Chapter 3

By the time I got home, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I wanted to pack some essentials and head back to the hospital to check in.

But the moment I unlocked the front door, Hailey rushed up to me, holding a thick stack of printed photos.

"Hey, Chloe. I heard you and my brother are getting divorced. Come on, help me pick. Who do you think would make a better stepmom for Lily?"

"You're going to die anyway, so don't be so bitter and selfish. Once you're gone, someone has to take care of the house."

The thought of my daughter calling another woman "Mom" made my chest throb with agonizing pain.

Hailey couldn't hide her smug grin. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even waste money on chemo. I'd leave all the cash to my brother and Lily. At least then, Lily might actually visit your grave and buy you a decent tombstone."

"But look at you, insisting on selling the house just to keep yourself alive. How can you be so incredibly selfish? You don't care about your own daughter at all. No wonder she won't want to support you when she grows up!"

She sounded so proud of herself.

After spewing those venomous words, she exchanged a smirk with Brenda. They clearly thought I was still the same submissive pushover they could walk all over.

But now, I just gave her a cold, empty smile.

"Actually, Hailey, since I’ve been paying for your college tuition and credit card bills out of my own pocket for the last few years, don't you think you owe me some financial support now?"

Hailey's face flushed with anger. She raised her hand, aiming a slap right at my face. "How dare you! I only called you 'sister' out of respect for my brother! Without him, you're nothing but trash! You deserve to get cancer and die early. Selfish people like you always get what's coming to them!"

Look at that.

This was the girl I had raised and supported for nearly eight years.

Even a dog would have shown more gratitude.

Brenda chimed in from the couch. "You're going to die sooner or later anyway. This house is worth a lot of money. Why can't you just leave it so the family can live comfortably? You just have to cause a scene with this divorce. You got cursed with this disease, and now you want to drag all of us down with you!"

Lily was sitting on the sofa, sobbing loudly. "I don't want to move! I want to stay in my princess room! Mommy, please don't sell our house!"

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat, walked over, and tried to hug her. "Sweetheart, Mommy is very sick. I need the money to see a doctor. If I don't get treated, you won't have a mommy anymore."

But Lily kicked my hands away with all her might. "You bad mommy! You just don't want me to have my room! Daddy said if we sell the house, I won't be able to go to my school anymore! Why do you have to get treated? Why don't you just die?!"

I froze, completely paralyzed.

I never, in my wildest dreams, expected my own daughter to tell me to die.

I could ignore the rest of them, but this was the child I had carried for nine months and raised with my own two hands. How could she turn into such a heartless monster?

What had all my sacrifices been for?

What did I even mean to this family?

Tears completely blurred my vision.

Jason walked out of the bedroom, looking at my pale, devastated face with a cold sneer. "Do you get it now? If you stubbornly insist on throwing money into the hospital, you'll end up with a daughter who doesn't even recognize you. Think carefully about the consequences!"