- 3.
Mom was stunned by my suggestion.
I smiled inwardly and took her hand. “Mom,
you just said you disowned him. Just do it
officially, so you don’t have to deal with this
anymore.”
Her eyes darted around. “You’re right. You
always have my best interests at heart. I was
already thinking of disowning that ungrateful
boy. Having you, my sweet daughter, is
enough…”
“But he’s still your brother. He may be
heartless towards me hut he cares about
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Hoai ligos towards O, MUL 10 0 L
you, his sister. Maybe disowning him is too
much?”
She went on and on, pretending to consider
my feelings.
I used to be fooled by this act, thinking she
loved me even when she yelled and hit me.
“Mom, please, just disown him. Don’t worry,
I’ll take good care of you.”
Mom stammered, her act almost falling apart.
My brother turned on me. “Ashley, I didn’t think you’d show
your true colors so quickly,
just after taking care of Mom for a few days.
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I know you’re not this kind. You’re just after
the inheritance! Don’t think I don’t know your
‘filial piety‘ has always been an act! You have
no right to tell Mom to disown me!”
I ignored him and pressed Mom for an
answer. “Mom, do you feel the same way
about me? If so, then maybe my brother
should take care of you.”
Mom clearly hadn’t anticipated things turning
out this way.
She could only continue explaining, “You’re
my daughter, you have a duty to care for me.
Besides, you’ve been the one taking care of
me all these years; your brother is incapable.”
L
I was speechless. We were both her children;
why was it only my responsibility to care for
her?
My brother, hearing Mom say he was
incapable, flew into a rage. “Fine! Then I don’t
want to be your son anymore! I’m definitely
not taking care of you. Don’t come crawling
back to me when this woman kicks you out!”
He kicked the hospital bed and stormed out.
Mom seemed to want to call him back, but
she swallowed her words when she saw me
looking at her.
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“Ashley, you see how he is? Can you really
trust him to take care of me?”
“I can only rely on you. Please don’t abandon
me.”
I smiled without responding, changing the
subject.
“Mom, I need to go home and get some clean
clothes. Wait for me here.”
Mom seemed worried I wouldn’t return and
immediately grabbed my hand, producing a pen and paper from somewhere.
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“Ashley, I don’t have much savings, but if you
don’t mind, I’ll leave it all to you, including the
house. I’ll write the will now.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
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- 4.
