Rebirth: I'll Ruin My Martyr Mother

In everyone else's eyes, my mother, Olivia Taylor, was a selfless, devoted teacher.

Only I knew just how hypocritical she truly was.

There, in her office, she took my completed financial aid form, dropped it into the trash, and calmly pulled out a blank sheet instead.

I looked down at that thin piece of paper.

It was a form titled "Voluntary Withdrawal of Financial Aid Application."

"Financial aid won't make much of a difference for you," she told me. "There are other students in our class who need the money far more. I hope you'll support your classmates and give up this opportunity."

These were the very same words she had used in my previous life.

At that time, I was simply overjoyed just to have her back in my life. I lived in constant fear that I wasn't doing enough, and I was terrified she would abandon me all over again.

When she asked, I agreed to withdraw without the slightest hesitation.

She clung so tightly to her identity as a teacher that she conveniently pushed aside her identity as a mother.

For over a decade, she had been completely absent from my life, offering no financial support whatsoever.

Biting back the bitter irony, I ignored the other teachers' stunned faces, crouched down, and picked my financial aid application from the garbage.

Mom's demeanor changed in a flash. She slapped the withdrawal form onto the tabletop.

"Anne Winsor! Are you really refusing to do as I say now?"

I squeezed out a few tears.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Taylor, but I need this financial aid money just as much as anyone else."

Mom let out a scornful laugh.

"Don't play innocent with me. I know perfectly well that you come from a wealthy family. You've been spoiled your whole life. This paltry sum probably isn't even enough to buy you a single pair of shoes..."

She glanced down at my shoes smugly, but the very next second, she clamped a hand over her mouth in astonishment.

I was wearing a pair of battered canvas sneakers, with soles that were already peeling away at the edges.

One of the other teachers, who had clearly had enough of Mom's mockery, finally chimed in.

"Ms. Taylor, we've all seen Anne's circumstances these past few years. She's never struck any of us as a spoiled child. Who's been feeding you those ridiculous rumors?"

Mom awkwardly turned her face away.

She knew the truth all too well.

When she walked out on Dad and me without so much as a second look, eloping with Mark Romero, that wealthy heir she insisted was her soulmate, I was still the little girl everyone in the family doted on.

And she didn't stop there.

She had absolutely no regard for the marriage she had with Dad.

Prior to her disappearance, she embezzled a substantial fortune from the company in Dad's name. Not long after, the company filed charges against him, and he ended up in jail.

That was why I hated her.

I took a deep breath and met her gaze head-on.

"When you walked out on Dad, didn't you steal a fortune from his company and run away with your rich boyfriend?"

I brushed off the deadly glare she threw my way and continued, "Mom, do you honestly not know what my life has become?"