Chapter 1

On Christmas Day, I came home carrying the holiday gift basket my company had given me.

My mom smiled and said, "Ethan, honey, I made all your favorite dishes for dinner tonight."

Hearing this, I was so happy that I slipped her a Christmas card with $300 in cash as a little holiday bonus.

But I waited until 9:30 PM, and dinner still wasn't served.

To leave work on time and rush home, I hadn't even had time for lunch. I had been running around handling emergencies all day.

Now, my head was spinning, and my blood sugar was dangerously low.

I reached for a piece of fruit on the table, but my mom suddenly slapped my hand away, her face twisted in pure disgust.

"Even if you starve to death, you don't touch the food on this table!"

"I made all of this for Chloe. What makes you think you have the right to eat first?!"

I froze on the spot, almost thinking I had misheard her.

"Mom, didn't you just say you made this whole dinner for me...?"

"My blood sugar is really low right now. Can't I just have a slice of orange?"

Realizing she had slipped up, my mom quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Ethan, it's not that I won't let you eat."

"But this is Christmas dinner. The whole family has to eat together. We can't start if someone is missing."

"Chloe and Ryan aren't back yet. Let's just wait a little longer."

Seeing the troubled look on her face, I suddenly felt like I was being too demanding.

I was actually trying to eat early just because I was hungry. I was being so inconsiderate.

So, I pulled out my phone and opened Uber Eats, planning to order a boba tea to tide me over so I wouldn't actually pass out.

While I was browsing, my mom's phone suddenly rang.

As usual, she had it on speaker. Chloe's voice came loud and clear from the other end.

"Mom, Ryan and I got a private room at a restaurant. You and Dad should just come over now."

"It's Christmas night, and we had to wait forever for a table to open up!"

After hanging up, my mom grabbed my dad, and they happily rushed to their room to change.

Even though I had been a bit annoyed with Chloe for making everyone wait so late, hearing that she had a good reason made my frustration melt away.

I quickly put on my coat, relieved that I was finally going to get some food.

As I waited by the front door, my mom came out, looking hesitant and refusing to move.

I didn't understand what was going on, so I asked,

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Let's go. Chloe and Ryan are waiting. Or are you feeling sick?"

My mom's face turned red, and she couldn't even finish a sentence.

Instead, my dad, Arthur, spoke up.

"Ethan, Chloe said she booked that table for your mother and me. A dinner for the four of us."

"But she didn't mention bringing you along."

"If you just show up uninvited, I'm afraid Chloe and Ryan will be unhappy..."

My mom, Helen, who had been silent, finally spoke up with an embarrassed expression.

"Yeah, why don't you just find something to eat at home? There's some instant ramen in the pantry—the spicy chicken flavor you like."

"I'll pack the dishes I made into Tupperware and put them in the fridge. We can eat them tomorrow when Chloe and Ryan come over."

Only then did the brutal truth hit me. They were having a family Christmas dinner, and they deliberately left me out.

It turned out that when I first got home, my mom's claim that she had made all my favorite dishes was just a lie to get my money.

I suppressed my rising anger, stared straight into my mom's eyes, and asked,

"Mom, ten minutes ago, didn't you say a family dinner means everyone has to be there? That we can't miss a single person?"

"So what you meant was, we can't miss Chloe and Ryan, but we can easily discard me, right?"

My mom's face flushed red, and she couldn't say a word.

Beside her, my dad sighed and looked at me with deep disappointment.

"Ethan, how can you talk to your mother like that?"

"You're already married. You have your own household. Technically speaking, you're not part of our family anymore."

"But Chloe is different. Even though she's married, she will always be our precious baby girl. We have to show her extra love so her in-laws respect her. Ethan, don't pick fights with your sister."