But now, I couldn’t afford to fight head-on. All I wanted was to get through this quietly, and once I moved to Palmer, I’d never have to deal with them again.
With that in mind, I gave a quick, clear apology.
“Mom, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Hearing this, Mom’s crying slowly eased.
“Eleanor, Mom only does this for your good. You’re a girl, working so hard outside, I just can’t help worrying.”
Martin gave a cold sneer: “So now you know you were wrong? Better remember it next time.”
Dad leaned back on the sofa, his tone a little softer.
“Alright, since Eleanor admits she was wrong, let’s leave it here. But it can’t happen again.”
I nodded over and over, and only then did they look satisfied. Back in my room, I dropped onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The next day, I locked myself in my room, throwing all my focus into preparing for the tests and online interviews for the headquarters transfer.
This was my chance to leave this family, and I couldn’t afford even one mistake.
But Mom kept knocking on the door.
“Eleanor, let Mom clean the floor for you. Your room is such a mess. How can you focus on your interviews like this?”
I had just turned her down when she knocked again, not long after.
“Eleanor, Mom made soup for you. You need to eat well; studying uses up a lot of energy.”
I opened the door, frowning, and said clearly, “Mom, I can’t be interrupted right now. Can’t we do all this after my interview?”
The moment she heard that, her face fell, her eyes quickly filling with tears.
“Eleanor, Mom just feels sorry for you.”
“To make this soup, I got up at four in the morning. Look, I even burned my hand.”
As she spoke, she held out her hand, the small red blister clearly visible.
Dad, hearing the noise from the living room, rushed in and blew up at me.
“Eleanor, your mom worked so hard for you, and this is how you treat her?”
“Hurry and apologize to her, then drink the soup!”
I looked helplessly at the sea cucumber floating in the bowl. “I’ve been allergic to seafood since I was a kid. I can’t eat this.”
But Mom didn’t budge.
“That’s only because when you were little, we were poor and you didn’t eat enough, so you developed that allergy. If you eat more now, you’ll be fine. Mom is only doing this for your good.”
Hearing this, Dad’s anger flared even more.