Chapter 5

"I-I was so angry my stomach started hurting. The pain triggered my heart condition." My mom was still trying to weasel out of it.

"Really?" I said with a smile.

I continued, "Well, that's good timing. I just talked to the doctor. He said you're fine and just need to eat light and take it easy for a few days.

"I've already paid your medical bills."

I pulled out the receipt from my bag and set it on the nightstand.

I added, "It came to four thousand dollars.

"This is the last time I'm covering for your lies."

My voice wasn't loud, but it made the whole room go silent.

Ivan froze.

My mom was taken aback too.

"Edith. What's that supposed to mean?" my mom snapped first, yelling.

"It's obvious," I said.

I stared right at her and spoke, word by word. "From now on, I'm not going to take care of your lives anymore.

"If Ivan wants a car or a house, he can work for it himself.

"If Dad wants a new car, he can figure it out on his own.

"As for your retirement, by law, both Ivan and I have to support you. I'll pay exactly my share each month. Not a penny more, not a penny less.

"But for anything else, don't count on getting a single cent from me."

"Dream on!" Ivan lunged at me, his eyes blazing with anger. "That money should've been ours. You married a rich captain. So why can't we spend some of it?"

"That money is mine, not yours," I replied with a cold glare. "I paid for it with my marriage. It has nothing to do with you."

"You ungrateful brat. Traitor!" my mom shrieked, snatching the glass from the nightstand and throwing it at me.

I quickly sidestepped.

The glass crashed to the floor, shattering on impact.

Just like the love between us. It was already shattered beyond repair.

"Curse me all you want," I said.

I was numb inside.

I continued, "If you ever pull this again on me or Francis."

I paused, looking right into their scared eyes.

"I can't guarantee you'll even get your legal support payments," I said.

With that, I didn't spare them another glance and walked out of the room.

Behind me, my mom was screaming and cursing, going absolutely nuts.

I didn't look back.

I knew that from this moment on, I was finally saying goodbye to my past.

As I stepped out of the hospital, the sun was shining brightly.

I took a deep breath. The air was filled with freedom.

Back at my empty apartment in Belleview Gardens.

The first thing I did was block all contact details for everyone in the Martinez family.

Phone numbers, WhatsApp, Facebook, and more.

I blocked every last one of them.

Suddenly, my world was finally quiet.

I flopped onto the soft couch and stared up at the ceiling, zoning out.

The last twenty-six years felt like a bad dream.

Now, I had finally woken up.

I grabbed my phone and started mapping out my fresh start.

The first thing was quitting my job.

I opened the company's internal app and pulled up the personnel supervisor's chat window.

I drafted a quick, straightforward resignation letter.

It read: [Ms. Silva, for personal reasons, I'm resigning from my position as clerk, effective immediately. Sorry for any trouble this might cause.]

I kept it short.

Then I sent it.

Bailey replied almost instantly.

She texted: [Edith, what's going on? You're just quitting like that? What about your unfinished tasks?]

Even through the screen, I could picture her mean, pinched face.

I replied, [Under the labor laws, a three-day advance notice is all that's required to resign during the probation period. I'm forfeiting my pay for the last three days as compensation for the handover.]

Bailey fired off a bunch of angry emojis.

She replied: [You think you own this company? You can just quit whenever you want?]

I didn't bother replying and blocked her too.

Pulling in 3 thousand a month, doing the work of four people, and putting up with my boss's toxic mind games. I had had enough.

After all that, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Now, it was time to enjoy life.

I grabbed the black card Francis had given me and, for the first time, opened up a shopping app.

I didn't go for designer bags or luxury goods.

Instead, I splurged on a top-of-the-line set of art supplies, including paints, canvases, and an easel.

And I bought a Steinway grand piano.

All the stuff I had always wanted as a kid but had to let go of because we just couldn't afford it.

Back then, I really had a knack for drawing.

My teachers used to call me a genius.

But Mom kept saying learning art was just throwing money away. She thought it was better to save it for my brother's new clothes.

So, my paintbrush was snapped in half.

I wanted to learn piano too.

Every time I walked past a music store, I'd press my face against the window and stare for ages.

But Dad always said, "Girls shouldn't waste time on that. You should start working and making money instead."

So, my dream of music was shattered too.

Now, I was going to reclaim every single one of those dreams, one by one.

When I placed those orders, I didn't hesitate for a second.

It was a strange, wonderful feeling.

This wasn't about splurging out of spite. It was the pure joy of getting back what I had lost.

I was finally making up for all the regrets of my earlier years.

The piano was delivered quickly, and the movers carefully placed it by the window in the living room.

Sunlight danced across the glossy black surface, making it glimmer.

I reached out and gently touched the cold keys.

Then, relying on the scraps of music theory I could remember, I hit a random note. It was totally out of tune.

Ding!