I couldn't believe that after I'd blocked my mom's calls for a few days, she actually found Ethan's mom.

She was sitting with Mrs. Reed in a coffee shop.

When I rushed in, she was calling Ethan's mom "family" this and "family" that.

Mrs. Reed already looked down on me; now she probably thought Ethan had terrible taste.

I mumbled awkwardly, "Mom."

Mrs. Reed sipped her coffee elegantly, looking at me and my mother with utter disdain.

I tugged at my mom's sleeve, trying to pull her away.

She shook me off, her expression dramatic.

"Well, Ethan and Lily are going to get married sooner or later. And our Lily, well, her dowry can't be too low, or people will look down on us."

"My dear in-law, we're in urgent need of money right now. How about you advance us some of Lily's dowry? They're getting married anyway, right?"

I quickly cut her off.

"Mom! Stop it!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you, child? Did I say something wrong?"

Mrs. Reed just watched us with a faint smile, like we were two clowns in a circus.

She spoke slowly.

"Ethan's love life is his business, but not just anyone can marry into the Reed family. My time is very valuable, and not just anyone gets to waste it."

With that, Mrs. Reed calmly stood up and left.

My mom tried to grab her, but I blocked her.

"Mom! What on earth are you trying to do!"

"I'm doing this for your own good, what are you so worked up about? Your brother needs to buy a house, and you can't come up with the money. What else am I supposed to do!"

It was always like this; she only ever cared about her son.

She never gave me anything, but expected me to give everything to her son.

"What will it take? What will it take for me not to be your daughter anymore?"

I calmed myself down and asked her coolly.

"If I give you the money for the house, can we just cut ties?"

Slap!

My face suddenly stung from a hard slap.

"Oh, so now that you've landed a rich guy, you're too good for your own mother, is that it? Don't even think about it!"

I looked up at her and told her frankly.

"Well, let me tell you, Ethan isn't going to marry me. If you don't take the money now, you won't get a dime later."

My mom listened to that.

She decided to take the money first, asking for two hundred thousand dollars right off the bat.

I've been a full-time writer since graduation, and things only started picking up in the last couple of years.

All told, my own savings were maybe thirty thousand; she really had some nerve.

When we were kids, if my brother messed up, I got punished.

Now that he was grown and needed money, she came to me.

She almost didn't let me go to college, wanting me to work and support her son's lifestyle, never caring if I sank or swam, and now she was clinging to me.

Ethan came back while I was rummaging through the house for my bank cards.

He looked annoyed, and when he saw the cards in my hand, he seemed to understand.

"Are you that desperate for money? You even went to my mom?"

I instinctively wanted to explain.

"No, it's my mom, she..."

She what?

I suddenly choked up; I had no explanation.

"Lily, didn't I give you a credit card? If your mom really needed money, she wouldn't have had to go to mine, would she? What did she call my mom, 'family'?"

Ethan said it like it was some kind of joke, a smirk playing on his lips as he questioned me.

My hand holding the cards trembled.

How could he say that?

I found his card among the others, handed it to him, and asked in a shaky voice.

"I never wanted your money. Today was just an accident, but Ethan, what are you implying?"

Ethan took the card, toyed with it in his palm, and said dismissively.

"The luxury items you use, the high-end food you eat, living in this downtown apartment. Isn't that all my money? If it weren't for me, do you think you could just sit around at home writing those silly stories of yours? And now you're saying this?"