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Chapter 6
It wasn’t until I came back from my trip that I finally received the first call from home.
It was my mother.
When I answered, the other end stayed silent for so long that I thought the signal had dropped. Then she finally spoke.
“Your father is not angry anymore. Come home and apologize. It really wasn’t such a big deal,”
She had beaten me until I was covered in bruises, yet in her eyes, it was nothing more than a tantrum–something that could be smoothed over with a few nice words.
I didn’t say a thing. I just hung up.
Rude? Yes.
Satisfying? Absolutely.
I no longer had to listen to things I didn’t want to hear.
Whenever she called again and even hinted at asking me to apologize or be “the bigger person,” I would hang up before she could finish the sentence.
Eventually, my mother learned to be more subtle. She stopped bringing it up directly and instead tried to circle around the topic.
“Where did you put the blood pressure medicine? I can’t find it.”
“I’ve been feeling dizzy lately… maybe my hypertension isn’t under control?”
In the past, the moment she said she wasn’t feeling well, I would’ve dropped everything to take her to the hospital.
Now, my voice was cold and detached. “It’s in the second cabinet in the living room.”
“If you’re unwell, have Sherilyn take you to the hospital.”
“All the instructions are written in the notebook.”
Once I stopped forcing conversations and exhausting myself to find topics to please her, most of our mother–daughter exchanges dissolved into silence.
Sometimes, I thought I could hear more than one person breathing on the other end.
I pretended not to notice.
They were waiting for me to soften, to crawl back into the cage of family ties.
But why would I step back into that prison?
One day, while handling work matters at the office, I ran into my father and Sherilyn on the second floor.
Sherilyn was clinging to his arm, and they were chatting and laughing.
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The moment they saw me, their smiles froze.
“What are you doing here?” my father asked coldly.
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Sherilyn pressed her hand to her mouth in a mock surprise. “Celine, how did you even get in? Don’t tell me you found out Dad was coming here and came just to block him?”
The moment she said that, my father’s face darkened.
“I told you before–no matter how bad things get for you out there, I will never take you back.”
His eyes swept over my sun–darkened skin. “Aren’t you the one who’s so proud? Then keep your pride. Don’t come crawling back in shame. My temple is too small to hold someone like you.”
“Leave. Right now. This is not a place you belong.”
From the moment we met, I hadn’t been given a single chance to speak for myself.
I stared at them, speechless.
“I’m here for work,” I finally said.
Sherilyn’s reaction was dramatic. “What? Celine, how could you sink so low? What are you here for–cleaning toilets or running errands?”
I looked down at my plain shirt and pants.
Nothing about them screamed “toilet cleaner” to me.
My father gave me a look full of contempt.
“Mr. Howard, you’re here!”
A man walked out from the conference room, greeting them warmly.
His eyes flicked between my father and me.
My features were so much like his that the resemblance was impossible to miss.
“This is…?” he began.
My father cut him off sharply. “I don’t know her. Let me introduce–this is my niece. Not my own daughter, but like one. I brought her here to broaden her horizons, to prepare her for
her future work.”
Sherilyn stepped forward proudly to shake the man’s hand.
My father shot me a warning glance, as if terrified of being associated with me in any way.
I could only shrug helplessly.
He walked into the meeting room. I was about to follow, but Sherilyn blocked the doorway.
Her face was smiling, but her words were dripping with venom. “Celine, you really shouldn’t be so shameless. Uncle already said he doesn’t want to see you. You’d better leave.”
Chapter 6
