Chapter 3

With the successful surgery and our parents’ constant care, Toby recovered quickly and was soon discharged.

On Toby’s discharge day, my parents grinned from ear to ear. They fussed over him, adjusted his hat, and smoothed his coat. It was as if they did not want a single thing out of place.

I followed them home. My mind wandered for a moment.

Back then, my parents had insisted that as the elder brother, I should support Toby. They forced me to drain all my savings to buy this house for him. At that time, he had not even graduated from high school.

I was stuck paying for all the renovation costs, plus the mortgage afterward.

I had foolishly agreed. Though I had bought the house myself, I only visited it a few times. I did not even have a key to the place.

Up until my death, I was still living in a cheap rental, which was why my marriage plans with Cayley never panned out.

I could only watch helplessly as they lounged comfortably on the sofa I had bought with my hard-earned money.

Not a single one of them spared even a thought for the person who had paid for everything.

On the table sat a bowl of marionberries, the kind of fruit I could not even afford to glance at twice when passing by a grocery store.

Yet they ate them with relish, as if they were the most common fruit in the world.

I was dazed as I watched them. Were these really the same parents who had constantly complained about poverty and demanded I send home most of my monthly salary?

They told me to spend less, yet they lived the luxurious life I could only dream of, and it was all funded by my hard-earned wages.

My heart sank, and I was completely speechless.

Toby opened his mouth to accept the berry Mom fed him, then asked in mock concern, “When will Wilson be discharged? You don’t think he’ll come here causing trouble, do you? Imagine the neighbors seeing that. It’ll be so embarrassing!”

Dad, who was putting away the clothes, overheard the conversation. He angrily pulled something from his pocket and slammed it onto the table.

He scowled. “What gives him the right to cause trouble here? He kept you waiting on that operating table! We’re being merciful by not holding him accountable! How dare he be angry with us?

“Don’t worry, Toby. When he gets back, I’ll make him get on his knees and apologize to you!

“That good-for-nothing just pretends to be sick for sympathy! Who does he think he’s fooling with all his made-up illnesses?”

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all when I heard them badmouthing me.

Me? Faking illnesses? I had worked overtime frequently just to earn extra money to give them a better life!

All those overtime hours had wrecked my body. I developed chronic neck and back problems. It was all because of them!

In the end, they were not just ungrateful but actually had the nerve to complain about me.

The irony hit hard, and I let out a bitter laugh. So, that was what they thought of me.

After complaining about me for a while longer, dinner was ready.

The sight of the steaming, lavish food on the table made me feel empty inside.

When I was home, I had to do every household chore. Mom and Dad would say they were too old, and Toby did not know how to cook. Naturally, the entire responsibility of the household always fell on me.

It seemed that they were perfectly capable of cooking. They just could not be bothered to cook for me.

Toby had barely sat down when our parents eagerly loaded his plate with food.

Very soon, his empty plate was stacked with a tiny mountain of food.

They kept urging him on. “Toby, eat up! You’ve come out of a big surgery. Your body needs all the nutrition it can get!”

Though his face shone with some guilt, his hands never stopped shoveling food into his mouth. He said hesitantly, “Mom, Dad, you’re buying me such expensive things. Are you sure you can afford it? I know money’s tight.”

A shrewd glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

I could tell he was plotting how to get his hands on our parents’ meager savings again.

Sure enough, Dad set down his spoon and smirked. “Don’t worry about it, son. Just eat. If we need more money, we’ll ask Wilson to pull some extra shifts. It’s not like it’s difficult for him.”

“Besides, we still have his marriage fund with us. It’s worth a few grand! We’ll give it all to you when the time comes!” said Mom.

I was furious when I heard that.

Never in my worst nightmare did I think my own parents would go this far. They would not stop until everything was gone. They wanted to drain me completely!

The moment Toby heard about the money, his face lit up with a fake, sweet smile. “Mom, Dad, I’ve been a little short on cash lately. Do you think you could let me use that money now?”

Mom immediately pulled out her phone and called me. “What’s this nonsense? Of course, you can! Wilson’s money is your money! If you need it, I’ll have him give you his bank card right away. You don’t even need to pay it back!”

Unfortunately, I had been dead for several days, so the calls went unanswered.

She called me repeatedly, but every attempt ended with the same outcome. There was no answer from the other end.

My mother’s face darkened as she shouted at the phone angrily, “You ungrateful trash! How dare you ignore your own mother’s calls? It’s just one lousy kidney! This? After everything we’ve done for you? We brought you into this world! You owe us your life!”

When I did not answer her call, she scrolled through her contacts until she found Cayley’s number.

The moment the call connected, my mother impatiently yelled at her, “Listen here, you trash! Is Wilson hiding at your place? Tell him if he doesn’t answer our calls, his father and I will disown him!”