"Your mother and I have been wearing the same clothes for years. Which month have I not sent money to you? But whenever we need to ask for a little bit in return, you start playing games. It’s better to raise a piece of meat than raise you!"
Even though I had died once, hearing these same words again from my father still made my whole body tremble.
I yelled back, "You know exactly how much you’ve taken from that card! How dare you say that to me!"
Dad was stunned for a second, but then became even more irate and slapped me again, harder. "Everyone just heard the sound of 5 million arriving—what exactly did we take from you?"
Mom pointed at me like she was mourning, "You have no conscience. No wonder even your husband doesn’t want you. You’re so cold-blooded, you deserve to be unloved!"
The moment she mentioned Tommy, pain gripped my heart. I thought of that gentle man being forced to kneel by me. I thought of how he now refused to answer my calls. A surge of pain rose in my chest, making me dizzy and I collapsed to the floor...
In the haze, I heard my parents talking.
"Why is she fainting at this time? Joseph and Sissy will be here soon. I don’t have time to take her to the hospital."