I brought my boyfriend of six months home for dinner.

At the dining table, my mom pulled out a stack of bed photos of me with other men.

“Honestly, my daughter is quite dirty.”

Before I could respond, she continued, “You’re the man my daughter has dated the longest, and also the richest. Since you two plan to marry, you deserve to know. My daughter has dated over thirty boyfriends and had sixteen abortions. Decide for yourself.”

My boyfriend’s face darkened. Without another word, he stood and left.

I ran after him, desperate to explain, but he shook off my hand. “She’s your mother. How could she slander you like that? I didn’t expect you to be such a pretender. Let’s break up.”

Feeling defeated, I returned home. I saw my mom hurriedly hide her phone, but I still caught the last part of her voice message. “Kiersey, I set you up with a quality man. Make sure you seize the chance.”

I froze in place, helplessness wrapping around me. Closing the bedroom door, I finally made a decision.

——

Tanner Gilman was the boyfriend I had dated for six months, and I decided to marry him.

Bringing him home had been a carefully weighed decision. Because I had a mother who supposedly loved me to death.

Now that everything had erupted into chaos, exhausted as I was, a bitter laugh threatened to escape me. This wasn’t the first time, and deep down, I had expected it.

The good food went to my cousin, the fun and beautiful things went to my cousin, and even men had to go to her first.

And me? Her own daughter? I had never once felt her favor, nor had I ever been worthy of anything good.

My heart felt as though it was being sliced again and again with a blunt knife.

So much pain, so many betrayals, that my senses had grown numb.

Rubbing my face, I opened my computer and returned to my work, finishing the final touches on my project proposal.

The man was gone, but I still had my proud career.

The door opened, and my mom appeared in the doorway, holding a steaming bowl of vegetable soup.

Her eyes were full of grievance and helplessness as she said, “Millicent, Tanner had no trust in you. I only gave him a small test, and he revealed his true colors. A man like that is not worth entrusting your life to.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Not worth entrusting my life to, but worth entrusting my cousin’s life to?”

She lifted her chin, pride and calm etched on her face. “Your cousin only gets what you don’t want. My Millicent deserves the best man.”

I froze, speechless.

A thorn seemed lodged in my throat, making it painful to swallow.

She was my closest kin, yet every time, she could thrust me into the most humiliating situation, then smile as if nothing had happened.

As if she had not been the one to strike the blow.

Seeing my silence, she smiled and placed the bowl of vegetable soup before me. “You didn’t eat much at dinner. Mom made this for you. Eat it while it’s hot.”

It felt like a slap, then a hand offering a bribe. I exhaled wearily. “Just leave it there. I’ll eat it once I finish this.”

“How can that be? Working on an empty stomach is terrible for your health. Eat now, then continue.”

I paused my typing. “Mom, it’s really hot. I promise, as soon as I finish, I’ll eat it right away, okay?”

She seemed ready to argue, but when our eyes met, her lips pressed into a thin line, and she left, glancing back with every step.

Before the door clicked shut, she reminded me once more, “You must eat, don’t forget.”

I nodded seriously. “Okay.”

Taking a deep breath, I dove back into my work.

Not even a minute had passed before the door creaked open again.

My mom peeked in. “Millicent, why haven’t you eaten the vegetable soup yet?”

She strode in without hesitation. “I knew it, once you get busy, you forget everything, even your own health.”

“Forget it, forget it, you work, Mom will feed you.”

She picked up the vegetable soup with a helpless sigh.

I was just about to stop her when her hand turned, and the entire bowl of vegetable soup spilled, drenching the computer completely.

The whole team had been surviving on coffee for half a year. The leader had reminded us countless times that this was the company’s life-or-death KPI, a thirty-billion-dollar project proposal.

After a few flickers and buzzing sounds, the screen went black. Just like my brain, it crashed instantly.

The sticky smell of vegetable soup spread through the room, dripping along the keyboard grooves and soaking into my pants.

I seemed to hear the taut string in my head being plucked, releasing a sound on the verge of snapping.

“Sorry, Millicent, Mom was just afraid you were hungry. Don’t be mad, Mom will wipe it for you.”

She snatched tissues and rubbed the keyboard hard, pressing the vegetable soup deeper into the gaps between the keys.

“Mom!” My voice cracked. “Don’t touch it, I’ll do it myself.”

She stepped back, two steps away, her shoulders trembling slightly as tears began to fall.

“Are you blaming Mom? Everything Mom did was for your own good. I only had one daughter. Was it wrong for me to worry about your health?”

“For my own good”, those words pressed down like three heavy boulders, crushing me almost beyond breath.

I looked at her, then at the mess on the table, and finally at her tears.

From deep within surged that near-collapse, the dull pain I still had to suppress, like a whip with barbs striking my nerves again and again.

Even as I tried to steady my breathing, my trembling voice still betrayed the edge of breaking.

“I need to get this computer fixed right now. Stop bothering me, okay?”

Tomorrow was the final presentation. I had no time to fall apart.

Grabbing the computer, I called a friend who knew computers well, and after a long night of rescue, the data was finally recovered.

When I returned home, it was already six in the morning. Dragging my weary body, I set an alarm for an hour later and collapsed into bed.

The moment sunlight brushed across my face, I jolted up as if struck by lightning.

When I pressed my phone, the black screen of shutdown reflected my thunderstruck expression.

Mom pushed the door open, smiling proudly as though she had done me a favor.

“Millicent, you’re awake. Mom saw how tired you were, so I turned off your phone.”

My breath hitched, and I forced the words out slowly. “You turned it off?”

Her smile brimmed with motherly kindness.

“Of course. What nonsense job is this? Look at how exhausted you are. My heart aches for you. See? Since I didn’t wake you, you slept until ten o’clock.”

“Don’t worry, I already used your phone to warn your boss. If he dares to exploit employees like this again, I’ll complain about that black-hearted company. Anyway, it’s so late already, don’t bother going to work today. Go buy some outfits for your cousin. She’s going on a date this afternoon, it can’t be delayed.”

My throat burned, dry as fire. On the screen, dozens of missed calls and hundreds of frantic mentions in the WhatsApp group exploded as the phone came to life.

I sent only two words into the team chat.

“Ten minutes!”

The meeting had been set for ten. It was already 10:05. My teammates had fought me for ten minutes of delay, and I still had faith I could pull the situation back.

I dashed into the bathroom, splashed water over my face, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, grabbed a business jacket, and bolted for the door.

But before I could step out, my mom blocked me.

“Millicent, you can’t go. I already promised Kiersey that you would accompany her to buy clothes today. If you leave now, what about Kiersey?”

An absurd, searing fury roared through me, rising from my feet to the top of my head.

The last thread of reason stopped me from cursing aloud.

I yanked my hand free, holding back my temper before speaking. “Do you want to drive me to jump off the rooftop before you’re satisfied?”

Only then did she loosen her grip, murmuring, “Anyway, you’ll have to come back after a while.”

I was in such a rush to escape that I didn’t stop to think about those words.

When I stumbled into the meeting room, sweaty, one heel missing, and flipped open the computer, all I saw was the formatted blue initial screen.

I stood there, dumbstruck.

A cold wave of dread surged through me, numbing my fingers.

Only then did I realize what my mom meant by “after a while you’ll have to come back.”

“Millicent, where’s the proposal?”

My assistant, Athisa Serrano, asked in a trembling voice.

Clutching the edge of the table, I steadied myself against the dizziness clouding my head and whispered, “Bring me the initial draft.”

Her eyes widened, but at last she gave in and went to retrieve it

More than a hundred pages of proposal, I could recall the framework, yet the tangled, web-like details left me struggling.

As if the chaos wasn’t enough already.

The sharp buzzing of my phone suddenly broke the silence of the conference room.

I quickly declined the video call, flipped my phone facedown, and pressed on with the presentation.

The leader’s face grew darker with every vibration.

Feeling needles prickling my back, I snatched up my phone and shut it off completely.

I lifted the laser pointer, barely managing two words; this time, it was the leader’s phone ringing.

He stared at the flashing video call before handing the phone to me.

My head roared, my breath nearly stopped. I had no idea when my mom had added my leader on WhatsApp.

“I’ll give you five minutes. Handle your personal matters first.”

Swallowing the sting in my throat, I bowed again and again, apologized to the clients, and rushed out of the conference room with my phone in hand.

The video appeared on my screen. My mom was radiant, holding up a floral dress against my cousin. “Millicent, why didn’t you answer my video call? Look at this dress, doesn’t Kiersey look beautiful in it?”

My throat burned with fire, my temples pounded relentlessly, and I felt my strength slipping away, leaving only a hollow helplessness. “It looks good, buy it! If there are others you like, buy them too, I’ll pay. Just don’t call anyone around me ever again, okay?”

My mom stiffened, her eyes welling with tears as she cried out, “So now you think I’m annoying, don’t you? You promised Kiersey you’d buy her clothes, but you broke your word. I’m keeping her company for you, and yet you’re blaming me?”

I pressed my forehead, reminding myself over and over: That’s my mom, my real mom. Endure it, endure it again.

“Mom, I only slept four hours last night. I’m drained. Today’s project decides my entire career, and the proposal is already ruined. Please, I’m begging you, let me off this time, okay?”

Her eyes widened, and tears of grievance spilled at once. “Fine, fine, fine! You’re busy with work, making big money, and climbing high as an executive. And me, just an old woman living off her daughter, useless and worthless, of course, you despise me. I won’t call you again. Even if I drop dead this very moment, I won’t call you again. Rest assured!”

Before I could answer, the call ended, leaving only the hollow beep of the dial tone.

I leaned against the wall for a moment, gathering myself before stepping back into the conference room.

Thankfully, when it came to the crucial part of the core technology, I spoke with ease, and the clients’ tense expressions gradually softened.

With the company’s long-established trust and reputation in the industry backing us, today’s battle, full of twists and turns, was finally won, barely.