He irritably took a sip of his drink, leaning back in his chair with a careless look, his tone rising.
“What? What do you expect me to see? Your dad scamming someone?”
“He’s so old, and still trying to cheat a young girl. Emily, if you’re not ashamed, I am!”
“He didn’t scam anyone!”
“Daniel, he raised you for more than thirty years. You know him better than anyone. Don’t slander him like this.”
Curious stares swept over me.
I shoved the document back.
Perhaps under his influence, my sorrow and fear slowly dulled. “What do you mean by ‘support me’? He’s your dad. Are you out of your mind, Daniel?”
I thought I was being clear, but Daniel seemed to understand nothing.
He scolded me impatiently.
Then, as if remembering something, his tone softened.
“Emily, I know it’s hard for you to accept your father-in-law’s death, and that’s natural.”
“But think about it logically. Your dad was old. He made no real contribution to the family, and he still relied on you to support him. He was already a burden.”
“If he were still alive, he couldn’t even earn five thousand, let alone fifty thousand, right?”
“We should face reality. If you really think fifty thousand is too little, then name your price.”
In an instant, I seemed to grasp the truth.
I looked up at Daniel Carter, my voice edged with sarcasm. “When you’re old and can’t earn money, you’re a burden to the family? Your life can be slandered, bought for fifty thousand dollars…”
“Daniel, is that how you see your own father?”
“Shut up.”
Daniel shot his feet like a lit firecracker and hurled the drink in front of him straight into my face.
“Emily Carter, how can you be so ungrateful?”
“I’m thinking about you, yet you accuse my father. What kind of daughter-in-law are you?”
“You don’t want to sign the agreement? Fine. But I’m telling you, if you sue, you won’t get a penny.”
With that, he yanked the private settlement agreement from the table and stormed out of the restaurant.
My eyes trailed his back until he reached the door.
The answer was plain as day.
I wanted to laugh, but all I felt was crushing despair.
My parents don’t have jobs.
But that’s because they once worked for public agencies for twenty years. When the economy declined, their group of senior employees was laid off.
Although retired, their pensions never decreased through the years.
I once urged them to travel, to enjoy life, but they refused.