Chapter 3

On the surface, she was praising me, but in reality, she was mocking me for being stupid.

My aunt Lilian Bloom chimed in from the sidelines, "Unlike you, she doesn't have any talent. You barely have to study, yet you get everything right!

"Ella, I heard you only scored 3 in math. Don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't start working harder, you won't even get into community college!"

Lilian turned to my mother with a smug expression and feigned concern. "Honestly, you really need to pay more attention to Ella's grades. She's come in last several times now. How can you let that happen?

"She used to get better grades than Millie, but now she's fallen so far behind. Millie came in first again this time, with a score of 678! I guess that's the difference between hard work and natural talent!

"Millie was just too playful before. Now that she's finally settled down and started taking her studies seriously, her grades have naturally improved."

As Lilian continued to praise her own daughter and belittle me, the other relatives joined in, showering her family with compliments while mocking me.

"With a daughter as outstanding as Millie, you've got a bright future ahead of you!"

"3 in math? After doing that badly, you still have the nerve to show your face here? Aren't you ashamed?"

...

Eventually, my grandmother had enough and stepped in to silence everyone.

All I wanted was to finish my meal and head home as quickly as possible so I could get back to studying. But these people wouldn't even let me eat in peace.

At the dinner table, my aunt Natasha eagerly piled ribs onto Millie's plate. "Millie, eat more! You've got to feed that brilliant brain of yours! Once you get into Hargrave, don't forget how well I treated you!"

My uncle Leroy refused to be outdone. He ladled gumbo into Millie's bowl and even brought her a plate of crawfish, her favorite. "Millie, we're all counting on you to take care of us in the future!"

When I reached for a piece of meat, however, they knocked my cutlery aside and glared at me with utter disdain.

"What do you think you're doing? With grades like yours, you still think you deserve to eat?"

"Someone like you should stick to vegetables!"

My mother couldn't stand it any longer. "Stop putting so much pressure on Ella. I've seen how hard she's been working. She only did badly because she was nervous. I believe she'll do exceptionally well on the college entrance exam. All her hard work will eventually pay off—"

Before she could finish, Lilian cut her off. "Like mother, like daughter! Honestly, didn't you drop out of school in middle school? Maybe Ella inherited your genes. That would explain why she's so stupid!"

Leonard sat there with a cold expression, his silence a clear sign that he agreed with his wife.

My mother's eyes reddened with humiliation, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.

The sight broke my heart. She didn't deserve any of this.

Wasn't Leonard the very reason my mother had dropped out of school in the first place?

Back then, when Leonard wanted to continue his education, the family couldn't afford to keep them both in school. My mother had been forced to drop out and help support the family.

The truth was, she'd always been an excellent student, more than capable of qualifying for one of the country's top universities. If she hadn't been forced to leave school, she could have attended an elite university herself!

Instead, she'd given up her own future so Leonard could continue his education. Over the years, she'd sacrificed so much for him. And what had she gotten in return? Nothing but ridicule from his family!

Anger simmered inside me.

Meanwhile, Lilian continued running her mouth. "How about I have Millie tutor Ella? We're family, after all. I'll only charge you 70 dollars per lesson!"

I nearly laughed out loud.

Back when Lilian had asked me to tutor Millie, she hadn't paid me a single cent. To make matters worse, their family still hadn't repaid the money they'd borrowed from my mother to buy their house.

And now they had the nerve to demand more money from us? Not a chance!

Right then, I decided it was time to make them pay.

I pinched my thigh hard, then burst into tears and pretended to have a complete breakdown.

My mother started to rise from her seat, but I gently pressed her back down. "Aunt Lilian is right. I'm stupid! I've worked so hard, yet I still scored so few points. What's the point of even taking the college entrance exam? I might as well give up and go work in a factory!"

Millie, who'd been thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, instantly panicked.

She knew how much the college entrance exams meant to me. She knew I'd poured everything I had into my studies and would never give up so easily. That was precisely why she'd felt bold enough to mock me so shamelessly.