chapter 8
“Luck was on my side. I bought a lottery ticket and won,
“The real reason I quit my job and returned to my hometown was to use the money to live a better life with my family. But they despised me because I was unemployed.”
After these words came out, the comments section exploded with exclamations of surprise and disbelief.
People were posting things like “Wow!” and “So satisfying!”
They said that this was karma in action.
After my response, a flurry of condemnation emerged in the family group chat.
My aunt criticized: [Alina, what you did was really too much. Winning the lottery and then scheming to throw your parents
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away? A young girl with such a calculating mind is really undesirable.]
I responded in the group: [You‘ re the one without a scheming mind. You borrowed 100 thousand dollars from me years ago. Please return it as soon as possible. If you‘ re so kind, why don’t you buy three houses for your brother? Why haven’t you done that?
[I bought those three houses. Now, I can’t even have a single room in them. What do you take me for?]
Colton questioned me in the group: [How come you can’t have even a single room?]
I posted the audio recording in the chat.
[Everyone, technically, I’ve cut ties with them, which means I’m no longer family to any of you either. I’m leaving this group now. By the way, those who owe me money, please gather the amount and return it within a month, or I’ll still go through legal channels.
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chaptor B
[Everything I gave out, I’ll reclaim down
to the last cent.
If anyone wants to defend those four, then kindly take them in. Return my house to me, and I’ll withdraw the lawsuit.]
After that outburst, I exited the group.
Emily and I were still on our trip, and we decided to visit Hawaii next.
Someone must have advised my mother because she actually went to court to sue me for alimony.
However, it was laughable because she wasn‘ t old enough to claim support yet.
The court dismissed her case.
On the other hand, the verdict on my lawsuit to reclaim the houses came through.
All three properties were ordered to be
returned to me, and the transfer had to be completed within a month.
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When Colton stalled the transfer, I
arranged for people to show up at his
workplace daily, threatening to ruin his job if he didn’t comply.
Eventually, my parents, without telling Colton and Marcela, came to the villa community to see me.
The security guards wouldn‘ t let them in, so they sat at the gate.
The property manager, concerned about the image of the community, messaged me.
I went out to meet them.
My parents‘ faces were grim. My mother, used to scolding me, opened her mouth to start again, but my father stopped her.
He looked at me and asked, “Alina, we’re at your doorstep now. Won’t you invite your parents in?”
I sneered, finding it quite ironic.
“There’s no need for that. Just like there’s no place for me in your house,
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this is my own home, and there’s no place for you here either.”
My dad fell silent.
My mother, gritting her teeth, asked,
“Isn’t it just that you don’t want your brother to live well?”
I was puzzled.
“What do you mean by letting him live well? Do you expect me to support him for life?
“After all these years, haven’t I done
enough? What more do you want from me
for him to live well?”
My voice was sharp, and my mother recoiled slightly.
“If you care about him so much, find yourself a job. You should work hard to
support your precious son. Don’t come to me; you make me sick.”
“Alina, we gave birth to you and raised you. How have we wronged you?”
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“Gave birth to me? Gave birth to me just to serve Colton. I was born to be his maid. Raised me? After high school, I paid for my own education. You don’t remember that? I wore Colton‘ s old clothes, got mocked by classmates, and cried to you, but you don’t remember that.
