Emily, but my brother's name never came up again.
That struck me as seriously weird.
People always say the pain of losing a child is something a mother can never get over, but Lily didn't seem saddened at all.
It was only that day that I finally realized what kind of person Lily truly was.
That day, I spotted her at the place where I was working.
She had no idea I was working there. To be honest, she never bothered to ask where I worked or if the job was tough.
All she ever gave a damn about was how much cash I brought home.
She sat by the window, hair wrapped in a silk scarf and oversized sunglasses covering half her face. If it weren't for the clothes I knew she owned, I might not have recognized her at all.
Sitting across from her was a total stranger, dressed to impress in nothing but designer brands like the latest Burberry trench, a classic Chanel bag. Just a glance and you could tell she was born into money or living big.
How could she possibly know someone like that?
Right then, a couple took a seat at a table nearby, so I walked over to take their order with my back to Lily, making sure she couldn't see my face.
"I don't get it. How does a mistress like you have the guts to ask for money?" the wealthy lady shot out, her patience wearing thin.
"Why can't I ask for money? Do you think I've been with your man all these years for free? Or had his two kids for nothing?" Lily snapped back.
My head was ringing, and I went blank for a second.
Lily was a mistress? Those words kept replaying in my mind, over and over.
"Last time, you got thirty thousand dollars to get rid of your own son. Now my husband doesn't even care to sleep with you anymore. So tell me, who else do you have left to use?" the wealthy woman scoffed.
Lily grinned, "Don't forget I've still got a daughter. If worse comes to worst, we'll both go down together. Besides her, I've got nothing else to lose.
"But you? If your husband's company goes down over all this, I'd love to see how your whole family survives. Let's see who ends up out in the cold, begging for leftovers."
"Miss? Excuse me?" The guy called as he waved a hand in front of my face, worry all over his expression. "Are you alright? You don't look good."
I pressed my nails hard into my palm. The pain snapped me back to my senses.
I shook my head and replied, "Thanks, I'm fine. I'll go put your order in."
I hurried away, and behind me, I heard the girl at the next table whisper excitedly, "She must've been floored by those two women. I mean, a mistress acting that shamelessly..."