Fuming, she grabbed Emily and slammed the door.
“Let’s eat out. Let her do whatever she wants!”
The noisy house fell silent.
For once, I felt at peace.
I received Mr. Johnson’s documents and packed my luggage.
Four days left until I moved to the U.S.
When they came back the next morning, Mom dropped a bag on the table.
“You haven’t eaten, right? Emily and I bought you something—eat it while it’s hot.”
Maybe she wanted to make peace.
But she gave me a look as if it was some great favor.
As I opened the bag, she was already talking like usual.
“We were out all night, and you didn’t even worry? You should be grateful. Your sister thought of you and brought food for you.”
“In my opinion, you’re just too selfish. Your sister is far more considerate than you.”
I looked at the bag of pork dumplings and felt nauseated.
When I set the bag aside and headed straight into the kitchen to cook, she grew agitated.
“Your sister and I thought of you, and this is the attitude you give us?”
I kept my expression flat.
“I don’t eat pork dumplings.”
As a child, I loved meat, but Mom thought it was too expensive.
So she would always buy fatty cuts of pork that others didn’t want.
I couldn’t stomach the fat and would throw up every time.
She would just frown and call me picky and dramatic.
From then on, I never touched pork dumplings or any fatty meat again.
“You just have to nitpick, don’t you? Turning good intentions into insults! I told you your sister shouldn’t bother being nice to you!”
From the corner of my eye, I caught Emily smirking at me with satisfaction.
“Sophia, why can’t you just eat what’s given to you? Mom bought you something nice, and you won’t eat it—aren’t you only making things harder on yourself?”
I gave a short laugh.
“Dumplings count as something nice? I remember Mom often sneaking you out to restaurants. Don’t tell me she never bought you anything better.”
Yes, for Emily, Mom always spared no expense.
When I was eating pickles with bread, she was feeding Emily the most expensive formula.
When I thought cafeteria noodles were a treat, Mom was already taking her out for barbecue.
Emily hated fat, so Mom would carefully trim it away. She ate meat every meal, while I got whatever vegetables were left over.
All because, as the older sister, I was expected to yield to her.
Later, Mom even pointed at me in front of relatives and complained: