Chapter 2

Julia noticed my gaze and hurriedly rummaged through the bottom of the shoe cabinet, pulling out a pair of disposable indoor slippers and handing them to me instead.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Peterson. I seemed to have been wearing the wrong pair by mistake. Why don't you put these on for now?"

I looked at the flimsy disposable slippers and then at my thick cotton slippers on Julia's feet. A strange feeling rose in my chest, but I still didn't say anything and just silently changed into the disposable ones.

After dinner, I was just about to sit on the couch and rest to ease my fatigue from travelling for hours when Dad pointed to the table and said, "Go wash the dishes."

I froze on the spot and instinctively replied, "Don't we have a caretaker for that?"

Mom frowned at once and set down her glass. Her face darkened as she looked at me. "Julia has been working hard, taking care of us, doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and more.

"She's exhausted from working all day long. She should rest now that you're back. What's the matter with you doing the dishes instead?"

"I'm tired from work too," I said, looking at them, completely bewildered. "I work overtime every day. I finally get a few days off and want to relax at home, and you're telling me to do housework instead?

"Also, I paid a lot of money to hire her. Isn't this part of her job? Why should I pay her if I'm going to be doing the housework myself?"

Julia just stood to the side with her head down, looking terribly aggrieved.

Dad slammed his hand on the table, his face darkening. He yelled at me angrily and said, "Money, money, money! That's all you care about! What else do you see besides money? You've literally abandoned your parents just for the sake of money!

"You won't even come home to visit us regularly or during the holidays. And now that you're finally home, all you talk about is money! Why don't you just live for your money and your job, then? Why even bother coming back at all?"

Mom sighed next to me, her eyes filled with disappointment. "He's right. You rarely ever come home after you started working in Berrington. We only see each other less than a handful of times a year. But Julia has always been taking care of us in every way.

"Sometimes, when we have a fever or a headache, Julia is the one busying herself to care for us, bringing us water, meds, and taking such good care of us.

"But what about you? As our daughter, have you ever treated us like your parents? Have you ever cared about us?"

When she finished, Julia went up to Mom and reached out to take her hand, comforting her softly.

"Please don't get mad, Mrs. Peterson. Ms. Peterson is working in a high managerial role now, so it's natural that she's always busy with work. It's not that she doesn't want to come home."

I was so angry hearing this from them that I almost laughed.

How could they say that I didn't care about them? I would always wire them 5,000 dollars every month, without fail, for their living expenses. And I was worried that they wouldn't bear to spend the money, so I hired a live-in caretaker and paid her a hefty sum to take care of their daily needs.

I worked myself to the bone, all alone in a foreign city, just so that they could live comfortably at home! And yet, they said that I wasn't behaving like their daughter, claiming instead that the live-in caretaker cared more about them than I did!

I clenched my fists and suppressed my anger.

"Don't you think that's unfair, Mom and Dad? You say I don't care about you and only talk about money all the time?

"I used to come home often in the past, whenever I had free time, but you said that I was wasting money, and that I was acting like a child who never grew up. You told me not to come home that often. I listened to you.

"But I still called and Facetimed you often, didn't I? I was never late wiring you the money for your living expenses, was I? And I was the one who hired Julia at a high pay to take care of you. Doesn't any of that count as caring?"

Dad's face darkened at once.

"But you didn't even come home for the holidays last year. That's unacceptable! You weren't here for Thanksgiving either and missed the family gathering. What's the point of sending us money? Your mom and I have enough retirement savings. We don't need your money!"