And that’s when she played her trump card.
“You’re going to regret this, Alex,” she said softly. “You don’t realize what you’re throwing away.”
I tilted my head.
“What am I throwing away exactly?”
She gave me a knowing look.
A look that sent a cold chill down my spine.
And then she said, “Your inheritance.”
I couldn’t help it.
I actually laughed in her face.
It was almost instinctual, like a reflex I couldn’t hold back.
I looked at my mom as narrowing and let out a short, bitter laugh.
“Inheritance?” I echoed, still chuckling. “What inheritance? You think I need your money? You really don’t get it, do you?”
She froze, clearly thrown off by my reaction.
I leaned forward, crossing my arms.
“You’ve never done anything for me. You’ve made it clear every chance you’ve gotten that I’m not important enough for your time, your energy, or your love. So spare me the lecture about what I’m a throwing away because guess what? You’ve got nothing left to give me.”
My mom’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.
Her face twisted in a mix of confusion and anger.
“And if you think I’d ever accept anything from you after all this, you’re delusional,” I continued, shaking my head. “I don’t need your money. I don’t need your fake love. You’ve already given me everything I need to know about you, and it’s nothing I’m willing to keep around.”
My dad looked like he was about to explode.
He took a deep bre breath, his fist clenched at his sides.
“You’re ungrateful. You really want to throw away everything we’ve given you?”
I almost felt sorry for him.
But then I remembered he had a choice too.
He could have stood up for me.
Could have actually been a parent instead of a lap dog to my mom’s whims.
He never did.
“No, I’m not ungrateful,” I said calmly. “But I’m not going to sit here and pretend I don’t see the kind of people you are. You made your choices, and now I’m making mine.”
Lily’s dad gave me a reassuring nod from across the road room, his eyes full of quiet pride.
I noticed my mom flinch at that, and I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of triumph.
She had been so consumed with controlling my life that she’d never even stopped to think that I might be better off without her.
“You can’t just cut us out of your life like this,” my mom said, her voice trembling now. “We’re your family. You’ll regret this, Alex. Youk come crawling back.”
“Right,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll be right there begging for more empty promises and disrespect. But that’ll never happen because guess what? You’ve already shown me who you really are.”
I stood up, my legs feeling surprisingly steady.
“And I’m done. So if you want to keep throwing threats and guilt trips at me, go ahead. But just know I’m not falling for it anymore.”
My dad opened his mouth again, but this time he just snapped it shut.
They had nothing left.
The power they once held over me, the manipulation, the control, it was gone.