“Look,” she said, deliberately straightening her silk scarf to reveal the gold necklace glittering around her neck. “He even bought me a gift too!”
She tilted her chin slightly, saying with full of satisfaction, “He told me I look best in gold, so he dragged me into the jewelry store just now to buy this necklace!”
She let out a theatrical sigh, still smiling. “Ah, it cost tens of thousands! I told him not to waste money, but this boy just wouldn’t listen! He said because it’s National Day and he has to make me happy!”
My mom stood silently beside me, her smile frozen in place. The sharp contrast between that cheap wooden comb and the gold necklace felt like a loud slap across my face. And that slap woke me up completely.
Fine.
For them, everything was about money and calculation, then let’s start counting properly. Including the dignity they owed my mom, I’d make sure they paid it back in full.
I took the wooden comb from my mom’s hand, running my fingers lightly over its rough splinters and suddenly gave a soft laugh.
“Liam, you really picked the perfect gift.”
He didn’t catch the irony in my tone. Instead, he smiled with relief, thinking I had finally given in.