Chapter 3 The First Time He Chose Me

That night, he locked himself in his room and did not come out for dinner. My mother knocked on the door outside repeatedly, but he did not respond, not even when she called him her "precious darling."

Late that night, there was a knock on my door.

When I answered it, Ryder stood there, his eyes red. For a moment, I hesitated. It had been a long time since I had been alone with him like this.

"Mom…" he called softly, then fell silent for a long while. "They're all going to school… What am I supposed to do? I can't even continue studying anymore…"

As he spoke, tears spilled from his eyes, and he looked at me helplessly.

Seeing him like that, lost and vulnerable, my heart still ached. No matter what, he was my son. I was not completely heartless. If he was willing to wake up and change, it would not hurt to give him a hand.

Over the years, I had built up some connections through my work. I used them to secure him a place at one of the best vocational schools in the area, enrolling him in the most in-demand program: automotive repair.

The day he received the admission letter, it was as if he had grown up overnight.

He stopped following my mother everywhere. Instead, he shut himself in his room and began previewing his textbooks. And for the first time, he cleaned his room without being asked to, and he even started trying to eat vegetables.

I thought the farce would finally come to a not-so-bad ending, but I had still underestimated my mother.

The moment she found out I had enrolled Ryder in a vocational school, she stormed into my room in a rage and flung the admission letter straight at my face.

"Rebecca King! What are you trying to do?" she shouted, pointing at me, her whole body trembling with fury. "How dare you send my grandson to learn something as lowly as fixing cars? That's work for the lower class! I raised him with such care, and now you want him to serve other people?"

I looked at her flatly, not even bothering to defend myself.

"Grandma!"

Ryder's voice came from the doorway. He rushed in and stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body—for the first time in 15 years.

"Don't yell at Mom! I chose this myself! Even college graduates can't find jobs now. What's wrong with learning a skill? She's doing this for my own good!"

My mother froze. She stared at the grandson she had raised with her own hands in complete disbelief. The boy who had always obeyed her without question was now standing against her—for me, the very person she had always despised.

Her face flushed a deep, ugly red, and a vicious light flickered in her cloudy eyes. She pointed at me, her finger trembling with rage. "Right… Right. I get it now!"

She suddenly turned and rushed into my bedroom like a madwoman, grabbing my clothes and luggage and throwing them out the door one by one.

"It's all your fault! You've ruined my grandson, you cursed bitch! I knew you were up to no good! Get out! Get out of my house right now!"

"Grandma!" Ryder panicked and reached out to stop her.