Chapter 7%
Back then, our family was poor.”
I dropped out of school early and started working to help support the family. She was three years younger than me and I didn’t want her to follow the same path I had. Over and over again, I told her to focus on her studies and make something of herself.
Yet, she just mocked me, calling me a clueless working girl who had no right to lecture her.”
Eventually, she became fixated on studying art, wanting to pursue a career in fine arts. The family couldn’t afford it, so she turned to me. When she needed something, she acted all fragile and helpless.
After I supported her for three years, she started to achieve some success. That’s when her true nature began to show.
At a family gathering during the holidays, when relatives praised her for being so accomplished at a young age, she looked over at me with a smirk.
“I’m doing well now, but I worry about my sister. She never went to school, has no education and doesn’t know anything. I honestly don’t know how she’ll manage in the future.“}
Her words were followed by sympathetic glances from everyone in the room, all of them looking at me with pity.
“But don’t worry, sis,” she added, “if things don’t go well for you, I won’t abandon you. After all, we’re sisters.”
I, the always quiet one, didn’t understand how, in just a few sentences, she managed to make herself seem so virtuous and kind–hearted.
was always me giving everything for her. But in her words, it was always:/
“My sister’s so clueless. If she messes up somewhere, please be patient with her.“}
This time, I wasn’t going to swallow my anger anymore.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m too busy to feed your cat. You should find someone else–someone more delicate and gentle.”
Bruno quickly shot back, “What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.”
A cold, mocking laugh followed–Nelly’s voice. “So, what’s going on, sis? Got some new project keeping you so busy that you can’t even help me feed my cat?“!
“Let me guess… Are you mad at me? Is this because I didn’t bring you along on the trip? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Bruno jumped in, quickly adding, “Michelle, here we go again. You’ve got all day to do nothing and still, you won’t help Nelly with something as small as feeding her cat? She’s your own sister! Can’t you stop being so selfish?”
“I’ve already explained this to you,” I replied, unable to hold back a laugh. “There were only five tickets. Do you want to risk missing this opportunity for Hans, our son and the rest of the family? I couldn’t take you because it was impossible and yet, you can’t understand that?”
I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. “So, you’re saying the five of you needs to be prioritized and I’m the one who’s supposed to be left behind, right?”
There was silence for a moment on the other end, before Nelly spoke up again.
“You see? I knew it. My sister’s throwing a tantrum because of this.”
! replied calmly, “I’m not throwing a tantrum. I do have things to take care of.”
“I just moved into a new place and need some time to relax. It’s my first time going abroad, so I have a lot of preparations to make. That’s why I won’t be able to feed your cat.”
Before they could respond, I hung up the phone, blocked the number and deleted everything. No hesitation.
From that moment on, I decided I wouldn’t waste another second on people who didn’t matter. I couldn’t wait any longer. I changed my flight to the earliest one available.
Even as I boarded the plane, I still felt a little dazed. It all seemed so unreal.
Had the distant future I’d waited for all my life really been this easy to grasp?>
The sea of clouds stretched endlessly before me and I couldn’t hold back the tears as they fell.
It wasn’t until middle age that I finally realized… the more you give, the less your value.
Even though my family was right there, it was a stranger who took me to the hospital when I passed out.!!
This “family, I should’ve stopped hoping for a long time ago.
As I landed, I joined a tour group–mostly young people.
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