In that moment, I meant it with every fiber of my being.
But I had underestimated the depth of human greed.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Vivian's attitude toward me changed completely.
"Some people are thirty and still can't land a husband. And they have the nerve to leech off their parents."
"Freeloading every single day—who does she think she is, a princess?"
"Leo, sweetie, don't ever turn out like your aunt. A grown woman still mooching off her family."
These snide little jabs came at me daily.
Every time, I told myself: Let it go. A peaceful family is a prosperous one.
Until the fifth night of the New Year.
I'd gone out for drinks with some old high school friends and didn't get home until well past midnight. Not wanting to wake anyone, I left the lights off and felt my way upstairs to my bedroom.
I shrugged off my coat, half-dazed, and drifted toward the bathroom, thinking of nothing but a hot shower and sleep.
My fingers had just closed around the bathroom door handle when it swung open from the inside.
A woman wrapped in a towel shrieked and stumbled backward. I screamed too.
It was Vivian.
"What are you doing in my room?" My heart was still hammering.