My mom tends to speak the truth no matter what the occasion it is.

When my boyfriend visits our family, Mom makes small talk with him happily.

"Tiffany once contracted HPV when she was in her second year of college. Please don't judge her for that. Haha!"

When my friend comes over to hang out with me, Mom leans in to take a closer look at her face.

"With those high cheekbones and hollow cheeks, you've got 'short life' written all over your face! I guess only Tiffany is willing to hang out with you."

Later on, I finally nailed a job as a governmental employee after putting in hard work for half a year.

During the background check, Mom starts running her mouth about the "truth" again.

"I think there's something wrong with Tiffany's moral ethics. First of all, she loves lying. Second of all, she's disrespectful to me. If your department does end up hiring her, you've gotta be careful."

Undoubtedly, I get disqualified because of her words.

That's when I get into a huge fight with Mom. But that woman has the audacity to talk back to me.

"All I did was speak the truth about you! The fact that your department doesn't want you means that you lack the capability! Don't ever think that you get to pin the blame on me!"

I fall silent at her words.

Since Mom loves telling the truth that much, I might as well use the truth to destroy her.

Before my boyfriend, Jared Vance, came to visit, I repeatedly reminded my mom, Eleanor Mack, "Just keep everything light and casual, and please don't say anything inappropriate."

Mom got annoyed.

"I'm a grown woman. Do I really need you to teach me how to behave? Don't worry, I absolutely won't embarrass you."

Only after Mom's repeated assurances did I bring Jared home, though I was still nervous.

On the way, I kept preparing him for the worst as well.

Jared patted his chest and promised, "Relax. I love you, so I won't take anything Mrs. Cochran says to heart."

Mom was very satisfied with Jared. She sat on the couch, holding his hand and chatting nonstop.

"Tiffany is so lucky to have found an outstanding boyfriend like you."

Jared replied graciously, "Mrs. Cochran, you're too kind. I'm the lucky one to have found such a wonderful girlfriend like Tiffany."

To my surprise, Mom glanced over and let out a loud laugh.

"You say she's wonderful? You don't know yet, do you? She contracted HPV in her sophomore year—it was really bad. She reeked of this awful smell, and the doctor basically said she was sleeping around."

In that moment, I felt the world spinning around me.

During my sophomore year, a new girl moved into our dorm. She was really promiscuous and liked to use other people's towels without asking. I actually caught HPV from her.

Terrified, I cried and begged Mom to go to the hospital with me for a check-up.

The doctor did a thorough examination and said I must've caught it from someone else since I wasn't sexually active.

Never in a million years did I imagine that Mom would casually bring it up like it was some kind of joke when Jared came over for the first time.

The lively atmosphere instantly froze, and Jared's face went stiff.

"Mom, I caught it from someone else. Wasn't the doctor's report clear enough?" I reminded Mom in a low voice.

Mom kept talking as if she hadn't heard me.

"You were practically in tears back then, so of course the doctor had to write it like that to protect your privacy. Who knows if you really caught it from someone else?"

My father, Nicholas Cochran, couldn't take it anymore.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" he reprimanded her, his voice low. "As her parents, don't we know what kind of person Tiffany is? She's been well-behaved since she was little. There's no way she'd do anything that disgraceful."

His eyes darted toward Jared, silently telling Mom to drop it since he was right there.

But Mom just wouldn't stop.

"I'm only telling the truth. We still have the doctor's report. Are we not allowed to tell the truth now? Besides, Tiffany has always been good at putting on an act.

"Back in middle school, she had a crush on a boy and flat-out refused to admit it. If I hadn't snooped through her diary, she would've totally kept me in the dark."

Seeing Mom get more and more out of line and Jared's expression growing darker by the second, Dad started to get worried.

"Jared, I think my wife hasn't been feeling too well today. Why don't you head home for now? We'll have you over again some other time. Dinner's on me."

After Jared left, I just couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mom, what exactly are you trying to do? You knew full well this was Jared's first time meeting you, so why would you say all that just to humiliate me? Have you even thought about how I'm supposed to explain any of this to him?"

Mom looked completely bewildered.

"What are you freaking out about? It's not like I made any of it up. Tell me, what did I say that wasn't true? Didn't you get HPV? Didn't you have a crush on that boy? You clearly did all that, so why can't I talk about it?"

There it was again—she was just telling the truth.

I'd lost count of how many times her total lack of filter had screwed me over.

When I was little, I finished my homework quickly because there just wasn't that much of it, and then Mom went and told everyone at the parent-teacher meeting that I was complaining about having too little homework. After that, all the kids started giving me the cold shoulder.

In high school, I got my period and stained my pants. I told the teacher I wasn't feeling well and asked to go home to change.

However, Mom took a photo of the bloodstained pants and posted it in the class group chat.

"Ms. Hodge, Tiffany isn't really sick. She just got her period and stained her pants. She even lied about why she needed to go home."

Afterward, she had the nerve to lecture me.

"Tiffany, we must never tell lies. You have to be an honest person."

I'd been burned too many times by her blurting out the truth with zero regard for when or where, which was exactly why I kept reminding her about it over and over.

But never in a million years did I imagine she'd pull the same thing on a day as important as Jared's first visit.

That night, Jared texted me asking about what happened back then.

I gave him a rough explanation of the whole story, and thankfully, he trusted me enough.

"Tiffany, I believe you. I know you're not the kind of person Mrs. Cochran made you out to be. But I just have to say—what kind of mother talks about her own daughter like that? Does she even love you?"

Did Mom love me? I'd like to know the answer to that too.

Time and time again, she ignored my perfectly reasonable requests and aired out my most humiliating moments under the guise of "just telling the truth".

Did a mother's love like that even exist?

During that time, I barely left the house and just drifted through the days feeling completely miserable.

When Mom saw me like that, she assumed Jared had broken up with me, which only made her angrier.

"Who do you think you're moping around for? Even if Jared did break up with you, that just means you picked the wrong guy in the first place! Don't blame me for your own bad judgment!

"You think it's been easy raising you all these years? You're going to hate me over a few honest words? I knew it—you really are an ungrateful brat!"

But weariness had already settled deep within me. I no longer wished to engage with her at all, nor did I have the energy to argue back.

Dad tried to lift my spirits and made a point of calling my good friend, Karla Sherman, over to keep me company.

We caught up on the latest gossip and vented about the people both of us couldn't stand. Right away, I felt so much better.

Just then, Mom suddenly pushed the door open. Seeing us chatting away, she plopped herself down right next to me without a second thought.

Every alarm in my head went off, so I warned her, "Mom, we're just talking. Could you maybe step out?"

But Mom acted like she hadn't heard a word.

She took Karla's hand and studied her face closely.

"Your cheekbones are so pronounced, and you've got no flesh on your cheeks. That's the face of someone with a short life. You really shouldn't come over so much anymore. I'm afraid you might bring bad luck to Tiffany."

Karla froze on the spot.

I grabbed Mom by the arm and tried to pull her out of the room.

"Mom, stop spouting nonsense. Just go, okay? I want to have a private chat with Karla."

Mom shook off my hand and shot me a glare.

"What's your problem? I'm just telling the truth. Besides, I'm sure Karla isn't that petty."

Then, she turned right back to Karla and said, "You've got terrible features. Even if you do get married someday, you'd just bring misfortune to your husband. But then again, with you looking like that, I doubt any man would want to marry you in the first place."

I couldn't hold it in anymore and snapped at her, "Mom, can you just shut up? Karla is a wonderful person, and she and her boyfriend are perfectly happy together. You don't know anything. Can you stop running your mouth?"

Mom just shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"I'm only telling the truth. She does have a mean face—am I not even allowed to say that?"

Karla burst into tears and ran off without looking back.

In that moment, I was both physically and mentally exhausted. I screamed at Mom, "What is wrong with you? I've told you over and over to stop running your mouth! Can't you think before you speak? Will you only be happy when you've gotten me shunned and abandoned by everyone?"

Seeing me completely lose it, Mom lowered her voice considerably.

"I didn't know she'd get upset. All I did was tell her the truth—who knew she'd be so petty?"

Dad was angry too. He reprimanded Mom loudly, "Don't you know there's a time and place for telling the truth? You speak without any regard for who you're talking to or what the occasion calls for. Instead, you just blurt out whatever pops into your head! There's something seriously wrong with you."

Seeing how furious Dad and I both were, Mom fell silent for the first time.

After all these blowups, I threw myself entirely into studying for the civil service exam. I spent my days holed up at home. From the moment I woke up, all I did was study.

I'd made up my mind. The moment I landed a stable job, I was moving out. I wanted as little contact with Mom as possible.

Finally, half a year later, I passed the civil service exam with flying colors. I got first place in both the written test and the interview and advanced smoothly to the personnel vetting stage.

But the moment I learned that the vetting process would involve speaking with my family members, my heart clenched with dread.

Knowing Mom's personality, I honestly had no idea what earth-shattering things might fly out of her mouth.

However, I had worked my butt off for six months to get this opportunity, so there was no way I was going to let anything go wrong at the vetting stage.

Yet again, I warned Mom repeatedly, leaving nothing to chance.

"Mom, this vetting stage is incredibly important to me. When the officer asks you questions, just answer what's asked and try to say as many good things about me as you can."

Mom waved me off impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You worked so hard to pass the exam—you think I'd just run my mouth and ruin it for you? Relax. When the time comes, I'll say exactly what needs to be said. I won't cause you any trouble."

But I still couldn't shake the unease.

"Mom, when they come, please just stick to what we discussed. Don't get carried away and just say whatever pops into—"

I hadn't even finished when Mom snapped, "Didn't I already say I got it? How many times are you going to nag me about this? Should I just sew my mouth shut so you can finally relax?"

Seeing her react like that, I figured I shouldn't push it any further, even though my heart was still pounding with anxiety.

The day of the personnel vetting soon arrived.

Mom sat face to face with the officers. For the first few questions, she handled herself pretty smoothly, and I quietly let out a breath of relief.

Then, one of the officers asked, "What would you say Tiffany's shortcomings are in your day-to-day experience with her?"

Mom furrowed her brow, deep in thought. And as I watched her, my heart instantly leapt into my throat.

After a few seconds of silence, Mom slapped the table.

"If you want to talk about shortcomings, Tiffany's got quite a few. Frankly, I think she has questionable character. For one thing, she's been fond of lying ever since she was little.

"When she was in first grade, there was a time she didn't want to go to school, so she actually pretended to have a stomachache. You'll all need to stay on your toes around her—she might just lie to you too."

The officers frowned.

In that instant, my breath caught in my throat. I quietly poked Mom's arm, signaling her to cut it off. But to my horror, she was only getting started.

"And she's disrespectful to me too. Just a few days ago, she got into a huge fight with me all because I spoke a few truths. Oh, and by the way, when she found out you were coming today for the vetting, she told me specifically to only say nice things about her. Isn't that just plain dishonest?"

The officers exchanged glances. After conferring briefly among themselves in low voices, they marked a big, fat X on my vetting form.

In that moment, something inside me just died.