Chapter 1

The voices of my grandmother, Gabriella Lorne, and my cousin, Ashton Saldano, faded into the distance.

Mom and Dad passed away in an accident when I was in elementary school.

My uncle, Daniel Saldano, and the rest of his family dislike me. Grandma was the only one who ever smiled at me kindly.

Of course, that was before Grandma became sick.

My entire life turned upside down ever since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease seven years ago.

To take care of her, I resigned from my high-paying job as a supervisor in a foreign company. I woke up at the crack of dawn every day to prepare soup for her. I also gave her massages in the afternoon and washed her soiled clothes at night.

If Grandma felt even slightly displeased, she would scratch and bite me. Sometimes, she used her cane to beat me until I was black and blue.

My fiancee, whom I had been with for three years, ended up breaking off our engagement because she couldn't stand how the Saldanos were like a black hole that only knew how to take.

I sat on the balcony and smoked for the entire night on the day she broke off the engagement.

Drool leaked from the corners of Grandma's lips as she shot a goofy smile at me from where she was seated in her wheelchair.

I had suppressed my bitter emotions at the time, comforting myself by telling myself that Grandma didn't understand what was going on because she was sick.

I believed that I was the only one left in the world who she could rely on—I believed that I was fulfilling the responsibilities of my deceased parents.

But it turned out that everything had been a farce from the very beginning.

My chest heaved from my heightened emotions. Seconds before I lost consciousness, I heard the shrill beeping of an alarm.

…

The doctors managed to revive me.

There was a complicated look in the nurse's eyes when she spoke to me. I could also pick out a faint hint of sympathy in her gaze when she informed me that the Saldanos didn't pay a single cent of my medical bills. They had even confiscated my phone and bank cards.

Fortunately, the hospital had a charity fund, which the staff members utilized to temporarily pay my medical bills.

It took two months of rest before I could get up from the bed and move around with someone's help.

None of the Saldanos visited me during these two months.

I had also gradually lost contact with my former friends because I was always too busy looking after Grandma in the past few years.

I truly felt alone and helpless.

…

My left arm was in a thick cast when I was discharged from the hospital.

I hobbled home and was greeted with the delicious scent of meat and seafood when I pushed the door open.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

For the past seven years, I refrained from eating meat because I wanted to save as much money as I could to pay Grandma's medical and nutrition bills. I only ate bread or cookies every day. I had never had such a grand feast.

"The braised ribs are delicious, Mom! Serve some to your grandmother, Ash."

"Eat more, Grandma. The crabs arrived this morning. They're very fresh!"

Grandma, who was supposed to be suffering from dementia, sat steadily at the head of the dining table. She was holding a juicy crab leg, and her lips were covered in grease.

Uncle Daniel peeled crab for her while my aunt, Molly Franklin, piled the crab meat on her plate. Meanwhile, Ashton was scrolling through his phone while chewing on a braised rib.

The Saldanos were the very picture of harmony as they sat around the dining table.

It was such an insulting sight.

The bag of medicine that I was holding slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

The laughter that was coming from the dining table immediately died out.

The four of them turned their heads toward the noise in unison. They looked as if they had seen a ghost when they saw me standing at the door.