"We are not kids!" Li Bo Yen snapped irritably, swatting her hand away, though his strength faltered midway, "I told them who we are… I told them… they can't treat us like that…!"
But his voice trembled with humiliation as he spoke. He knew. He knew none of them cared who he was anymore.
Li Ren shifted weakly on his pillow, his cracked lips twitching as he whispered hoarsely, "Why… why did you have to come back…? Without you, things could have turned out better! It's all your fault!"
Their mother froze, her fingers trembling against the bedsheet, "What… what are you saying… I shouldn't have returned to my family? You are my kids, your father is legally my husband! Why wouldn't I come back? Why are you talking like that?"
"Everything is a mess because of you! It's because of you that we are nothing!
"Why did you have to come back! You shouldn't have! You ruined our entire lives!" Li Ren suddenly screamed, even though it hurt his ribs to do so. Tears pooled in his eyes as he glared at her with burning hatred, "Everything was better before you came back! Why did you have to come back and ruin everything for us?!"
"Ren… Ren, no… don't say that… I'm your mother… I love you…"
"Love us?" Bo Yen laughed coldly, his voice cracking, "Do you even know what that means? Do you know what it was like… before you came back, Shen Ruyi was the only one who cared about us! She treated us like her own kids… we had healthy food to eat, we had discipline and knew how to handle things, we had a happy home… but ever since you came back, nothing has ever been right! Father isn't home at all, and what about you? You aren't home at all, apart from the maids tending to us, what do you even know we like to eat? Do you even know what we did yesterday? Do you even know at what time we woke up? Do you even know what we did on the Campus? You don't give a damn! You all care about your glory, prestige, Mrs Li title and the benefits you get out of this marriage!"
Their mother felt her chest tighten painfully as her tears began to fall. It's true that she had returned because of what Li Feng had grown to become, not knowing that it was Shen Ruyi's work behind the curtains, and now with her absence, things have crumbled from the inside. "I… I didn't mean… I only wanted to....."
"To what?" Bo Yen's voice dripped with disgust as he glared at her, "To make us your puppets? To fight with Dad every day? To make this house hell? Just leave us alone… just leave… we don't want you… We actually don't need you!"
Her lips trembled as she reached out again, but this time Li Ren slapped her hand away violently, tears streaming down his bruised cheeks, "Go away… go away… I hate you… I hate you..."
Their words sliced into her heart like sharpened knives. With a choked sob, she stumbled to her feet and ran out of the bedroom, her hands covering her mouth as she rushed down the corridor.
"Madam…!" The maid called out softly in worry but was ignored as she fled towards the stairwell, her sobs echoing off the cold marble walls.
She ran to her bedroom and shut the door behind her, collapsing onto the floor as her tears fell endlessly. In desperation, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand, her trembling fingers scrolling to find his number.