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All Chapters of The Home They Lost: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I hurried downstairs after her, my mother, Evelyn Browning, was sitting beside a flower bed in the residential complex."Mom," I called.She turned around. Her eyes were red, as if she'd just been crying. The moment she saw me, she hurriedly wiped her face with her sleeve."Brooke, what are you doing down here? It's almost dark. It's not safe out here. Hurry back upstairs."As she spoke, she reached into her jacket pocket. She'd worn that jacket for ten years. The collar was frayed, but the jacket itself was spotless.She lowered her head and rummaged around for a long time, muttering as she did. "I should have told you before coming this time. I really should have thought things through."Your mother-in-law and Ethan are city people. They like things clean."She finally pulled a plastic bag from the very bottom of her pocket. It was wrapped in several layers. She carefully peeled them away, one layer at a time. Inside was a roll of cash.Fives, tens, and fifties...The b

Chapter 2

"People from the country are used to living in mud houses. Since when did they become so particular? Isn't that storage room better than the mud houses back home?"Ethan Fitzpatrick straightened up and took his mother's side. "Brooke, that's enough! So what if your mother stayed in the storage room for a few days? What's the big deal?""Would you make your own sister sleep in the storage room?" I shot back."Then what do you want?" Ethan had lost his patience, too. He threw the things in his hands onto the floor. "You want Maddie and her daughter to sleep in the storage room? She's only three years old. How could you live with yourself?"He couldn't bear the thought of Madison and her daughter sleeping in the storage room.But he could bear making my mother, who'd spent seven hours on a bus to visit me, sleep there?Patricia let out an even more contemptuous snort. "Maddie is one of us. It’s only natural for her to stay in her own brother’s home."As for your mother... She's get

Chapter 3

"Brooke, why are you yelling at a little girl?"Madison came over, too, pulling Harper into her arms. Her tone was casual and dismissive. "Come on, Brooke. It's just a photograph. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?"I stared at the family portrait in my hands. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wipe the marks off. My hands trembled with anger. "Just a photograph?"Madison rolled her eyes. "Yeah. It's just a photograph, isn't it?"I stood up, clutching the picture. My voice trembled uncontrollably. "But my dad is already gone. This is the last family portrait we have."The room fell silent for a moment.But only for a moment.Ethan walked over from behind them. He glanced at Harper, who was still wailing, then at the photograph in my hands, and sighed."All right, all right. So what? What’s the point of getting so worked up? Harper didn't do it on purpose."Besides, when you live together as a family, people are bound to bump into each other and make mist

Chapter 4

"What would be the point of telling you? You live in the city. You have so many expenses. I can't do much to help you, but I can't make things harder for you, either.""Mom..."My mother cut me off. "I'm really fine. Look, the station has lights, and security guards patrol the place. It's perfectly safe. It's even more spacious than home."I looked at her.She didn't mention being cold or hungry, or that she'd spent an entire day traveling, then waited for half the night on a hard bench.Instead, she said the station was spacious and safe. That was how my mother had lived her entire life.She endured ten parts hardship but spoke of less than one.The other nine parts, she swallowed them all.We had been poor when I was little, and my father had died when I was young. She raised me all on her own.During the busy farming seasons, she worked in the fields. During the off-season, she went to town to find odd jobs.Yet she never let me wear dirty clothes or go a single meal witho

Chapter 5

Early the next morning, I took my mother to the bus and saw her off on her way home.Even as she was leaving, she kept reminding me, "Brooke, don't argue with Ethan. Just live your life peacefully."I smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Mom. I know what I'm doing."Only after the bus pulled away did I let my smile fade. I turned around, hailed a cab, and headed to the real estate agency.The agent, a sharp, middle-aged woman named Wendy Foster, had connected with me some time ago.I slapped the property deed down on her desk. "Wendy, I want to list the house under my name for sale."Wendy flipped through the deed, and her eyes lit up. "This one? It's in a great location, and the school district is excellent. It's worth at least $2.2 million at today's market price.""I only want $2 million, but there's one condition. Someone has to view the house within three days. The sooner it sells, the better."Wendy paused in surprise. "You're in that much of a hurry?""Yes."She could tell

Chapter 6

I suddenly laughed.Ethan stared at me in confusion. "What's so funny?""Nothing." I stood up and brushed off my clothes. "Fine. I'll apologize."Ethan's expression relaxed a little. "That's more like it. We're family. There's nothing we can't work out, right?"Family?I walked out of the bedroom. Patricia was sitting on the couch, peeling an orange. When she saw me, she snorted and turned her face away.I walked over and stood in front of her. "Patricia, I'm sorry." The words felt as awful as swallowing a fly.Patricia didn't even look up. "Hmph. So you finally admit you were wrong?""Yes." I continued, "I shouldn't have gotten angry when you drove my mother away. I shouldn't have been upset when your granddaughter ruined my family photograph. And I especially shouldn't have made you think I was being dramatic."Patricia paused mid-peel, apparently not expecting me to say that.Madison snickered from the side. "Brooke, why does your apology sound so passive-aggressive?""

Chapter 7

I stood up and stepped closer to him. "When you made my mother sleep in the storage room, did you ever stop to think that she was family, too?"Ethan was at a loss for words. His face flushed red, then turned pale.Patricia stormed out of the kitchen and stepped in front of Ethan."Stop making trouble for no reason! Your mother is a country bumpkin. What's wrong with letting her stay in the storage room? Our family is already doing her a favor by letting her stay here!""Your family?" I sneered. "Who paid for this house? Did you contribute a single dollar?"Patricia's face turned a deep, mottled crimson. "You... you! How dare you talk to me like that? Ethan married you, so what's yours is his! This is marital property!""Then you'd better ask the law whether it agrees with you."I couldn't be bothered to argue with her any longer. I turned, went into the bedroom, and locked the door.Outside, I could hear Patricia screaming hysterically and smashing things.I put on my headpho

Chapter 8

I was going home to spend Thanksgiving with my mother.By the time I arrived in my hometown, the sky was already growing dark.As I opened the gate to the yard, the sweet aroma of apples greeted me.My mother was sitting beneath the apple tree in the yard, preparing to bake a pie. A bowl of sliced apples, a bowl of flour, and a little stool sat beside her.When she saw me, the dough in her hands slipped and fell into the bowl with a splash."Brooke? What are you doing back?" She stood up and wiped her hands on her apron. "Didn't you say you had to work overtime?"I walked over, plopped down on the little stool beside her, and picked up a piece of dough. "I lied. I don't have to work overtime. I'm back to spend Thanksgiving with you."My mother looked at me, and her eyes suddenly reddened. "What about Ethan?""Mom." I interrupted her and looked straight into her eyes. "Ethan and I can't go on like this anymore."She froze.I told her everything from beginning to end—selling th

Chapter 9

"And one more thing..." I took the divorce papers I'd prepared earlier out of my bag and handed them to him."Sign them. Let's end this marriage peacefully and go our separate ways."Ethan took the papers, his hands trembling. His face was as white as a sheet. He stared at them for a long time before finally looking up at me, his eyes bloodshot."Brooke, how can you be so heartless?"I said nothing."Do you really have no regard for the years we've spent together as husband and wife?""Regard for our marriage?" I laughed, my smile cold. "When you made my mother sleep in the storage room, did you care about our marriage? When you threw the apple pie she'd brought me into the trash, did you care? When you found her at the bus station, curled up in a corner just to save $80, did you care about our marriage then?"Ethan was left speechless."Sign the papers," I said one last time. "Don't make me lose what little respect I have left for you."The divorce process went faster than I'

Chapter 10

Patricia was deeply unhappy with her new daughter-in-law and posted passive-aggressive remarks on social media every few days.I read them and smiled.Some people's lives seemed destined to turn out a certain way.Ethan would never learn to respect others, and Patricia would never learn to keep her mouth shut. Their lives would only grow more miserable.As for me, it was only after leaving that pit of misery that I finally learned to live for myself.One day, I ran into Madison at the supermarket. She was pushing a shopping cart, alone in the spice aisle, picking through the products. Harper wasn't with her.When she saw me, she froze, then gave me an awkward smile. "Hi, Brooke."I nodded in greeting and started pushing my cart away."Brooke." She suddenly called after me.I turned around.She hesitated before speaking. "I'm sorry. What happened back then was my fault. My mom and Ethan... The way they treated you, I should have stood up and said something. I should have told

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