Chapter 3

Aunt Tiffany was gravely injured. Not only did she sustain a mild concussion, but the back of her head even needed several stitches.

I stayed by her bedside all night in the hospital, never sleeping a wink. Meanwhile, Mom, who was responsible for this, slept soundly at home.

She didn't call until Aunt Tiffany woke up. "Oh, Tiff, I'm sorry for last night. I was on my period, so my hormones were running wild. It's my bad. I'll bring a couple of bottles of bourbon over to your place another day as an apology!"

Mom spoke of the matter lightly, which made Aunt Tiffany snort.

Mom immediately snapped back, "What's that supposed to mean, Tiff? Are you really going to hold it against me when you know I wasn't feeling well? We're sisters. You're being way too petty!"

She was always like this.

In my past life, when her gambling buddies beat me to death, Mom defended them in front of the police. "We were just trying to teach him a lesson. That brat kept talking back to me. How is that my fault?"

Now, it mattered even less to her when Aunt Tiffany had only gotten injured.

"Honestly, Tiff, you weren't blameless last night either. I was already worked up. Why did you have to stick your nose into my family's business? How about this, we'll split the cost of the bourbon 50-50. We'll drink it together when you're discharged," Mom said.

Aunt Tiffany laughed out of sheer disbelief. Apparently, half of the 17 stitches in her head were her own fault now.

She said, "Do you even remember what you did last night, Shannon?"

"What did I do? Jason said I accidentally hit you," Mom stammered, playing dumb.

Aunt Tiffany barked, "Forget hitting me! You burned your own son's admission letter last night! Do you understand that you could've destroyed his entire future? What kind of mother does that?"

Her reaction was so intense that it startled the nurse who came in to change her bandages.

However, Mom sounded completely relaxed on the other end of the line. "I've been wanting to burn that stupid admission letter for a long time. University graduates are everywhere these days, and they're useless. So why waste tens of thousands of dollars on it?"

She paused, then burst out laughing. "How was it? I was pretty convincing, right? Even Jason bought it—"

It turned out Mom had done it on purpose.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Shannon?" Aunt Tiffany exploded, nearly throwing her phone across the room.

Mom even sounded smug when she said, "Why are you so mad, Tiff? That kid's worthless. You're the only one in the family who treats him like he matters. He's not even your son. Are you stupid or something?

"If I hadn't been drunk back then, and Jason hadn't insisted, I never would've had Frank in the first place. He's such a burden. By the way, where did that useless trash go—"

Before Mom could finish, Aunt Tiffany caught sight of my pale face and ended the call.

"I'm sorry. I've failed to protect your admission letter, and I couldn't set your mom straight. I'm really sorry!" she said.

Aunt Tiffany was always strong, not even crying when she had to endure a painful night. But now, her voice finally broke.

I patted her shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Aunt Tiffany. I'm used to their antics by now."

Aunt Tiffany was fiercely career-driven when she was younger. As such, she remained unmarried until now.

Out of all my relatives, she was the only one who had ever truly cared about an unwanted child like me.

I wouldn't have been beaten to death by Mom's gambling buddies if she hadn't been overseas on an academic exchange in my past life.

Aunt Tiffany lowered her head, deep in thought. After some time, she asked, "What are you going to do now?"

I smiled and replied, "I'm going to university, of course."

Aunt Tiffany said, "Good! I'll support you and pay for your retaking of senior year in the best school possible. Just stay as far away from your drunkard mom as you can!"

I waved a hand. "I'm not retaking anything, Aunt Tiffany."

Aunt Tiffany immediately pursed her lips. "You're not retaking? That's not an option! Don't lose hope, Frank! I believe in you—"

She watched my smile grow bigger. Under her surprised gaze, I pulled out my perfectly intact admission letter. "I already got into the university I wanted, Aunt Tiffany. There's no need to retake anything."

Aunt Tiffany was stunned. But before she could even start laughing, Mom's call came in again.

This time, Mom sounded panicked. "Where's Frank? Is he with you? Put him on the phone right now! Is he trying to get his own mom killed?"