Again I had to go buy groceries. Again I had to cook breakfast.

Then it was back to housework, changing diapers, feeding the baby, rocking him to sleep. Over and over and over.

For a full month, I hadn't slept a single decent night. I'd lost ten pounds from sheer exhaustion.

My body was wrecked, and my wallet wasn't far behind.

Groceries alone, plus formula and diapers, had cost me at least twenty thousand.

And after all that, I was the one being accused of freeloading?

I stared at my daughter, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Ginny, go ahead and tell me—how exactly have I been taking advantage of you?"

Virginia's brow creased slightly, a flicker of impatience crossing her face.

"Oh, enough, Mom. So you stayed here and looked after me for a month. So what?"

"Even if you spent money and did the work, you did it because you wanted to."

"Either way, you lived in this house for a month. That's a fact."

"If you won't pay for your stay, what is that if not freeloading?"

Because you wanted to.

Three little words, and thirty days of backbreaking work were wiped clean.

Right then, I felt something inside me just—break.

I looked at my daughter for a long moment. Said nothing.

I took out my phone and scanned Jeffrey's payment code.

Transferred the fifteen thousand.

The second it went through, Jeffrey grinned.

"There you go, Mom. Was that so hard? You're the elder here—you ought to put your kids first."

"Don't be so stingy about every little thing."

The irony was breathtaking.

When they were billing me, they'd calculated every last cent.

Three hundred a day for the room. Two hundred for utilities. Not a penny negotiable.

Now the money was in hand, and suddenly I was the stingy one.

Looking at Jeffrey standing there like it was the most natural thing in the world, I couldn't help thinking back to three years ago, when he and Virginia first came to discuss marriage.

Back then, he'd been rubbing his hands together, awkward and ashamed, barely able to meet my eyes.

"Ma'am, I know the custom is to pay bride price, but I just bought our apartment and I really can't put together much. Would it be possible to, um, lower the amount?"

I was never about the bride price when it came to my daughter.

All I wanted was for him to treat her well.

They seemed genuinely in love, so I told him outright: "I don't want a single cent of bride price. Just take care of each other."

Jeffrey froze. His eyes went red almost instantly.

"Ma'am, I swear, I will be good to Ginny for the rest of my life."

Later, Virginia came to me looking miserable, saying they'd sunk everything into the apartment and couldn't even afford a wedding.

Seeing my daughter that worried broke my heart.

So I emptied my savings. Gave them three hundred and eighty thousand.

"Use eighty thousand for the wedding. Keep the other three hundred as your nest egg."

Virginia cried when I handed it over.

Jeffrey seized my hand, voice shaking, and swore:

"Mom, everything you've done for us, I'll carry it with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget."

"I'll treat you like my own mother. Ginny and I will bring you to the city and take care of you properly."

When he said it, his eyes looked so sincere. And I believed him—believed every word, all the way down to my bones.

Three years had passed since then.

The day they brought me to the city to live the good life never came.

What came instead was a bill for fifteen thousand in lodging fees.

When I didn't speak, Lucia looked down at me from across the room.

"Now, now. Don't go feeling sorry for yourself."

"People our age, we're supposed to give. That's our job."

"While we can still get around, helping the young ones out, pitching in some money—that's just what's expected."

*A spirit of sacrifice.*

Those words, out of her mouth, made my skin crawl.

I looked at Lucia Lambert and wanted so badly to ask: where, exactly, had she ever sacrificed a thing?

When Jeffrey married my daughter, she hadn't contributed a single cent.

Through all ten months of Virginia's pregnancy, she'd done nothing but complain about her own back pain and leg pain. She had plenty of energy for line dancing in the park, but she'd never once cooked my daughter a meal.

The moment Virginia went into labor, she'd grabbed her suitcase and left on vacation, and because she didn't want to be bored, she'd dragged Jeffrey along with her.

From the day that baby was born until now, she hadn't changed a single diaper.

Not a dollar spent, not a finger lifted.

And this was what she called a spirit of sacrifice from the elder generation?

When I stayed silent, Virginia's tone softened a little:

"Mom, come on, don't be like that."

"Jeff and his mom finally made it back. Let's all just go grab something to eat, walk around a bit."

She reached for my arm the way she always used to, sweet and coaxing.

I pulled away.

"No, that's alright."

"You all go."

They were the family, after all.

I was just an outsider they expected to hand over rent and utility money.

That meal—I couldn't have eaten a bite.

Virginia just gave a faint nod, like it was the most natural thing in the world:

"Then go clear your stuff out of the spare room. My mother-in-law needs it tonight."

Lucia was right behind her:

"Yes, yes—hurry it up. And strip every sheet and pillowcase you slept on, then disinfect the whole room top to bottom."

"You're from the countryside. God knows what kind of filth you tracked in."

Jeffrey:

"Oh, and the kitchen. Throw out all those pots and dishes."

I looked at the disgust on their faces and nodded.

"Fine."

I walked into the spare room without another word, shut the door, and started packing.

The second the door closed, I heard Lucia outside:

"Ginny, your mother really has no sense at all. She's staying in our home. Paying a little for lodging is perfectly normal, isn't it?"

"Who's that long face for? Acting like we owe her something."

Virginia couldn't have cared less:

"Just ignore her, Mom. That's how she is."

*That's how she is.*

I'd thought my heart was already numb. Those four words proved it wasn't.

So this was what I was to my daughter.

This was the child I'd raised alone, pouring everything I had into her.

Then Jeffrey's voice dropped low:

"Ginny, were you actually going to bring your mom along to dinner?"

"Eating out, one extra person, that's a lot more money."

A beat of silence on the other side of the door.

Then Virginia's answer, barely above a whisper:

"Well, you have to at least go through the motions, right? Otherwise it looks bad."

"Besides, I know my mom. If she comes, she'll pay."

My hands froze on the clothes I was folding.

So the invitation to dinner was about getting me to pay.

This was my daughter.

Even a meal came with a calculation behind it.

In the living room, the three of them were already deciding where to eat, where to go afterward.

Lucia's voice carried the loudest:

"A whole month out and about, my skin's gotten so rough. I need a facial later."

Virginia perked up immediately, eager to please:

"Absolutely, Mom. You must be exhausted from all that traveling. We just made fifteen thousand, so after your facial, you and Jeff should go get a nice massage. Treat yourselves."

Then came Jeffrey's gratified voice:

"Ginny, you really are the sensible one. So much more considerate than your mother."

Once the plan was settled, the three of them couldn't wait to leave.

Virginia cracked the door open, leaning halfway in to remind me:

"Mom, Jeff and I are heading out with his mother and the baby. When you're done packing, make sure you lock up."

"Just leave the key under the doormat."

Lucia hollered from the living room:

"And throw out everything you've used!"

I nodded.

"Okay."

And just like that, the three of them swept out the door with the baby, all smiles.

After I finished packing my bags, I walked into the living room and looked around slowly.

Then I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in a long time.

"I need you to do something for me."

Once I'd laid out every detail for the person on the other end, I picked up my luggage and headed home.

On the high-speed train, I saw that Lucia had posted on social media.

A selfie at a beauty salon, captioned:

*My beautiful retirement starts today*

I quietly tapped "like."

Oh yes.

Your beautiful retirement was indeed just getting started.

A few hours later, I was back in my hometown.

I'd barely walked through the door when Virginia called, crying and frantic:

"Mom, where are you? Everything's falling apart over here!"