Chapter 4

David tenderly patted his daughter’s back, pointing a finger at my nose. “Look what you’ve done to her! Ashley has never cried like this in her life! Katherine, you have to apologize to Ashley today!”

Brittany chimed in, making a snide comment: “David, I think Kate’s just going through menopause, she’s completely unhinged, she can’t stand to see us happy, can’t stand to see Ashley succeed.”

“Ashley is so accomplished, and she even bought her a gift, but instead, she goes and ruins the whole family’s Christmas dinner. This is only tolerated in our home, any other family would have thrown her out.”

“Get out!!!”

I suddenly smashed the toilet brush to the ground and ripped off the greasy apron I’d worn for ten years.

“Since I’m a curse, since I’m unreasonable, since I’m only fit to scrub toilets.”

“Then I’m not serving this family anymore.”

“Aren’t you all rich? Don’t you have gold-plated charms, Rolexes, and premium skincare?”

“Then you all can manage it yourselves!”

With that, I turned and walked towards the bedroom.

Behind me, Ashley’s tearful voice cried out, “Mom! You’re such a disappointment!”

“You ruined my thoughtful gesture, and you ruined this family! You’re simply… simply not a good mother!”

My steps faltered, and a sharp pain twisted in my chest.

But I didn’t look back.

I walked into the bedroom and pulled open the closet.

It was full of David’s designer suits and shirts.

My clothes?

Oh, I forgot. My worn-out clothes were stuffed into a woven bag in the corner, not even deemed worthy of the closet.

I turned to look at those shabby clothes, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea.

I don’t want them.

I only took my ID, bank cards, and the senior accountant certificate locked in a drawer.

Looking at that certificate, my eyes welled up with tears.

Once upon a time, I was the CFO of a well-known multinational company, with a brilliant future ahead of me.

For this family, for Ashley to study in peace, I locked it away in the dark, for ten years.

I never imagined that ten years of sacrifice would lead to this end.

I composed myself. When I walked out of the bedroom, the living room was still a mess.

Ashley was holding her phone, taking pictures of the chaos.

Seeing me, she immediately put away her phone and put on a heartbroken expression. “Mom, are you really leaving? It’s Christmas, where are you going? Just apologize to me and Dad and the others, and clean up this mess, and we won’t blame you.”

“Don’t make a scene, you have nothing without this family. You’re so old, and you don’t have a job, where can you go?”

I looked coldly at the daughter I once considered my life.

“Ashley, since you bought so many cleaning tools, use them well.”

“The grease on the floor, the leftover food on the table, and this entire Johnson family’s rotten hearts.”

“You can slowly clean it yourselves.”

With that, I pulled open the front door.

A cold wind, carrying snowflakes, blew into my face,

Completely shutting the suffocating “home” behind me.

Christmas Eve streets were empty.

I pulled my five-year-old worn-out winter coat tighter and found a hotel.

Once in the room, I collapsed onto the bed, and my phone suddenly began vibrating frantically.

I checked it, and my blood pressure instantly spiked.

Ashley had posted on Ins, and it had quickly become a local trending topic.

The photo showed the ruined Christmas dinner.

The caption: “Came home for Christmas intending to surprise my mom, but she hated the gifts, flipped the table, and ran away. My heart is so tired, why does my love only bring such pain?”

Below it was a string of likes and comments from netizens.

“Hugs to the OP! How could a mother be like this! So ungrateful!”

“My jaw dropped after seeing the screenshots! This table of food looks so expensive, and she just flipped it? She must have psychological issues!”

“My heart goes out to the OP, dealing with this on Christmas. It’s better to leave, this kind of toxic family isn’t worth staying in.”

“Is the OP’s mom going through menopause? I suggest she sees a therapist.”

Looking at these blatant lies, my hands were trembling with anger.

They not only humiliated me at home, but they wanted to ruin my reputation online too.

I took a deep breath. Luckily…