Chapter 4

After walking home through the storm, I came down with a high fever that night.

My knees ached and throbbed, and my limbs were so weak I couldn't lift them.

I forced myself through to the next evening, when Emily finally came home.

The moment she walked in and saw the empty dining table, her face fell.

She stormed to my bedside, grabbed my arm, and yanked me halfway upright.

"It's dark already. Where's dinner? You're faking sick to get out of cooking."

My throat was so dry it burned, and my breath felt fever-hot.

Her rough pull left me choking and coughing for what felt like forever.

"Cough... I have a fever. I feel awful. Please, just go buy something."

She curled her lip, her eyes full of scorn.

"Going out is such a hassle. Aunt Camilla was right about you. You can't stand to see me have it easy."

My head was spinning, but I couldn't win against her.

I held onto the bed frame, slowly pulled myself up, and staggered into the kitchen.

I used every ounce of strength I had to fry a single egg.

She picked up a bite, tasted it, and smashed the plate on the floor.

"You call this a meal? You're obviously just going through the motions. Aunt Camilla already told me you never really loved me!"

I couldn't hold myself up any longer and collapsed onto the couch.

I had no strength left to argue about whether I loved her or not.

"Call 911. I can barely hold on."

She folded her arms and looked down at me.

"Exactly! Dodging the question is the same as admitting it."

"Fine, I'll call, but first you need to apologize. Say you don't deserve to be a mother. Admit that you've been controlling and abusing me all these years."

The fever had blurred my consciousness, and I could only give in.

"I was wrong. I controlled you. I abused you..."

The second she answered, Emily became a different person.

Her voice turned syrupy sweet.

She called the other woman "Mommy."

After she hung up, she went straight to her room and changed into a pretty outfit.

"Not a shred of sincerity."

She flung the words over her shoulder and walked out.

She never looked back.

I was alone in the house.

I summoned every last bit of strength to reach my phone and called 911 myself.

I was hospitalized for an entire week. Not a single person came to see me.

During that time, Emily's college acceptance letter arrived at the house. I had no idea.

I only found out when I saw her post online, celebrating with Adam and Camilla at a restaurant.

A storm of emotions hit me at once.

For all three years of high school, I had paid for private tutors.

Worried that boarding school would be too hard on her health, I arranged for her to commute, driving her to and from school every day, rain or shine.

In the end, she got into college.

She never thanked me, and she did not even invite me to the celebration dinner.

When I came home from the hospital, I opened the door to find the place ransacked.

Papers and documents were scattered everywhere.

In my previous life, she had stolen my signature from her test papers and forged documents to seize my house.

This time, I had been prepared.

I had hidden every paper that carried my signature long ago. They got nothing.

I had barely finished cleaning up when Emily unexpectedly came home.

Gone was the usual hostility. This time, she was conspicuously sweet.

"Mom, I couldn't have gotten into college without you."

She linked her arm through mine in a show of affection, her head tilting awkwardly to one side.

I had always been strict with her, and in my previous life, I never had the chance for this kind of closeness, not until the day I died.

Seeing her rare gentleness, a tiny flicker of warmth stirred in my chest.

Without thinking, I raised my hand to stroke her hair.

Then she spoke.

"Mom, this enrollment form needs a parent's signature. I couldn't have done it without you. Will you sign it for me?"

The moment the words landed, the warmth inside me vanished and I felt as though I had plunged into ice water.

Looking at her calculated act of obedience, the last thread of hope in me snapped.

She was still playing me for someone else's benefit.

I pushed away the hand holding the form and turned my face away.

"Get your father to sign it. He's your parent too."

"Besides, from now on, he's the one paying for your college. This household is going on a pay-your-own-way policy. All your expenses go through your father."