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After I said this, Colton’s face looked extremely bad.
Before he could say anything, my dad stood up from the sofa and scolded me harshly, “Alina! How dare you speak like that!”
I ignored his loud scolding and said calmly,
“I’ll ask one more time, are none of the three houses available for me to live in?”
“Yes!”
It was Mom who answered.
I nodded, looking at each of them.
“So, you’re saying you want to cut ties with me, right?”
They remained silent. I spoke in a low voice, “Alright then, if that’s the case, let’s sever ties today. From now on, I, Alina Weinberg, have no parents, no family.”
Dragging my suitcase, I left the house.
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I booked a hotel and settled in for the
night.
Then, I called my lawyer friend to ask if I could reclaim the three houses I bought outright, even though they were under different names.
She asked if there was any gift agreement, even a verbal one.
I said that I had mentioned that one house was for my parents to live in during their retirement, but that was it.
The lawyer said that this one might be tough to reclaim completely.
I asked if changing the names to mine
would solve the issue.
She said that reclaiming ownership wouldn’t be a problem.
I explained my situation and hired her as my lawyer to get back all three properties.
After hanging up, I felt a void in my heart, like a piece had been carved out.
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Since high school, I had worked part–time jobs, and after graduating from college and staying in Boston, I scrimped and saved to buy those three houses.
They drained all my savings.
My original plan was to have one house for my parents‘ retirement, one for myself when I moved back, and the other to rent out for some income, so I could eventually retire comfortably.
But for my parents, taking one wasn’t enough. Even if they had given the house meant for them to Colton, I wouldn’t have been so angry.
They wanted to take all three and kick me out just because I lost my job.
I checked my bank account, staring at the
balance.
I laughed through my tears.
So what? I still had money, which was enough for me to live comfortably for the
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rest of my life.
I washed my face, had dinner, and went to sleep.
The next morning, I headed to the sales office of the most expensive villa community in town, Golden Bay Villas.
I bought a fully furnished one for over seven million dollars.
I moved in with my luggage and hired a housekeeper to cook and clean every day.
I lived peacefully for half a month.
Then, I received a call from Mom. As soon as I answered, she started yelling.
“Alina, are you out of your mind? How dare you sue us!”
I chuckled.
“Ms. Lewis, who are you? I’m suing Colton for squatting in the three houses I bought with my own money.”
“Alina, you’ve got some nerve. A family
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dispute and you want to take it to court? Fine, I’ll sue you for being an ungrateful daughter!
“Do you really think a few words about severing ties can end our relationship? Your brother said that according to the new laws, you‘ re obliged to support us as long as you‘ re alive.”
“Fine, go ahead and sue. Whatever the court decides, I’ll pay.
“I heard that a few hundred dollars a
month is sufficient. I can afford that.”
“Oh, and I also heard that material support is allowed. I could buy you five hundred dollars‘ worth of sanitary pads. The law allows that. So go ahead, sue me!”
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