I worked for a multinational corporation and earned more than ten thousand dollars a month. I could earn up to 20 thousand dollars if I worked overtime.

Working overtime was taxing and laborious. One had to continuously go on business trips. For the sake of earning overtime pay, I almost ended up becoming our company's model employee.

This was the first time I had applied for such a long leave from work. My department head looked at me approvingly. "You're finally getting some long overdue rest."

As soon as I arrived outside my house, I could hear the sound of people talking and laughing coming from inside.

"Greg, your wife is getting her salary tomorrow, right?"

"I think so."

"Give me eight thousand dollars, then. I want to get some clothes from the suppliers and sell them."

Gregory was excited. "Jess, you mustn't forget about me when you hit the jackpot someday!"

These people never cared about me. Yet, they had already planned out how to use the salary I was going to receive tomorrow.

When I entered through the door, Gregory and Jessica looked toward me at the same time.

"Harry, Mommy's home!"

I saw that my two-year-old son, Harry Chance, was left on the balcony almost instantly. He was holding and munching on a leftover rib bone from last night. His diaper visibly sagged.

"Mommy… Mommy… hehehe…" Harry stumbled toward me.

Gregory and Jessica placed all the food they had ordered through delivery on the table in the living room. Yet, Harry was only given a leftover bone.

I went over and picked Harry up from the floor. The urine from his diaper leaked and dripped onto my hand.

Meanwhile, Jessica stared at my empty hands and asked, "Where are the trotters?"

I ignored her and headed into my room.

Jessica's grumpy voice rang through the house. "Greg, how could your wife ignore me like that? I practically raised you, Greg. You can't let your wife treat me like this!"

"Hold on, Jess. I'm going to talk some sense into her now!"

Gregory pushed the door open and kicked an empty liquor bottle on the floor into the room. Scared, Harry burst into tears.

"What the hell are you doing? Jess is still around too!"

I took Harry into the bathroom to give him a shower. Gregory finally noticed that I was in a bad mood. He scratched his nose and treaded over slowly.

I announced just then, "I got fired. I plan to stay at home and take care of Harry for the time being."

Gregory was momentarily stunned. "Has your boss gone mad? Aren't you a team leader in your department? Is it possible for you to lose your job just like that?"

I chuckled dryly. "That's how things are these days. I can't do anything about it, either."

Gregory frowned. He probably thought this was absurd. After all, he knew how my company saw me as a valued employee. I even received news last month that I would definitely be promoted by the end of the year.

Then again, Gregory figured the only reason I would lose such a wonderful job was because I had gotten fired. There was no way I would decide to quit myself.

He told me before leaving the room. "You should go and look for a new job tomorrow, then. Start working the day after tomorrow."

I could hear him and Jessica making all kinds of scornful remarks about me in the living room. Yet, none of them tried to enter my room after that.

It had been such a long time since the last time I got to sleep for as long as I wanted.

Ever since I started dating Gregory and up till we got married, I had to wake up early every day. This situation only worsened as time passed.

I needed to look after Harry during the weekends. On weekdays, I had to prepare everything, such as food and clothes for Harry, Gregory, and Jessica, before leaving for work.

After work, I also had to clean the house. I even had to wash Jessica's undergarments for her.

Gregory came out of the den and noticed I was watching the TV. He seemed flabbergasted. "You're having your day off today?"

I replied flatly, "Have you forgotten? I got fired yesterday."

Gregory gave a slight nod. "You should go and look for a new job, then. Otherwise, how are we going to pay for our family's living expenses?"

Jessica asked me during breakfast, "Sasha, will you be able to find a new job that also pays you more than 20 thousand dollars a month?"

I was feeding Harry his food. I responded nonchalantly, "We'll see how it goes. I just want to rest for now."

Jessica and Gregory, who just came into the dining room, stared at each other with rounded eyes.

Gregory seriously doubted my words. After all, I was a workaholic. Moreover, I needed the money to raise Harry.

For an entire week, I watched TV during the day and did some shopping on Amazon at night. Whenever I received a parcel the next day, I would dress Harry up in his new outfits as though I was picking an outfit for a video game avatar.

Gregory's and Jessica's undergarments which they had left in the bathroom were starting to stink. I had tossed their undergarments in a corner of their beds. Yet, the siblings were so lazy that they didn't even realize their undergarments were there.

These carefree, peaceful moments lasted for a few days. One night, Gregory came home and almost got tripped over by one of my parcels. He stormed into the room, snatched my phone away, and tossed it aside.

"Sasha Turner, you idiot! Get up! You need to go and look for a job now!"

I grabbed my other phone and continued scrolling through the Amazon website. "I don't plan on working anymore. I'll stay at home to keep you and Jess company. Our family will always be together."

Then, I took the bill we received today from the property management company that was left on the table and passed it to Gregory. "You need to pay for this year's management fees. I don't have any money since I was just laid off."

Gregory froze on the spot. The next instant, his face flushed red. He shouted at me so loudly that even the people staying in the building opposite ours turned their lights on to listen to our argument.

He did all the counting for me. "I usually spend a thousand for my drinks and cigarettes. Jess needs three thousand for her daily expenses. We need to pay eight thousand dollars for our housing loan!

"Even the management fees cost 3,800 dollars! All of that requires money! If you don't work, how are we even going to feed ourselves? Also, you're the one who takes care of the management fees every year. Why are you asking me to pay for it now?"

His spittle splattered on my face.

I put down my phone and chuckled. "Greg, I thought you were bad with numbers. Turns out you're really good at it.

"You've asked me how we're going to feed ourselves if I don't work. What about you and Jess, then? Why won't you two get a job?

"Jess stays at my new house and spends my money! You even secretly transferred my money to her account! Have you taken those into account too?"

I pulled out a calculator and pressed a few numbers. "Oh, my! The money I've spent on your sister during the last few years has far exceeded the 70 thousand dollars I had in my PayPal account!"

Gregory finally realized why I was making these mocking remarks. He snapped, "Jess is renovating her yard! Once it's done, it'll make things more comfortable for us when we visit her place.

"We just used some of your money. Why are you being so fussy about it? Jess is like a mother to me too. In the past, she—"

I had no interest in listening to what Gregory had to say. I cut him off and said scornfully, "So, she's like a mother to you…

"When I needed to undergo surgery for appendicitis, I asked you to transfer 20 thousand dollars to my account immediately. Yet, you gave the money to Jess so that she could buy a bag that cost 25 thousand dollars. I almost died because of a gastrointestinal rupture!

"I wanted to spend two thousand dollars so that Harry could get a health checkup. Yet, you spent five thousand dollars on a health checkup for Holly instead. Fortunately, Harry went for a checkup. Otherwise, he might have died because of the flu!

"This time, my Uncle Patrick needed to borrow money from me for an emergency. You knew how his family had always been kind to us. Yet, you gave all that money to Jess without my knowledge!

"Gregory, you and your sister share a close relationship. She's been staying at our place for months without paying a single penny for food or rent. Did she ever bother getting some groceries for us in return?

"She used my money for her entertainment. I even had to wash her dirty underwear. Am I your fucking nanny?"

Gregory's eyes were bloodshot. He seemed a little stunned after being shouted at by me.

Then, he flung the diaper I had taken off Harry not too long ago at me. Harry wailed in fear.

"Sasha, our society has always stressed the importance of family duty! Are you trying to make me a bad brother by making me ignore my own sister? Besides, Jess didn't even spend that much of your money for you to be making such a big fuss about it!"

I was making a big fuss about it?

I nodded and snickered, "Yeah, she hasn't spent that much money… She's simply used up all the money I saved for my family's use!"

Even the money I had put aside for emergencies, like when Harry fell sick, was used by Gregory to buy clothes for his niece, Holly Jarvis.

"Fine. If you care about Jess so much and want to be a good brother so badly, you can look for a job yourself! You should hold onto those values of family duty! Or we can just get a divorce. I'm useless now since I've lost my job."

The muscles on Gregory's face twitched since he was exasperated. This was the first time I had expressed such strong emotions.

"Why you! Sasha Turner, how dare you ask for a divorce? Just wait and see!"

Gregory and Jessica stormed off, slamming the front door behind them. Eventually, I managed to calm Harry down.

After I packed our things, I took Harry to a five-star hotel, where we enjoyed the full VIP guest treatment.