Chapter 2

I had hit a nerve.

Her face flushed red with anger. "Evelyn, are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to drive me to my death?

"You know they won't let me go there, and you still say that? How can you be so vicious? You just can't stand to see me have a single good day, can you?"

Vicious?

If she insisted on turning things upside down and calling me vicious, then fine. I would be vicious.

I shoved her hard toward the door. "Go find your precious son. And never come looking for your 'vicious' daughter again."

I walked out in long strides and didn't look back even once.

I left her behind, raging and yelling.

By the time I got to the hospital, Anna had cried herself to sleep.

Tear tracks were still on her face. David said she had worked herself up so badly that the blood rushed to her head several times before they finally managed to calm her down.

My heart ached, and guilt hit me just as hard.

I should have come sooner.

David had barely left when Owen called, "Evelyn, what the hell is wrong with you? How could you upset Mom like that? Don't you know she has high blood pressure?

"If anything happens to her, how do you plan to answer for it? She gets fifteen hundred a month in retirement. If she dies, are you going to give me that money?"

I hadn't even gotten a word out before he kept going. "I'm taking her out to eat now. Send me three hundred dollars."

Hell no.

I walked over to the window and lowered my voice. "She's your mother. She likes you so much. Isn't it your responsibility to treat her to a meal? Why should I be the one paying?"

He lost it and started cursing at me over the phone. "Damn it, Evelyn, are you even Mom's daughter anymore? She lives in your house and eats your food. If you're not taking good care of her now, why shouldn't you reimburse me?"

I almost laughed from sheer anger.

I had always known he was shameless, but I did not think he could sink this low.

I gripped my phone tight. "And you're still her son, aren't you? You know she eats and lives at my place. We're both her children, so why do I have to handle everything on my own?"

He shot back, "That's exactly because I'm her son. I'm bad at taking care of people. People say daughters are their mothers' little comforts. She's your responsibility. Stop arguing with me and transfer one thousand dollars right now."

He was out of his mind.

I sneered, "Didn't you just say three hundred? It jumped to a thousand in five minutes?"

He sounded completely justified. "Mom's in a bad mood. After eating, I'm taking her shopping to buy some clothes. Quit wasting time and send the money."

I hung up, blocked him, and deleted his number.

I should have done it a long time ago.

I never should have kept in touch with him.

I always thought we were family and tried to save face for everyone.

Now I finally understood it had all been one-sided.

To them, I was just a nanny, a servant, and an ATM.

Anna slept restlessly, her little face flushed with fever.

The doctor said the virus would cause recurring fevers for several days. Even with shots, she needed constant monitoring.

Then, Linda called again, "Evelyn, why did you block Owen? He was kind enough to take me out to eat for you. You didn't pay, and you blocked him. What is wrong with you?"

I took a deep breath.

She was my mom. Stay calm.

Holding back my temper, I said, "He's your son. Treating you to a meal is completely normal. Why should I give him money?"

She shrieked into the phone. "Precisely because he's my son, I can't spend his money. Don't you understand? His money is our money. Yours is different. You're an outsider. Do you get it?"

The tears finally spilled over.

So this was it. In her heart, I had always been an outsider.

If I was an outsider, then I needed the boundaries of one.

She kept calling and video-calling. I did not answer a single one.

Then messages came flooding in.

[Did you see the bill? The meal was three hundred thirty dollars. We're waiting to pay.]

[Evelyn, are you trying to make me a joke who dines and dashes?]

[Are you determined to humiliate me?]

[Evelyn! Evelyn!]

Anna started crying again, clearly uncomfortable. I shut my phone off completely and ignored everyone.

It was finally quiet for a few hours until David got off work.

He rushed over and even brought me food.

He said, "Don't worry about your mom. I gave her four hundred dollars. That should cover her meals for a few days."

My heart skipped. "She contacted you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She said she couldn't reach you and that she hadn't eaten lunch. I didn't think much of it and gave her the money.

"She asked for a thousand, but you know I don't have that much spending money, so I only gave her four hundred. When you have time, you can give her the other six hundred."

Anger surged straight to my head. I decided that once Anna was discharged, I would definitely get that money back.

David was an honest man who grew up as an orphan. He had always longed for a warm family.

For this household, he compromised again and again. He even treated my mom like his own, waiting on her hand and foot.

And yet Linda treated him like an idiot.