Chapter 3

I could keep sending Julian and Stella 5,000 dollars every month. I could still come home for dinner every weekend. I could even save most of my income and buy the mansion they wanted, while continuing to help Iris with her expenses.

But this time, I didn't want to pretend they loved me anymore.

I waved my hand. "I'm unemployed now. How could I still have money to give you?"

Iris suddenly poked her head out of her room. "What? You're unemployed?"

I held out my hand. "Yes. I'm broke now, so please give me back the 3,000 dollars I transferred to you at the beginning of the month."

She immediately mumbled, "I already spent it all."

I let out a cold laugh. "You don't need to pay rent anymore now that you're not working. Why did you spend the money I gave you for rent?"

Julian's face grew darker. "You should be looking for a new job right now. Why are you making things difficult for Iris?"

Iris glanced at Julian and Stella before turning back to me.

She smiled and tilted her head. "Lydia, didn't you get severance pay when you were fired? Your position was so high. You should have gotten more than 100,000 dollars, right?"

Stella slapped her thigh and stood up. "That's perfect! Iris is still a little short on money to finish furnishing her apartment. Why don't you lend her some first?"

Lend?

They should have just told me to give Iris the money.

They'd been doing this ever since I was little.

Whether it was a pen given to me by a classmate, a scholarship from school, or a dress I'd bought with my own money, anything Iris liked would be "borrowed." And once she had it, it became hers forever.

If I showed even the slightest reluctance, they'd call me stingy.

I hadn't even said anything yet when Julian spoke up, "Once Iris has this money, she won't need to take out a loan. As her older sister, you should be more generous."

Iris smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Lydia, you lost your job at the perfect time. I felt bad about asking Dad and Mom to help pay off my renovation loan. Luckily, I have such a good sister."

As she spoke, she walked toward me and reached for my hand.

I stepped back and avoided her. "No."

I looked around the room and spoke in a cold voice. "I didn't receive any severance pay, so I don't have money to give you."

As soon as I finished speaking, I pulled out my phone and opened my bank account. "Take a good look. Not a single penny was deposited."

While they were still frozen in shock, I walked straight toward my room. "I can't afford to rent my apartment anymore, so I'll be living here from today onward."

I shut the door behind me.

Iris cried out in shock from outside, while Julian and Stella angrily cursed at me.

Once inside, I looked at the piles of junk filling the room.

I'd lived at home during my senior-year internship because it was closer to the company.

But Iris would sometimes act sweet and complain to Stella. "Mommy, I have too many clothes. There's no room left in my bedroom. What am I supposed to do?"

Stella would laugh, put an arm around her, and look at me. "Since you've started working, why don't you move out? It'll be good practice for learning how to take care of yourself."

From then on, my bedroom became Iris's storage room.

Even when I came home for Christmas Eve dinner, I had to return to my rental apartment alone afterward.

I cleared the things off my bed and managed to get some sleep.

The next morning, I was washing up when Iris walked up behind me with a dark look on her face. "Lydia, how could you use my face cream? That stuff is expensive!"

I smiled. "Is it really worth 3,000 dollars?"

Besides, the rent money I'd given her was already more than 3,000 dollars.

During her years in college, she often asked me for spending money.

She'd bought fruit that cost more than 100 dollars, shoes that cost over 800 dollars, a tablet that cost more than 5,000 dollars, and a computer that cost over 10,000 dollars.

All those expenses had piled up until they felt like the dull ache in my heart, pressing so hard that I could barely breathe.

Julian and Stella heard us and came into the living room with dark faces.

"Lydia, don't push it! Why do you have to cause trouble the moment you come home? How can you treat Iris like this?"

I shrugged like I didn't care. Then I walked to the door and pulled a ten-dollar bill from Stella's wallet.