Chapter 2

After getting ready, I went to the company, only to find the entrance packed with banners and ominous standing sprays. Unsurprisingly, when my boss, Mr. Cliff Murray, saw me, he looked displeased.

I cut him off before he could speak. "Don't worry, Mr. Murray. Give me one week. If I don't fix this by then, I'll resign."

"Then you'd better keep your word, Diana. This matter is having a massive impact on the company. Everyone's talking about it. Since you've already been promoted and are getting paid a decent salary, you should just give your mother 500 dollars a month and save everyone the headache."

"Rest assured, Mr. Murray. I will resolve this matter. And thanks for your trust in me."

Keeping my cool, I turned around and walked away. As soon as I walked into the break room, I could hear my colleagues gossiping about me.

"So what if Diana's sales numbers are good? She won't even support her own mother. What will our clients think if they hear about this?"

"My phone's been blowing up all morning. Clients keep asking if our Diana is the same one everyone's talking about online. I couldn't even bring myself to tell them!"

"She really fooled me. She looks decent enough and spends a lot of money without a second thought, but she can't even spare 500 dollars for her own mom? It makes me wonder how she turned out like this."

With a slight smile, I appeared right behind them. "You want to know how I turned out like this? I can tell you."

They nearly jumped out of their skin. When they saw it was me, they looked extremely awkward and scurried away without a backward glance.

While they were fleeing, they muttered something about how I was sick in the head. Yeah, I was sick—very sick to be precise. But I was now cured.

Anyone who wanted to guilt-trip me was going to get the cold shoulder, especially if that person was my mother.

It was a good thing I had already moved away ages ago. Otherwise, I would have had a hard time standing my ground.

The gossip in the office was unbearable, so I asked Mr. Murray for a week off. The moment I went downstairs, I saw Mom waiting with a mob, blocking the entrance.

"How heartless can you be, Diana? Why are you treating me like this? When you were just a baby, I even had to borrow money to make you baby formula because I couldn't produce milk.

"All I'm asking for is 500 dollars. With how much you're being paid now, you can't just abandon me!"

As I watched her sob uncontrollably, a famous influencer, Christy Burch, stormed over to me.

"Diana, you are a disgrace to women everywhere! As a fellow woman, I can just tell that you're unmarried. That's exactly why you don't know how painful it is to give birth and raise a child!"

"Stop trying to guilt-trip me. It's an adult's responsibility to raise their child if they decide to have one. I'd advise anyone who isn't ready not to pop them out randomly. Women shouldn't treat themselves like a walking uterus! She's the perfect example of one!"

My criticism made Christy furious. "Diana, do you mind if we follow you around? I'd like to see how you spend your money in a day!"

Ignoring her, I hopped into my car and sped off. The comments section went wild immediately.

"Look at that luxury car she's driving! That car costs a total of 800 thousand dollars!"

"What does she make in a year? 800 thousand dollars is a lot!"

"This company is listed on the stock market. I heard she just got promoted to executive director, so it's possible that she's making over a million dollars."

"If she can drop 800 thousand dollars like it's nothing and is living in a nice place, why is she so stingy?"

Stingy? I had money and was generous to everyone. Just not to Mom.

I went on a shopping spree, making a show of splurging. After dropping tens of thousands of dollars on bags without a second thought, I dined at a place where it cost more than a thousand dollars a meal as if it were nothing.

On the flip side, Mom was living a miserable life. Christy made a split-screen comparison. On one side, I was walking into luxury stores, spending money like it was water. On the other side, Mom was digging through trash cans by the street.