Chapter 5

I thought I had gone numb a long time ago and wouldn't get hurt by them anymore.

My parents' faces softened a little.

However, I didn't want to hear anything they had to say.

"So Joan wants the overseas assignment? I can give it to her."

Joan looked at me with excitement, and my parents nodded over and over again.

"I don't want anything anymore. I'll give her everything, including you two."

Dad looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

I took out a bank card and held it out to them.

"There's about 200 thousand dollars in this card. It's everything I've saved over the years. Since college, I haven't taken a single dollar from you. Is this enough to repay you for raising me for 18 years?"

Seeing the confusion on their faces, I made myself even clearer.

"The assignment and this money in exchange for a clean break. What do you say?"

Mom's face turned panicked. "Cynthia, how can you say something like that? You're my daughter. How can you be so heartless…"

I didn't feel like going back and forth with them. "Then I'll take the assignment back."

My parents fell silent right away. They looked at each other, and in the end, one of them spoke hesitantly.

"Then you have to promise you'll give it to Joan."

I almost laughed out loud.

These were the parents who kept saying I was their real daughter. My own parents, once again, chose Joan over me.

I told my supervisor that I wanted to give my overseas position to Joan. She trusted me and agreed.

At the same time, I handed in my resignation letter. When she learned I was going to join Doctors Without Borders, she sighed.

"Doctors Without Borders is dangerous work. If you go…"

I shook my head. I had no ties left in this world. I might as well give myself to something that mattered.

For the first time ever, Ned came to the hospital to see me. He dragged me into the stairwell, his eyes full of frustration.

"Do you really not love me anymore?"

I shook him off. I almost found it funny.

"Ned, I think I've made myself very clear. Since you have feelings for Joan, I'm letting you be with her. You're Joan's fiancé now. Don't cling to me like this."

He kept pressing closer. "I don't believe you can just move on from me so soon!"

The stairwell door creaked open. Joan stood there staring at us, then turned and ran.

Ned let go of me and rushed after her.

Not long after, my parents called me, their words coming fast and heavy on my ears.

"Cynthia, didn't you say you'd give everything to Joan? Why are you still breaking her heart? She almost got hit by a car!"

They wouldn't listen to my explanation, so I didn't want to waste time trying to explain.

Back in my senior year of high school, someone accused me of stealing. The teacher called my parents in, and they wouldn't listen to me either. They even tried to disown me on the spot.

That was when I knew explaining was pointless. Once they decided I was wrong, everything I did would always be wrong.

After a while, Mom called again to apologize. Maybe Ned said something to them.

"Cynthia, we know there's nothing between you and Ned anymore. It was wrong of us to blame you."

I only responded with a faint hum.

Then she added, "Joan and Ned are getting married soon. Come back and help Joan plan the wedding."

"No. I won't be involved in your family's business anymore."

I hung up the phone and booked a flight for the next day.