Susan stood in silence, facing her son's hostile gaze. Watching him spread his arms like a righteous guardian, blocking her with a determined look, Susan had never felt so heartbroken. She truly felt like a failure in life.
In the end, she said nothing and turned to leave.
When you're sad, you have to find a way to cheer yourself up.
Susan went straight to the bank and withdrew all the remaining money from her account. Then she called "Fade" and asked to send nine most handsome strippers.
"Your job today is to make me happy. As long as you succeed, I'll take you anywhere, buy you anything!" And so. they rode in a limited-edition sports car, dined at the best restaurants, raced on the most dangerous tracks, shopped at the most expensive luxury stores. They did everything from the must to do list online. Finally, after partying to exhaustion, Susan parked the car by the beach and slept inside.
The next morning at 10 a.m., she was woken by a call from her son's teacher. "Hello, are you Sam's mother? It's already ten o'clock. Why haven't you brought him to school yet? Is he staying home again today?"
Susan replied bluntly: "Sorry, I'm divorced from Sam's father. From now on, please contact Andrew directly for anything related to Sam." And with that, she hung up.
Since Sam was born, Susan has handled everything at his school. Before Rebecca appeared, Sam had always been a well-behaved and high-achieving student.
But three months ago, after Rebecca returned, her son hit someone at school for the first time. Susan tried to discipline him. But Sam said, "You're always telling me to apologize and admit I'm wrong. Why should I?"
"Aunt Rebecca says kids should express their true nature. People should be selfish, our own happiness is what matters most. I didn't like him, so I hit him. Big deal?"
"You're too pathetic to be my mom!"
He used to be polite and knew right from wrong, just as she had taught him.
Yet after only three months of Rebecca's influence, he had changed so drastically, even lashing out at her with such cruel words.
Father and son, like two peas in a pod.
But she was leaving anyway. From now on, Andrew could clean up the mess himself. She no longer cared what kind of person her son would grow up to be. But just a few seconds after hanging up, Susan received a call from Andrew.
"Susan, what kind of mother are you? Do you even know your son is unconscious at home with a fever? Even Rebecca is more concerned than you. Her eyes are red from crying, and she's been by his side at the hospital all morning."
"Even if we're divorced, you shouldn't take it out on the child."
Susan was utterly devalued by his words.
Three months ago, when Andrew first compared her to Rebecca, she cried so much her pillow was soaked, but still smiled the next morning as she made breakfast for him and their son. But now, whether her pain had numbed or she just didn't care anymore. Susan felt only calm.
She simply said, "Weren't you and Rebecca with Sam yesterday? I didn't go home. What were you two doing?"
Andrew paused, his tone dark. "You know how busy I am with work. Rebecca has already spent the whole morning at the hospital with him. That's something you should have done."
"I'm busy. You need to get to the hospital now."
Before Susan could reply, he hung up. But she didn't rush to check on Sam like she used to. She had no intention of going to the hospital. Her head was pounding from a hangover, and she planned to return to the president suite at the four seasons to rest.
Unexpectedly, just as she arrived at the entrance, a crowd of reporters swarmed her. "Susan, you've fallen into depravity. After the divorce, you completely abandoned your child, and now he's sick in the hospital. Do you think you deserve to be a mother?"
"Sources say you took advantage of your resemblance to your sister to steal her husband. The Feynman family never introduced you. Was it because they always knew you were vicious and cheap?"
"Your sister is now taking care of your son in the hospital. Do you feel any shame?"
Buzzkill.
Susan looked into one of the cameras and casually smiled at the cluster of microphones: "Did Rebecca send you?"
The reporters fell silent, eyes flickering guiltily.
She wasn't stupid. Every question they asked was framed to uplift Rebecca by stepping on her. If that was how they wanted to play. Fine. She could give them more to talk about.
She tossed out a bombshell:
"You're right. I'm nothing compared to Rebecca. She went abroad to avoid marriage and made her little sister take her place. Then, when she returned, she came to steal her sister's husband and child."
The press went into a frenzy.
Susan ignored them and walked straight to the elevator, heading to her president suite. But as she stepped out of the elevator. She just saw Andrew.
He strode up and grabbed her wrist. "Susan, who told you to say that? Do you know how much public backlash Rebecca is getting because of your reckless words?"
Susan opened her mouth to respond, only to feel a metallic taste rise in her throat. The next second, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.