I got into college too, but my mom didn't say a word. I was the only one in the whole dorm without a computer. So later, I worked part-time and saved up to buy my very first computer myself.

"Victor is 22 years old and just finished college! His future looks bright. I’m going to give him $3,000 as a reward!"

By my senior year, I had already secured an internship. My mom said since I was earning now, she wouldn't give me any more living expenses.

After that, Victor got married to Jeane.

My mom still posted on social media.

"Victor is 25 years old now. Finally, the lovers are together! They are really a perfect match!"

But when I married Clara, my mom said she wasn't feeling well and didn't show up.

Looking back, it felt like Victor was really her son and I meant nothing to her.

The more I thought about it, the sadder I got. Tears started to fall.

The kitchen went quiet; they finally realized no one was cooking.

My mom rushed into the bedroom looking for me and saw me trying to calm my daughter.

"Hurry up and start cooking! Do you realize what time it is? Do you want Victor and the others to be hungry?"

I whispered, "Shh," since I had just gotten my daughter to sleep and didn't want her to wake up.

"Shh? What's that supposed to mean? She's not some precious princess, I can't even talk?"

My mom intentionally raised her voice.

Startled by the sudden loud voice, my daughter woke up crying again.

I couldn't hold my frustration any longer.

"Mom, this is your house. If I'm busy, go cook for yourself!"

Her eyes widened and she slapped me.

"You've really turned against me! How dare you boss your own mother around?"

"Everyone knows you're the best cook, we're all relying on you!"

"Put the child down quickly and go start cooking!"

I kept trying to calm my daughter, but she wouldn't stop crying. My mom wanted to hold her, but my daughter clung tightly to my neck and refused to let go.

Honestly, my mom isn't gentle with her. Whenever she just puts her down on the floor and when my daughter gets bumps or scrapes, my mom doesn't seem to care.

There was no other option, so Clara came in.

"Honey, give me the baby. You should hurry up and start cooking. Victor just said he's hungry."

My mom got worried as soon as she heard that and felt really sorry for him.

"That won't work. He's so fragile. If he stays hungry any longer, it'll be bad for him."

"Let's give him some snacks to hold him over. I'll go get some now."

I handed my daughter to Clara. Even though she didn't want to let go, there was nothing I could do.

When I stepped into the kitchen, the cooking smell made me feel uneasy and I started coughing.

It's been less than two months since my lung surgery. The doctor told me to stay away from the kitchen and avoid dust exposure so I could heal properly. But today, resting was simply not an option.

When my mom saw me covering my mouth and staying still, she got annoyed and tapped my head.

"What's wrong with you? Are you doing this on purpose?"

"You barely come home all year and now you're acting like doing some chores is too difficult?"

I covered my mouth, feeling bad and quietly explained,

"My lungs aren't healed yet. I'm still feeling weak."

My mom's eyes widened.

"So what? When I was sick, didn't I keep working anyway?"

I couldn't hold back and replied,

"So, just because you suffered, I'm expected to suffer too?"

"If you hadn't married a rich man, don't expect me to have an easy life."

"When you were sick, grandma didn't help you then. So now you want me to go through the same hardships you did, just to satisfy yourself?"

My mom flew into a rage and slapped me repeatedly. I ended up falling to the ground.

"You're really rebellious! And you still dare to lecture me!"

"I'd beat you to death, you unfilial son!"

Clara and Victor rushed over quickly and pulled my mom away.

"Aunt, if Arthur won't help, maybe I can do the cooking instead."

My mom and Clara were startled and immediately stopped him.

"No, you're too delicate to do hard work."

"Yeah, the kitchen is full of smoke and grease, it's bad for your lungs. You'd better go outside."

They knew the risks, but since I was the one doing it, it didn't seem to matter.

Victor smiled sweetly but stepped back reluctantly.

"Well, thanks for your hard work, Arthur."

My mom shot me a fierce glare while I was lying on the floor.

"Get up and start working! Stop playing dead!"

"You can't compare yourself to Victor. His fate is golden and blessed, but you were born to work hard. You need to accept that!"

They went back to the living room smiling like nothing had happened.

I gritted my teeth and stood up, feeling a sharp pain in my chest.

The doctor said I should stay calm and not get upset. Could it be coming back?

I glanced at Clara in the living room. She was staring only at Victor and they looked at each other as if the whole world didn't exist.

Fine. This family, this woman … I'm done with them!

Let's just have one last meal together today and then go our separate ways.

I had finally prepared a few dishes and was about to wash my hands to eat.

Victor came over with his arms crossed, looking at me.

"Arthur, you're only two months older than me, but our luck is totally different, huh?"

I knew what he meant, but I didn't want to answer.

"Jeane likes me and your wife likes me too. Honestly, you've lived a pathetic life!"

"I can see your daughter's going to inherit your fate sooner or later, destined to spend her whole life paving the way for my family."

I couldn't help but change my expression. Now he was even targeting my daughter.

I glared at him furiously.

"What the hell do you want?"

Victor's eyes flicked over to my daughter, a creepy smile spreading across his face.

"Nathan was born with poor eyesight. I've been planning to find someone to donate a cornea to. Your daughter seems like a good candidate."

"Your mom has already agreed and of course, Clara is on board too."

I was beyond furious. How could they be so cruel? My daughter is barely over one year old!

I tried to confront them, but Victor shoved me hard. I stumbled backward and hit my chest against the corner of the table. The pain from my surgery struck me sharply.

Suddenly, Victor threw himself on the ground, shouting loudly.

"Ouch! Arthur, why are you hitting me? I just didn't help with the cooking. Does that mean you have to hit me?"

My mom and Clara rushed in from the living room.

Clara quickly helped Victor up and yelled angrily,

"Arthur, apologize to Victor right now!"

"Who said you could hit him? Which hand did you use? Tell me right now!"

I clutched my chest in pain and collapsed to the floor, but they didn't notice at all.

My mom grabbed a broom and struck me hard in the chest!

I fell down. A sharp, metallic taste filled my throat. I started coughing violently and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You're such an ungrateful brat, completely useless!"

"I'm going to beat you to death today! How dare you bully Victor!"

My daughter, scared, started crying loudly and stumbled over to me.

"Daddy … blood … blood … "

When Clara saw the blood beside me, she froze for a moment.

Then Victor stretched out both hands, palms up.

"My hand was scraped and bleeding."

Two of his fingers were slightly scraped.

Clara got scared and quickly helped him leave.

"Hurry, let's get to the hospital!"

My mom was still upset and suddenly pushed my daughter to the ground.

"Stop crying already! Are you trying to cry someone into dying?"

I crawled over and picked up my daughter, my heart ached so much.

"Mom, I'm your son and she's your granddaughter! How can you be so harsh to us?"

"I have one question for you. Back then, when you increased the bride price and made Jeane break off the engagement with me, forcing me to marry Clara … what do you have to say about that?"

My mom's face darkened and she slapped me hard.

"What's there to explain? You're my son, so you have to obey me!"

"I'm warning you, if anything happens to Victor, I won't let you off!"

My mom turned and went to the living room to pick up Nathan, then hurried off to catch up with Clara and the others.

I started coughing worse and spat up blood several times. The surgery site probably tore again.

My daughter got scared, so I had to pick her up and rush to catch a taxi to the hospital.

As soon as the doctor finished treating my wound, my mom and Clara showed up.

"Are you just going to lie there playing dead? You need to get up and apologize to Victor now!"

"His hand is injured; he can't play piano these days. Do you know how much you've set him back?"

I'd just had stitches and really couldn't get up. My daughter was already asleep on another hospital bed.

My mom grabbed me and pulled me up, but I immediately fell to the floor.

A nurse saw this and quickly stepped in to stop her.

"The patient just had stitches. You need to be gentle."

Clara froze for a moment, then snapped back to her senses.

"What are you pretending? You're perfectly fine! Now you're faking an illness because of your lungs?"

My mom slapped me again and my ears started ringing.

"You're so pathetic, making a fool of yourself!"

Just then, my mom's phone rang, showing "My Dear Victor" on the screen.

She immediately softened her tone.

"Oh, you want porridge? Okay, I'll go get it right away."

"Where's Nathan? I'm going to buy some fried chicken drumsticks, so wait for me."

My mom shot me a fierce glare and then walked away.

Clara hurried to follow her but suddenly stopped and glanced back at me.

"Victor is with the kids and his hand is injured. It's hard for him to manage over there, so I need to check on him."

She felt sorry for Victor but never thought about how her own husband and daughter were also left without care. After all this time being busy, we still hadn't had a single bite to eat.

It didn't matter anymore. These days, I didn't expect anything.

I called my good friend Louis.

About an hour later, he showed up with the printed documents.

"Come on … stay at my place!" he said.

Tears filled my eyes as I nodded.

After a long struggle and making sure with the doctors that everything was all right, they were finally ready to leave the hospital. But then a nurse came running after them.

"Your husband left something behind for you."

Clara took the papers and looked them over.

"A divorce agreement? And a document terminating parental rights?"