Chapter 4

My mind went numb. The scene from back the mothern played over and over in my head, and all at once I had no strength left to argue.

I slowly lifted my hand to my burning cheek. My fingertip came away with a smear of something warm and wet. Blood. The slap must have made me bite through the inside of my lip. I looked at my mother-in-law wailing in front of me, at my husband shrinking off to the side, too afraid to say a word, and at my younger brother-in-law hiding behind her, watching me with that smug little gleam in his eyes, and suddenly every rebuttal felt pointless. All these years I had poured my heart out and thrown so much money into this family, kept my head down and given them all the face they wanted. A cold stone you can never warm, no matter how long you hold it.

The younger brother-in-law, who a moment ago had been playing sick and pathetic, suddenly jumped up and shouted at me, “That's right. If it weren't for my brother, who on earth would have taken a cripple like you?”

I rubbed my temples. My head throbbed, and I was tired all the way through. I turned and walked out with long strides, trying to leave every one of their voices behind me.

Behind me they were still shouting, sure they had won.

The relatives, glad they didn't have to pay, and not caring in the least what had actually happened to me, cheerfully sat back down to eat. My in-laws proudly carried off the jewelry and pulled the younger son over to sit with them at the head table.

Not one person came after me, and looking back at that, the ache in my chest was more than I could bear.

It wasn't until I got back to the company that things quieted down a little. Then my secretary suddenly stepped up and handed me a folder, hesitating before he spoke. :

“Ms. James, your mother-in-law brought in a resignation letter for you yesterday. She said you were resigning, to make room for your brother-in-law to come in.”

My eyes went wide. I flipped through the letter in disbelief. It really was in her handwriting.

So he had known all along that the younger brother-in-law would be coming back. He'd shown it to me today on purpose, just to humiliate me.

And of all things, back then, to make her happy, I had told the whole company he was free to come and go as he pleased, given him all the face in the world. Who could have known he would turn around and use it to stab me now.

While I sat there in a daze, my phone suddenly rang. I looked at the number, familiar and strange at the same time, and sank into thought. I picked up one second before it would have gone to voicemail. :

“Mom.”

My voice came out a little bitter, my throat aching.

“Susie, in two years I'm planning to move to Australia. Are you really going to keep staying in that house? Do you truly not want to take over the family company?”

Once, I might have wavered. Now I shook my head, firm. :

“No, Mom. I'm coming home.”

The younger brother-in-law, who a moment ago had been playing sick and pathetic, suddenly jumped up and shouted at me, “That's right. If it weren't for my brother, who on earth would have taken a cripple like you?”

It wasn't until I got back to the company that things quieted down a little. Then my secretary suddenly stepped up and handed me a folder, hesitating before he spoke. :

“Ms. James, your mother-in-law brought in a resignation letter for you yesterday. She said you were resigning, to make room for your brother-in-law to come in.”

While I sat there in a daze, my phone suddenly rang. I looked at the number, familiar and strange at the same time, and sank into thought. I picked up one second before it would have gone to voicemail. :

“Mom.”

“Susie, in two years I'm planning to move to Australia. Are you really going to keep staying in that house? Do you truly not want to take over the family company?”

Once, I might have wavered. Now I shook my head, firm. :

“No, Mom. I'm coming home.”