Chapter 2

Amanda's expression twisted in an instant.

Her parents got a divorce when she was still a child. Neither of them wanted her, preferring to start their own families.

As a result, Amanda was raised by Grandpa and Grandma. No one in the family dared to talk about this unhappy incident in front of her.

Amanda shoved me and shouted, "How dare you? I'm going to tell Aunt Vera what you said. I want you to be humiliated and ridiculed in front of everyone!"

"Go ahead," I said coldly.

My fingers trembled even more violently.

I felt like I was going to reach my breaking point soon.

…

Mom and I returned home after the party was over.

Mom was the one who broke the silence when we made it back to our empty home.

"Does the back of your head still hurt?"

I lowered my gaze and shook my head.

Truth be told, a terrible pain lanced through the back of my head whenever I moved it.

I was in so much pain, but I chose to lie. I didn't dare tell Mom that it hurt. I didn't want her to ridicule me.

Mom stared at me and sighed. She placed her fork down and approached me.

My back tensed as I dug my nails into my palms. Fear gripped my heart.

I was terrified that she was going to say something. I didn't want to hear her say that word again.

However, Mom simply kneeled down next to me and brushed her fingers gently along the back of my swollen head.

"I lived a tough life, Claire. There were a lot of children in my family, and your grandparents didn't like me. Eventually, I got to marry your father, but unfortunately, he died young."

Mom's eyes reddened. "I was constantly criticized when I was raising you by myself. Everyone was just biding their time, waiting for their chance to ridicule me. I just want to stick up for myself. I don't want to be trampled under anyone's feet again."

My body trembled when the word "ridicule" slipped past her lips.

Mom didn't notice anything amiss and continued, "You're my daughter. If you behave and follow the rules in front of other people, they'll praise me for raising you well. They won't ridicule me. Everything that I do is for our sake."

I could feel myself getting triggered at hearing that word over and over again.

I wanted to dig my nails into my palms again, but I was scared that Mom would notice. I could only clench my hands into tight fists to stop myself from trembling.

However, I couldn't stop the tears that streamed down my face.

Mom was stunned. She was just about to wipe my tears when I spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Amanda told me that I'm a burden to you. She said that you'll be ridiculed wherever you go because of me."

Mom's hand froze. Instead of wiping my tears, she delivered a hard slap across my face.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Amanda's so mature. She would never say such a thing! You, on the other hand, only know how to cause trouble. You keep giving people chances to ridicule me. You don't understand me at all!"

The sound of the slap had been loud and clear.

My head snapped to the side. My left cheek stung terribly, the burn intertwining with the painful throbbing coming from the back of my head.

There was a loud buzzing in my ears. I couldn't hear anything.

"Ridicule" was the only word that reverberated in my ears.

I dug my nails into my palms. Only the pain could drown out that word for a moment.

Mom was still ranting. Her voice trembled as she exclaimed, "Don't forget that I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into raising you. I limited my spending and saved up just to send you to school. I did that so that the others can't ridicule us. I did all of that for your sake!"

Her words didn't register in my mind.

I couldn't stop shaking. Stress, fear, and the throbbing pain from my hands mixed together, making me long for death.

In the past, my heart ached for her when I found out that she was living such a tough life. I thought that she was having a hard time because of my immaturity.

However, at that moment, I realized that I had been wrong.

Should she be allowed to hurt me in front of so many people just because she claimed that it was for my sake?

Should she be allowed to corner me into a dead end by using the word "ridicule" against me over and over again just because it was supposedly for my sake?

I would rather have nothing at all than be forced to accept her "kindness".