Chapter 3

Emma gave up communicating with Barbara because communication was futile. "Fine, Mom, if you don't give me the household registration documents, I'll come back with Asher. I'll live off you, and everyone will know you have a shameless daughter and a grandson out of wedlock."

"You..." Barbara was infuriated, trembling with rage. Through gritted teeth, she spoke, "You truly are a good daughter. I must have owed you in my past life, and now I'm repaying that debt!"

While berating Emma, she went inside to fetch the household registration documents. "Back when you registered Asher, you admitted you were wrong,” Barbara said. "Now that you don't need us, you turn your back on family.

“You're quite something!" Barbara said as she forcefully slammed the household registration documents on Emma. "There you go again! Just because we're your parents and treat you well, you act recklessly!"

Emma crouched down to pick up the household registration documents that had fallen on the ground, trembling with anger. "Treat me well? Have you treated me well?

“When I wanted to report my troubles to the police, you said it would be shameful. And you even threatened me with death to stop me from reporting it to the police!

“I compromised," Emma said.

"When I was pregnant and couldn't have an abortion, I wanted Asher to be registered in our family. You disagreed. No matter how I pleaded, you stubbornly refused to agree to register Asher, making my life unbearable." Emma was now both aggrieved and angry. "Did you know that I almost died?" she choked.

"I was standing in the river, and Asher kept clutching at my clothes."

She had looked at Asher's small face and, in the end, could not go through with it.

If she had not come back from the river at the last moment, she would have been dead for four years!

"Are you dead? Are you dead?" Barbara angrily waved her hand. "Just die already! Coming back all wet, pretending to be pitiful, threatening us. Giving birth to a thing like you is our misfortune!

"You’ve got some nerve. Back then, you shouldn't have admitted your mistake! Die already!" Barbara had long seen through her. Emma was relying on their soft-heartedness as parents.

"Using death to scare us, you're really something!"

Emma laughed despite her anger. "That's right, I didn't die. For my child, I can admit my mistake to you. It's all my fault! My biggest mistake was being born to you!"

"You damned thing!" Barbara cursed loudly, reaching out to slap Emma.

Emma stepped back, holding the household registration documents, and opened the anti-theft door. "Come on, curse me. Let the neighbors hear and see if you're ashamed!"

The proud Barbara immediately shut her mouth, glaring at Emma with fury in her eyes.

Emma shook the household registration documents in her hand, "Rest assured, once this is done, you won't have to see your troublesome daughter again!"

With that, she turned and left.

Home was supposed to be where the heart was, but from when she was a child, all she felt was endless blame and humiliation. No matter what she did, it was always wrong.

She tried her best to please her parents and to be the child they had hoped for, but she realized that no matter what she did, they were never satisfied. When her heart had been wounded deeply, she gave up completely. She stopped trying to warm her parent’s cold heart and renounced the affection she could not receive.

She believed she could have a good life with her child. Emma sat on the bus, staring blankly out the window, tears streaming down her face. She knew people on the bus were watching her, but she could not control her tears.

It was not until the bus reached the station that she got off, looking at the nearby civil registry. Only then did she wipe away her tears. She sniffled and then walked briskly towards the building.