After my brother’s marriage and departure from our home, I found myself living alone with my mother. While I’ve been grateful for the way she raised me, her recent attitude has left me frustrated. Despite my financial support, she unexpectedly pushed me away. It was disheartening, especially knowing that my brother and his wife played a role in this decision. I harbor resentment towards them, vowing to retaliate twice as hard.
My name is Emily, and at 25 years old, I’m navigating a challenging situation. My father passed away a few years ago, and my older brother, Tom, ten years my senior, left the house after tying the knot. Now, it’s just me and my mother.
Truth be told, living with her hasn’t been easy. Once I started working, she quit her part-time job and adopted a lazier lifestyle. On top of that, she treated me like her personal maid, constantly demanding things like, “Emily, isn’t dinner ready yet?” or “I’m out of money this month, give me an extra $200.”
While some might suggest I move out, I’ve considered it many times. However, she’s my only remaining family at home. After my father’s passing, she single-handedly raised me and Tom, who now lives far away with his wife, Catherine. Catherine has made it clear that she doesn’t want to live with my mother. In this challenging situation, despite my unhappiness, abandoning her has never been a consideration for me.
However, there are limits to what I can tolerate. Just today, I unintentionally raised my voice at her. “Hey, Mom, some money from my wallet is missing. Did you take it again?” I blurted out.
“What an awful thing to say! I just wanted some clothes, so I borrowed it for a while,” she retorted.
“Borrowed? You’ve never once paid me back for the money I’ve let you borrow. Please stop taking it without my permission.”
“Do you even realize who you have to thank for being able to grow up like this? It’s all thanks to me! You’re so annoying,” she snapped.
“I know I owe you, Mom, but this is not the way of repaying the favor.”
“Now that I’m independent, it’s only natural to take care of me. Don’t complain over just a few hundred,” she said.
This happens every single time. Whenever I express my concerns, her response is always, “I’m the one who raised you,” or “Do you realize who you have to thank for growing up?” I’m often left speechless.
I have a decent salary, and even if I gave my mother $2,000 every month, it wouldn’t significantly impact my lifestyle. However, I always felt that I shouldn’t let my mother do whatever she wants forever.
The Return
Then one day, after finishing work and returning home, for some reason, Tom and Catherine were there. The last time I saw them was at my father’s funeral, and we haven’t been in touch since then.
“Hey, Emily, it’s been a while. You still have that gloomy aura around you, huh?” Tom remarked. It seemed my brother’s insensitivity hadn’t changed since our childhood.
“Why are you here, Tom?”
“Do I need a reason to visit my parents’ house?” he replied casually.
“Um, we tore down our family home when Dad passed away. I’m the one who’s renting this apartment, you know.”
“Don’t be so stingy. Our family is finally together after so long,” Tom explained. As we were having this conversation, Catherine chimed in. “Emily, you’re as uptight as ever. With that kind of attitude, you’ll never get married.”
Disliking the two of them even more, I retreated to my room. My mother, seemingly happy to see Tom after so long, kept chatting away with a smile on her face.
Since that day, Tom and Catherine started visiting my place more frequently. They were way too relaxed in my apartment. “Hey, Tom, what’s the deal? This is my place, you know,” I finally confronted him.
“What about your job? You’re so annoying. What does it have to do with you? I’m here because I’m concerned about Mom and I want to visit her often. You never reached out once since our father’s funeral.”
“There’s none of your business,” Tom replied dismissively. “Speaking of which, I’m hungry. Cook something, and do it quick.”
What’s with this guy? Seriously, this is my place, isn’t it?
“I want to eat a delicious cake, Emily. Buy me one,” Catherine requested. Upon Catherine’s request, even my mother joined in. “You’re off from work today, right? So you’re free. Hurry up and go buy it for us, you lazy girl.”
Catherine, who used to detest my mother and avoided living with her, suddenly seemed to be getting along very well with her. As for Tom, he projected the attitude of, “I’m the eldest son, and Catherine’s the eldest son’s wife, so it’s natural for us to be concerned about Mom.”
Seeing how they acted, the two were definitely planning something.
The Betrayal
Several days passed, and then Tom and Catherine’s scheme finally became clear.
“Emily, I’ve reached my limit living with you. I’ve decided to end this life with you,” my mother announced abruptly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I can’t stand living with someone as slow, lazy, and unattractive as you anymore. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to live with Tom and Catherine.”
“You’re going to live with Tom and Catherine?” I was so shocked that I repeated what she said without realizing it.
Just then, Tom and Catherine inconveniently arrived.
“Tom, what’s going on? You never reached out to us before, and you always said you’d never live with Mom, right?”
“What’s the problem? It’s only natural for the eldest son to live with his own mother, isn’t it?” Tom responded, looking down on me with a sense of superiority. “Don’t tell me that you have some sort of problem if you can’t live with Mom.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying, but…”
“Then it’s fine for Mom to live with us, right?” he continued.
Even Catherine seemed to be in favor of this plan. Why the sudden change?
“You’re so annoying. Anyway, Mom’s decided to live with us. We don’t need you anymore. Just leave.”
“Wait, leave? After all this time, you left everything about Mom up to me?” I couldn’t help but feel disgusted with my brother.
However, it became clear that Tom and Catherine were up to something. Although my mother always had a sharp tongue, she is still my only precious parent. I decided to confront my mother. “Mom, isn’t it obvious that something’s going on?”
“What are you talking about? If anyone’s acting strange, it’s you, isn’t it?” she retorted.
“Huh? Mom, those who just leech off their parents should just leave,” she said suddenly.
The moment she said that, any affection I had left for my mother vanished. After all the support I’ve given, how dare she say something like that? But this is the only time they can make fun of me like this. In a week, they’ll experience hell. I started planning my revenge on them.
“Then I’ll leave right now,” I declared firmly to my brother, his wife, and my mother. The three of them began to chat, smirking at each other.
“Emily, you’re finally leaving the house. Mom, you must be so happy,” my brother commented.
“I truly am. Now I can live with Tom and Catherine. I’m on top of the world.”
“From now on, I’ll be the one taking care of Mom. Thank you, Tom.”
“I’m also happy that I can live with my beloved mother-in-law. Oh, thank you too, Catherine,” my mother chimed in.
I was struggling not to laugh, but I couldn’t let them think that I had any leeway to execute my revenge perfectly.
The Revenge
A week later, it was my moving day. “Today is the day we part ways, Emily,” Tom said. “We’ll be taking care of Mom from now on, so you can live without any worries.”
“Thank you. I’m leaving Mom in your hands, okay?” I replied calmly.
Then my mother approached. “I hope you get married soon, Emily. It’d be a shame to remain single for the rest of your life. You know, society would call a person like you a loser.” Tom and his wife snickered at my mother’s words.
“That’s true,” I responded calmly. “From now on, I’ve decided to live just for myself. I mean, I no longer have to take care of you now, right?”
“Just stop talking and get out. I never asked you to look after me. I was going to leave quickly anyway.”
“Oh, seems like they’re here.” I heard the doorbell ring, so I headed to the entrance. It was the movers from the moving company. After having them carry out all the belongings from my room, I pointed to the living room and told the movers, “Oh, and please move all the appliances and furniture in these rooms, too.”
The dumbfounded voices of the three harmonized perfectly. They were completely confused.
“That TV, the fridge, the microwave… oh, and this cleaning robot, too. Also, the sofa, dining table, and the bed. Please move everything,” I continued.
Then my mother began to argue. “What are you thinking? Stop this immediately!”
“What do you mean? Am I doing something strange?”
“Don’t play dumb! Taking all the appliances and furniture from this house? Have you lost your mind?”
My brother, whose face was as red as a tomato, approached me aggressively. “Yo, listen to Mom! How do you expect us to live without any furniture or appliances? You have no right to take everything. Leave everything here and just go.”
My mother and brother were squawking in front of me. Thinking I shouldn’t waste any more time, I clarified the situation. “Hey, are you getting the wrong idea or something? Everything in this apartment, including the apartment itself and all its appliances and furniture, are all mine, you know.”
“This is Mom’s place, right? Don’t mess with me. All the furniture and appliances were bought using the inheritance from Dad, weren’t they?”
I knew it. He’s just an idiot. He assumed that she had received a lot of inheritance from my father and had cleverly convinced them to live with her.
“Tom, aren’t you misunderstanding something? I bought everything in here. I’ve been giving Mom a monthly support of $2,000, you know. You just want to live with Mom, don’t you? So you’ll inherit Dad’s inheritance someday?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Mom used up all of Dad’s inheritance a long time ago.”
Tom nervously glanced at our mother. She was looking down, her face pale. “Mom, please explain. You told us you bought all the appliances in here.”
“Well, I was just trying to look good,” she demanded.
“Huh? What do you mean by that? We only moved in with you because we thought there was an inheritance from Dad. If there’s no inheritance, what’s the point of living together?” Tom protested.
“Wait, what are you saying? Didn’t you say you’d take care of me because you’re the eldest son?”
“I was just trying to be nice! I lied so that we can live together!”
Upon learning that there was no remaining inheritance, Tom was furious, and my mother was deeply shaken by the realization that the kindness shown by Tom and his wife was all fake.
What a hopeless family. My mother should have suspected something when Tom and his wife, who hadn’t been in touch for a while, suddenly proposed living together.
As I gave the two cold looks, Tom’s wife seemed to have an idea. “I’ve got it! It would be great if Emily could live with us again!”
To this, my mother and Tom both agreed. “That’s right, Emily, you should live with us. After all, yes, Emily, I really do need you,” Tom added.
Seeing the drastic change in their attitude, I quickly dismissed them. “What are you even saying? Don’t make me laugh. There’s no way I’d live with trashy people like you all. I’ve decided to live only for myself from now on. Whatever happens to you all, I couldn’t care less. But why don’t you all just happily ruin your lives together?”
The three of them, completely drained of energy, sat down on the spot. All three had empty eyes. “Goodbye, dear ‘best’ family,” I said and closed the front door.
The Aftermath
In just another two weeks, the lease for the apartment would end. Because it’s under my name, they’ll probably be forced to leave. Well, it’s none of my business anymore.
About a week after I successfully moved, as expected, I received a call from my mother asking for help. “Emily, please, I can’t live properly like this. Come back.”
“There’s no way I’m coming back. Why don’t you have that idiotic couple take care of you?”
“Actually, it seems they quit their work and moved here, thinking I still had your father’s inheritance. They really are terrible people, aren’t they? I don’t even feel like helping out at all. I don’t mean a couple who only thinks about money anymore. All I have is you, Emily.”
“Mom, I’m busy. Can I hang up now?”
“Please, Emily, help me!”
I hung up the call before she could finish and blocked her number. I no longer feel the urge to help my mother, especially not now.
Rumor has it that my mother and Tom’s family got evicted from the apartment. They ended up spending all of Tom’s savings to move into a shabby apartment. Apparently, my mother doesn’t work, and she argues with Catherine almost every day. Tom is the only one who has a job, working from dawn till dusk just to make ends meet.
As for me, after distancing myself from my mother, I’ve been able to save more money and use it for my own needs. After all these sacrifices I’ve made in the past, I want to lead a life that makes me happy from now on.