Chapter 4

Mom asked coldly, "Owen Stewart, are you planning to cast your parents aside now that you're well off?"

I gazed expressionlessly at them, completely unfazed.

After all, I'd long since stopped expecting anything from them.

I replied calmly, "Mom, stop joking. I'm not refusing to acknowledge you two. It's just that I've already given you two a lot of love in the past, so I'm going to focus on loving my own little family now. Don't you always claim that the human heart is too small to be shared among many?"

Mom slammed the table in anger. "How's that the same thing? We're family! As for your wife, I'll be blunt—plenty of people get divorced nowadays. If you turn us away now, you'd better not come crying back to us when she breaks your heart!"

Although I'd been relatively calm up to this point, my anger flared at those words.

"Mom, do you really wish me ill so badly?"

She stammered guiltily, "That's not what I meant."

I looked them in the eyes. This time, I wasn't about to take things lying down.

"Then what did you mean?" I asked again.

Mom instantly grew irritated. "Owen! How dare you interrogate your own parents like this? I'm your mother!"

I couldn't help but sneer. "Parents… What's so incredible about being my parents? How many times have you fulfilled your parental obligations toward me throughout my life? Where were you two when I was sick? And where were you two when I got into an accident?"

Mom's face was flushed with anger. She pointed accusingly at me but couldn't get a word out.

I continued, "When I was in junior high, I came down with a high fever on my birthday. My teacher called you, but you were so busy buying Oliver a birthday gift that you just told her to take me to the school infirmary.

"Fortunately, Ms. Harper was nice enough to ask a colleague to cover for her so she could take me to the hospital. I spent the entire afternoon hooked up to an IV drip in the hospital, and my birthday went completely forgotten.

"When I was in university, you two told me that our family was facing financial difficulties and asked me to figure out my own fees. I was understanding of your situation.

"I took out loans to pay for education and worked part-time over the holidays to cover my living expenses. And yet, you were really only thinking of saving money to fund Oliver's wedding."

My parents' jaws dropped open in shock.

"You… How did you find out about that?"

I looked away, unwilling to look into their hypocritical masks any longer.

"If you want to know the answer, why not ask your dear eldest son?"

Since childhood, I'd always believed wholeheartedly in my parents when they lamented about their financial difficulties in front of me.

At least, until the day Oliver came home drunk during my university days.

He looked at me, pointed a finger at me, and declared, "Idiot. You're so stupid."

Confused, I pressed him for answers, which he casually blurted out in his drunken daze. I didn't sleep a wink that night.

He forgot everything the next day and tentatively asked me if he'd said anything weird last night.

I said no, but in truth, I had been deeply wounded.

In junior high, I yearned for my parents' love. Later on, I only dared hope for a little bit of their care and concern.

Now, I no longer needed anything from them, because I was no longer the young boy whose entire world revolved around his parents and older brother.

I had a small family of my own. Timothy and Tessa were both sensible and well-behaved, and Elena was gentle and considerate.

Most importantly, I was capable of taking good care of myself without relying on anyone.

I'd carried these words with me for a long time, desperate to voice them aloud.

Once I had, I felt more relaxed than ever before.

I looked up at my parents, who were still fuming.

"I'm only informing you right now. This isn't a discussion," I said bluntly.

Mom was so mad that she burst into tears, and Dad raised a hand to hit me.

"You ungrateful wretch! Is that any way to speak to your parents?" he snapped.

I kept my chin up and replied, "It's true that you raised me, so if you want to hit me, go ahead. However, this will be your only chance to do so."