Chapter 2

The suitcases by the door looked familiar, but I didn't think much of it.

"Sarah, you're back."

I hadn't expected Sarah's family to return so early.

After greeting them, I headed toward my room.

But Sarah suddenly spoke.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice was tense, and I stopped.

"Just tidying up my room. Usually, when you guys visit, I sleep on the balcony, and you take the bedroom, right?"

We only had two bedrooms. Mom and Dad always had one, and Sarah had the other.

I always had to make a small bed on the balcony.

It wasn't until Sarah got married and moved out that I temporarily got to use the bedroom.

But whenever Sarah came back, I still had to sleep on the balcony.

"Chloe, no… no need."

Sarah refused, a hint of guilt in her voice.

I assumed Mom had already prepared the room, so I didn't insist.

Turning around, I handed the toy I'd bought to my nephew.

"Leo, look, Aunt Chloe bought you a toy!"

But the next second, five-year-old Leo threw the toy on the floor.

"No! Aunt Chloe is a freeloader, a parasite! I don't want anything you buy!"

My hand froze in mid-air.

Instantly, the air in the living room froze.

After a few seconds, Sarah chuckled lightly.

"Chloe, kids say the darndest things, don't take it to heart."

Seeing my expression still stiff, Sarah pretended to be angry and lightly slapped Leo's bottom.

"Leo, apologize to Aunt Chloe right now."

Leo immediately burst into tears.

Mom, who always doted on her grandson, immediately looked displeased.

"Apologize for what? Leo's not wrong. Your sister just sits at home doing nothing all day, what else would you call it but freeloading?!"

My heart was pierced, and I instinctively replied.

"Mom, when have I ever freeloaded? I told you, I make money online from editing!"

Mom, comforting Leo, grumbled at me.

"You call that a job?! I've never seen you contribute a single penny to the household, and I still have to support you with my pension. What else would you call it but freeloading?!"

Mom's monthly rehab costs were around $8,000, our living expenses were $1,500, plus other costs, totaling almost $10,000 a month.

I took on jobs day and night, but the money I earned each month was barely enough to cover expenses. There was never any extra to give her.

It wasn't until last month, when Mom fully recovered, that I finally had a little savings.

A wave of injustice washed over me.

"Mom, your pension is $2,000. You give Sarah $1,200 a month and me $300. Do you really think our mother-daughter living expenses are covered by just $300?"

Hearing this, Mom impatiently cut me off.

"Sarah has a tough life in the city, what's wrong with me helping her out financially? If you're so capable, go get a job in the city too."

"And you're complaining about $300? I think you're just after my pension!"

I never imagined that seven years of meticulous care would, in Mom's eyes, become a calculated move.

My heart turned cold inch by inch, watching her in disbelief.

"Mom, have you forgotten? I was working in New York, and I was about to get a promotion and a raise. You had a stroke and pleaded with me to come back."

"I hired caregivers for you, but you drove three of them away, insisting I had to come back..."

Mom coldly interrupted me.

"Enough, Chloe. I was just sick and needed you to take care of me for a bit. Do you really need to keep bringing it up?!"

That "bit" Mom mentioned? It was the most precious seven years of my life.

A bitter ache spread through my heart.

"Besides, isn't it normal for children to care for their parents? Why else would I have raised you?!"

My eyes welled up, looking at her, unwilling to give in.

"If that's the case, why didn't you let Sarah come back to care for you then? Why did you even make me keep it a secret from her?"

When Mom had her stroke, she was partially paralyzed and hospitalized for six full months.

Every morning, I'd help Mom with her daily routine – washing, eating, sponge baths, changing clothes, medication, turning her over, and physical therapy...

In the scorching summer, to prevent bedsores, I'd get up seven or eight times every night to turn her.

Finally, I collapsed from exhaustion and had to call Sarah, only to be met with Mom's grumbling.

"Sarah is busy with work, why are you bothering her? You're so inconsiderate!"

...

Now, faced with my distress, Mom's eyes held only disdain.

"How dare you compare yourself to Sarah? Why don't you compare who's more successful?"

"Besides, when Sarah found out, didn't she immediately arrange for me to go to the best rehab hospital and have specialists consult on my case? How else could I have recovered so well?"

"With your clumsy hands, who knows how long I would have been stuck in bed?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Sarah's eyes darted away, a flicker of guilt crossing her face.