Chapter 2
I stood there, clutching my phone, tears hitting the screen.
I should've seen this coming.
Begging my mother was pointless.
Desperate, I called my father.
I called over and over, but there was no answer at all.
Then I sent him a text, asking if he could send me some money for tuition.
He just texted back: [I'm busy.]
With nowhere else to turn, I started calling up every aunt and uncle, asking if they could lend me some cash.
But their replies were all exactly the same.
[Lily, it's not that I don't want to give you money. Your mom just called and told us not to help you out.]
[She said you've gone down the wrong path and wasted all your scholarship money, so we're not allowed to lend you anything.]
[You really should apologize to your mom! Parents only want what's best for their kids, you know!]
Every call was just blame and a flat-out no.
No matter what I said, nobody believed me, and I was so fed up I just wanted to smash my head against the wall.
With my phone in my pocket, I walked back to campus.
I couldn't even bring myself to spend money on the bus.
As I passed by a jewelry store, I happened to glance inside.
Dad!
He was there with my aunt, Evie Howe, and my cousin, Lauryn Perkins, helping them pick out jewelry.
My father picked up a pure gold bracelet and turned to the salesperson,
"How much for this one?"
The salesperson smiled and said, "Sir, this one is 32 grams, and it comes to 14 thousand dollars."
My father looked pleased and passed the bracelet to Lauryn.
"Lauryn, do you like this style?"
Lauryn beamed as she took the bracelet, hooking her arm through my father's and acting all cute.
"Thank you, Uncle George! I love it so much!"
"If you like it, it's yours!"
My father didn't hesitate for a second. He told the salesperson to write up the bill.
Evie was all smiles, clearly delighted.
"George, you're spending so much again!"
"You spoil Lauryn way too much!"
George chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Lauryn's hair with obvious affection.
"Boys should be raised tough, but girls deserve to be pampered. Lauryn's my little sweetheart. Of course I want to spoil her rotten!"
The jewelry store was filled with laughter and smiles.
Meanwhile, tears suddenly flooded my eyes, blurring everything.
My father kept ignoring my calls, claiming he was too busy.
It turned out, his "busy" just meant pampering Lauryn and Evie, helping them pick out jewelry.
Lauryn was my uncle's daughter, born after he passed away.
My mother and father always said it was hard for Evie to raise Lauryn alone, so they'd help them out whenever they could.
I was not the petty type, and honestly, I did feel bad for them.
But as time went on, I realized things weren't what they seemed.
My parents treated Lauryn like their own princess, spoiling her rotten and giving her whatever she wanted.
If Lauryn wanted new clothes, they would buy her designer stuff right away.
Whenever she wanted a new gadget, they never hesitated for a second.
From the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 17, she got every single one, never missed a release.
Me? All I had were those so-called gold bars that were just for show.
I was stuck wearing Lauryn's hand-me-downs.
My phone was a cheap knockoff. It didn’t ring when it should, but made noise everywhere else.
I got into a top university completely on my own, without a shred of help from anyone.
Lauryn was a total slacker, but my father shelled out half 150 thousand dollars just to buy her a spot at college.
I couldn't even afford tuition, barely scraping by with part-time jobs just to survive.
But my parents couldn't stand the thought of Lauryn roughing it in a dorm, so they got her a whole three-bedroom apartment right next to campus.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I got. I couldn't take it anymore. I burst into the jewelry store.
"Dad, I need money for my tuition!"
My father frowned and replied impatiently, "Why are you here? We just put another gold bar in the vault for you this morning. Why are you asking for money?"
"Are those gold bars actually mine?"
I retorted, locking eyes with him.
"I don't even have the key!"
"Give me the key to the vault. If I sell just one gold bar, I could pay my tuition in full!"
My father's face darkened, his tone resolute.
"Absolutely not, I'm not giving you the key!"
"Those gold bars are your dowry. If I give them to you now, you'll just waste it recklessly."
Evie chimed in, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"Lily, why are you being so immature? Your dad is only doing this for your own good."
Lauryn chimed in, piling on.
"Yeah, Lina, are you planning to use those gold bars to keep some pretty boy as your sugar baby?"
Evie cut in, deliberately raising her voice so everyone could hear.
"That's right! George, you really need to rein Lina in."
"Don't let her get fooled by some trashy street punks, end up pregnant, and then come crying for your gold."
George's face hardened instantly, and he barked at me.
"Lina! Watch yourself!"
"Don't do anything shameful that disgraces our Hayes family!"
"Look at Lauryn. She's so sensible. Learn from her how to behave!"