Semua Bab Broken Ties, Broken Home: Bab 1 - Bab 10

My hand closed instinctively into a fist. After I loosened my fingers again, I folded one back. “Keep going!”My cousin, Amara, was trying very hard to make the game feel livelier. After a few more rounds, it was Tyler Posner’s turn again.“Mom put $200,000 in my bank account. She said it’s so I have some financial security.”His tone was casual, but his words assaulted my ears. My relatives’ gazes drifted from me to Mom.I folded a second finger back. I felt its icy tip against my palm.Mom still did not look up.The game of “Never Have I Ever” kept going, but the whole vibe had changed. My heart beat slowly in my chest. It sent a dull ache through my body with every beat. Tyler spoke up again. This time, his tone of voice was challenging. “When I was sixteen, Mom secretly took me on a trip to Disneyland, and we played all day. It was just us, and no one else knew about it.”Memories surface in my mind. It was my junior year, and there had been an exam at school. Wh

“That’s easy for you to say,” I said, turning to her. My voice shook as I demanded, “Pay it back to me now. Pay me back $100,000.”Things got even more tense with that. The next thing I knew, a heavy slap landed on my face. My ears rang, and my cheek stung. “How dare you talk to me like that?!” Mom’s expression was thunderous. “I’m the head of this household, and you will learn that lesson tonight.”Mom took her phone out and poked at it furiously.A few seconds later, my phone started vibrating. Messages kept popping up in the family WhatsApp group.Mom’s voice blared through the voice notes in the group chat. “Come look at what kind of son I’ve raised! He went to the big city and forgot his roots! He’s home on Christmas asking us for money. I only spent a bit of his money, but he wants me to pay it back! I wasted all those years raising him, and this is what he does!”Our relatives’ responses started popping up. They were all either furiously scolding me or advising me.I

“What are you talking about, Skyler?”Mom tried to squeeze out a smile. “I’m sick. I don’t have the energy to talk about all this…”“You’re sick, but you can still give Tyler $200,000, so why can’t you give me just $60,000?”I did not budge. “We’re both your sons, so you should treat us equally, right?”Aunt Mary cleared her throat. “Jessica, did you really give Ty $200,000?”“Well… yes…” Mom’s face paled. “That money is for him to use when he gets married. I gave it to him early…”“Then, it shouldn’t be that difficult to give me $60,000 for my deposit, right? That’s money that’s needed right now. It’s not too much to ask for.”Tyler suddenly shot up and snapped at me, “Skyler, do you have to bring all this up when Mom’s so sick? Don’t you have a heart?”“Me? I don’t have a heart?”I turned to Tyler and let all the resentment and frustration of the past decades flood out. “You conspired together to scam me out of my $200,000 fixed deposit. Don’t you have a heart? Mom faked h

Mom was stunned. She looked at the box in my arms and then at my face. Panic flashed across her face. “Why… Why are you holding that box?”“I resigned,” I said simply. “I lost my job, just like you wanted.”“I-I didn’t…” Mom stuttered. Suddenly, she turned to the crowd and said, “I didn’t want him to lose his job. I only wanted… I only wanted him to apologize! Where’s your manager? I’ll go and explain. This is only a joke—”I cut her off. “There’s no need.”Mom’s expression was hostile. “It’s all your fault! You did this! If you weren’t so heartless and insistent on stealing from your brother, would things have ended up this way? You ruined our perfectly happy family!”My temper flared. It had been twenty-eight years. I had tolerated this for twenty-eight years and overlooked all of it. I told myself that she was my mother and that she had gone through some hard times. Today, I did not want to tolerate this any longer. “What have I stolen exactly?” I let out a bitter laugh

“Mom, wouldn’t that be—”“What?” Mom interrupted. “I gave birth to him and raised him. Isn’t it right for him to take care of me? Besides, he’s so successful now. A little money is nothing to him. What are you going to do if I don’t get you more money?”I closed my eyes. My world was spinning. So this was it. Even though Mom was at the end of her life and was truly sick, she was still scheming against me. All my care and concern toward her was nothing. She only wanted my money to build a future for Tyler. Even my capabilities and meticulousness had become reasons to use me as her unpaid carer. I took out the card and looked at it. I suddenly burst out laughing. Just then, my phone rang. “Sky…” came Mom’s weak and pitiful voice through the line. “Where are you? I want to see you one last time…”I took a deep breath. “I’m outside the hospital.”Mom was quiet for a few seconds. Then, she said excitedly, “You’re here? Come up! There’s so much I want to say to you—”“I wo