Chapter 1

My mother always said she was a modern woman.

She said women these days didn’t need to get married!

She said, “If you don’t have money, why would you have kids?”

But I was the only one who knew she was the most selfish person in the world.

Because ever since I was little, people had mocked me by saying:

“Riley, you’ll never finish all those snacks. Your mom found you so many dads!”

My mother came home dressed to the nines with her seventy-second boyfriend, and my aunt’s face turned green with fury.

She cursed my uncle for being a useless loser and complained that her son did nothing but play video games and was impossible to like.

No one dared provoke her further—until she saw the massage cushion I had saved up to buy for Grandma.

She immediately launched into another tirade.

“Riley sure knows how to spend money. I guess having so many dads means someone’s always willing to spoil her.”

My uncle sighed. “Why are you saying things like that to a kid?”

My aunt stiffened her neck and snapped, “So I can’t say a few words to her? My son is the only real grandson in this family!”

“No wonder you’ll never make any money. What kind of married daughter comes back to her parents’ house every day? You’re nothing but bad luck!”

I awkwardly picked at my fingers and looked toward my mother for help.

She was busy laughing and chatting with her new boyfriend. She didn’t even glance at me.

She said the same things every year. I was practically numb to them by now.

For the longest time, I thought my aunt acted this way because of me. I had taken up all of Grandma and Grandpa’s time since I was little, leaving my aunt to deliver food while raising her son alone. I thought her difficult life had made her bitter.

So whenever something happened, I tried to make myself as small and humble as possible. Whether I was at fault or not, apologizing first seemed like the safest thing to do.

Just like always, I hurried to apologize.

But my aunt wasn’t satisfied. She grabbed my arm and dragged me over to my mother.

“Riley, go ask your new daddy when he’s taking you away.”

My mother clearly didn’t care about the sarcasm. She simply announced that she definitely wasn’t taking me anywhere—and that her boyfriend had already moved into her house.

My aunt exploded.

“You shameless parasite! You sleep around with men and make the whole family get mocked behind our backs!”

My mother refused to back down.

“That’s still better than being a bitter old hag like you. Look at yourself. You’ve become a worn-out housewife who does nothing but revolve around her husband and kid.”

My aunt smashed her bowl onto the floor.

My mother grabbed her boyfriend and left as if she had every right in the world.

With nowhere else to vent her anger, my aunt turned on me.

“You little bitch. You’ve got a mother who gave birth to you but no one who actually raised you. You’re nothing but a burden!”

Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t dare lift my head. I could only bow and apologize over and over, begging her not to be angry.

After my aunt had finally exhausted herself, she muttered under her breath and went back to her room.

Only then did Grandma dare come over and comfort me.

I forced a smile and told her I was fine. Then I went back to cleaning up the mess scattered across the house.