My mom picked up a call intended for me and mistakenly thought I had taken out a high-interest loan.

Fearing that I might burden the family, she promptly shuffled all the proceeds garnered from selling our abode to my brother, Lonnie Nicolson.

What she didn't know was that the call she answered was actually from the lottery office.

***

I won ten million dollars in the lottery.

A call reminding me to pay taxes was accidentally picked up by my mom. In a panic, she asked me, "Did you borrow money from a loan shark?"

I decided to tease her and nodded solemnly.

Her face instantly turned pale.

Just as I was about to laugh and tell her she'd been fooled, she seemed to have made up her mind about something. My mother pulled a bank card out of a drawer and handed it to me.

"This is all I have. Take it and don't come back."

That card only had three thousand dollars on it.

Yet, as our community flourished, the value of our modest home skyrocketed, and my parents made a great sum of money from that deal. The developer offered us 500 thousand dollars and threw in two apartments as well. Although apartments in a small city like ours weren't worth much, this was a considerable fortune for an ordinary family like ours.

I was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit uneasy.

I blurted out, "Where's the rest of your money?"

My mom's tone turned stiff, her face grim.

"Your dad put it all in business."

I tightly gripped the lottery ticket in my pocket. I almost took it out just now, but after hearing what she said, I shoved it back in.

I sighed heavily, suddenly feeling lost for what to say.

My mom turned and walked out.

I stared blankly at the family photo of the four of us hanging on the wall, feeling a knot in my chest.

My dad came in, holding a cup of honey water.

Because I love honey, our house was always stocked with it.

He handed me the honey water.

He always got the ratio of water to honey just right. It was sweet but not cloying.

I took a sip, and the frustration in my heart eased a bit.

"Don't be upset. You know how your mom is. She has a bad temper.

"Well, I'll find a way to free up some funds and help you get this problem sorted out first.

"But remember, think twice before you act. You can never mess with high-interest loans, okay?"

My dad's gentle voice soothed my agitated and aggrieved feelings.

I was just about to speak and explain the truth when my father said, "In fact, our family's situation wasn't bad, but Lonnie recently quit his job to start his own business. He just borrowed a large sum from me."

My hand stiffened in my pocket.

I looked up and met my dad's meaningful gaze.

I forced a bitter smile and said, "Dad, that was just a scam call. I was joking with Mom."

My dad breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with a relaxed smile.

"I knew you wouldn't be that reckless.

"Get some rest."

The next day, Henson Deleon knocked on our door with a bouquet of flowers.

Henson was my boyfriend.

A while ago, we had an argument over something, and we hadn't spoken for two or three days.

He apologized to me, practically groveling.

"Charlette, it was all my fault. Please don't be mad at me, okay?

"Forgive me.

"I was just upset that your parents were so biased, giving the apartment to Lonnie. I was only standing up for you. I really meant well."

"My parents gave the second apartment to Lonnie because the taxes on it will be high if they keep both apartments."

I couldn't help but use the excuse my dad had given me to explain to him.

Originally, I believed my dad's explanation, but after what happened yesterday, I felt somewhat wronged.

Henson opened his mouth as if to say something but then clamped it shut.

His hesitant expression only irritated me more.

I shut the door and tossed the flowers back at him.

I didn't want to think about it, so I sat on the bed and started scrolling through my phone.

Then I saw on Twitter that Lonnie was showing off his property. Both apartments were registered in his name.

He was even flaunting his bank balance. That money was all given to him by his father.

This was an account I rarely used.

I had added Lonnie as a friend on Twitter using this account, but I had never contacted him with it, so he had probably long forgotten it was me.

Maybe that was why he felt so free to boast on Twitter. He posted: [It feels great to be the favorite child!]

I was stunned, almost unable to believe my eyes.

Tears fell onto my phone, blurring the word "favorite" on the screen.

I thought, "Is Lonnie really the favored child?"

I tried hard to recall.

When I was a child, both of us always had toys.

As for daily snacks and supplies, my parents never showed any favoritism toward Lonnie.

In fact, because I was a girl, I had more clothing options. My mom always bought me plenty of pretty dresses.

Lonnie used to be envious because I had more beautiful dresses. When we were children, he even threw tantrums, wanting to wear my dresses.

I never felt that our parents favored him.

Even this time, when my dad told me in person that he was putting one of the apartments in Lonnie's name to save on taxes, I didn't suspect any bias.

I was even foolish enough to comfort Lonnie, saying, "Although this might make you pay more in taxes, and buying a house later could cost you more, please don't blame Mom and Dad.

"They trust you, and that's why they want you to help.

"As children, we should be willing to make sacrifices for our parents."

Now, thinking about those words made my heart ache.

I thought, "So, in the end, I was the true idiot."

I remembered the sympathy and pity in Lonnie's eyes when I carefully spoke those words.

I wondered, "What was he thinking at that moment?

Did he think I was a fool?

My parents treated me like an outsider, and I was completely unaware, even worrying that Lonnie might hold a grudge against them because of this."

I clutched the lottery ticket, crying and trembling all over.

When I found out I had won, I was overjoyed.

I imagined countless times how my parents would react when I told them I had won the lottery.

Each time, I couldn't help but smile.

I even thought about giving the entire ten million dollars to my parents, letting them do whatever they wanted with it.

I never worried that they would treat me unfairly, so I didn't feel the need to guard against them.

But now, I felt like a joke.

No, maybe it wasn't just now.

I thought, "Perhaps it has always been this way. Maybe I have always been a joke. I am a foolish, clueless joke."

I took a screenshot of Lonnie's Twitter post and sent it to our family group chat using my regular account.

My mother, who always had her phone in hand, stayed silent.

Two hours later, my dad forwarded a news article to the group. My mother and Lonnie started a lively discussion about the news.

My message was instantly buried.

This was their response. They tacitly ignored my questioning.

I felt heartache and anger.

My pride screamed at me in my mind. I thought, "Don't ask again. Isn't the truth clear enough? Isn't their attitude cruel enough?

If you keep pushing, you'll only be humiliated."

But I couldn't control my hands. I furiously typed a question into my phone: [Are you really going to ignore my message without even a single explanation?]

The lively group chat fell silent again.

The chat window was stuck on my question. They didn't reply.

I wanted to storm up to my parents and ask them why they were treating me like this.

However, the silence in the chat made me feel deeply embarrassed.

I thought, "No matter how I question them, it will only end in humiliation for me.

The truth is clear.

They don't care about me.

And yet, I still care about them."

That intense embarrassment stopped me from taking any drastic actions.

I packed my bags and returned to work early.

I cashed in the lottery ticket and looked at my bank account balance. It was a lot of money, but I couldn't feel any joy.

Every day, I couldn't stop myself from checking my phone and constantly checking our group chat window.

I don't understand why, despite my despair, I still hold onto some kind of expectation from them. I'm not even sure what I'm expecting.

As I gazed out at the pitch-black night sky, tears suddenly fell silently down my cheeks.

Perhaps it was some sort of telepathy, but shortly after I woke up, I received a call from my dad.

"Something happened to your mother!

"She suddenly collapsed, and now she's in the hospital. You need to come right away."

On the phone, my father's voice was filled with tears.

I was terrified.

For a moment, I forgot all my dissatisfaction and drove to the hospital immediately.

At the hospital, I busied myself with all the necessary paperwork and payments.

After emergency treatment, my mom finally regained consciousness.

Her health had always been poor, and every year, she had to be hospitalized several times, yet the doctors could never pinpoint the cause.

I had always suspected that she had heart issues and believed she might suffer from intermittent blood supply problems, which caused her to frequently faint.

I had urged her countless times to go to a better hospital for a thorough check-up, but she always found excuses to avoid it.

Seeing her lying weakly in that hospital bed, looking pale and fragile, I felt my heart ached.

All the resentment I had toward them over the past few days suddenly vanished.

I took several days off work to stay at the hospital and care for her.

At night, I watched over her, and during the day, I ran up and down with her for tests and payments, leaving me breathless with exhaustion.

Seeing my mother's complexion improve, I remembered one thing.

"Where's Lonnie? Why hasn't he even called?"

"I didn't tell him," my mom answered as she nibbled on the apple I had peeled for her.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"What's the point of telling him? He's careless, clueless, and completely unreliable.

"He's not like you. You're attentive and considerate. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to manage all this on my own. The hospital's all self-service now, and I don't even know how to use those machines." My dad smiled as he praised me.

Their praise did not make me happy but instead made me feel even more uncomfortable.

The smile on my face faded.

I took out my phone, but before I could dial Lonnie's number, my dad stopped me. "Don't call him. Your mom's almost recovered now, and there's nothing much he can do to help."

"How can he not help? I've taken several days off already. I need to get back to work. Can't he come and take over for me?"

"No, no, you go ahead if you need to. I'll take care of your mom."

Anger welled up inside me, nearly bursting from my chest.

Ignoring everything, I called Lonnie and calmly explained the situation.

After expressing his concern, Lonnie said he couldn't do much either.

"My business is just taking off. There's no way I can take time off. Charlette, I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'll make it up to you later."

It suddenly dawned on me that every time my parents needed help, their first instinct was always to call me.

They'd ask me to buy medicine, run errands, and even tell me they didn't know how to shop online, so I'd have to order their daily necessities for them. From small chores to major issues like taking care of them in the hospital, they always relied on me.

Lonnie was always absent during these times.

But he had a way with words, always making it seem like he had done his best.

In the end, it was always me who bore the financial and emotional burden, taking care of everything.

I thought, "Why did I never see this as a problem before? I even took pride in the fact that my parents relied on me.

I used to think all of this meant they loved me more."

Before I could respond, my dad was already eagerly telling him, "It's okay. Don't worry, and don't bother coming back. I can take care of your mom."

"These past few days have already cost me eighteen thousand dollars in hospital bills. I've paid for everything. You should transfer me nine thousand dollars," I said through gritted teeth.

Lonnie readily agreed.

But my dad snatched the phone from me and told Lonnie, "No, no, you don't need to pay anything. I'll pay Charlette."

After hanging up, he immediately started scolding me.

"What were you thinking? I never said you had to pay for anything. Why were you so eager to ask Lonnie for money?"