Isabel didn't expect me, the soft-hearted apple, to reject her so resolutely and she immediately flew into a rage.
"Isla! You ungrateful wretch! We're your own parents, your mother-in-law is an outsider — how can she compare to us?"
"Don't you care whether we live or die? Have you lost your conscience?"
At this moment, the silently listening father, Hans Anderson, finally spoke, his brow furrowed and his voice weak, "Isla, my legs have been hurting terribly lately. You used to massage them for me, which always made me feel better. Staying at your house will make it easier for you to massage them for me."
Always the same old routine, the same old trick. Every time they tried to manipulate me, they played the victim to gain sympathy.
"Dad, the medical facilities in the big city are much better than here. If your leg hurts, have Viola take you to a big hospital. It'll be much more effective than my amateur massage skills."
"She took seven hundred thousand dollars in demolition compensation and is now running some big business. She can definitely hire the best doctors and provide you the biggest house."
Viola couldn't hold back her frustration and her tone grew impatient. "Isla, you're not being fair. Ronan and I are busy making big money, we don't have time to take Dad to the doctor!"
"I don't care. I've already brought Mom and Dad here. You can handle it yourself!"
With that, ignoring the embarrassment and astonishment on her parents' faces, she turned and left.
I didn't look at my parents, who were standing helplessly at the door and said to my husband, "Let's go inside. Let's not let unrelated people spoil the fun."
The moment I turned around, I could feel the venomous glares from my parents behind me.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the family group chat exploded.
Isabel was crying and yelling at me in the group chat.
[Isla, that unfilial, heartless daughter! Her dad and I have nowhere to live and she won't even give us a room! She kicked us out!]
[Her mother-in-law is an outsider, but she treats her like a treasure and disregards her own parents. We've wasted our time raising her!]
Several uninformed relatives then chimed in.
[How could you do this, Isla? They're still your parents. It's your duty to be filial!]
[That's right, no matter how hard things are, you can't abandon your parents! It's so inconsiderate!]