The day before I was supposed to leave for my trip, I got a call from my daughter Gracie Payne.

On the phone, she told me she was pregnant.

This news brought a bit of sunshine to my otherwise gloomy mood.

But I also knew right away that my travel plans were ruined.

Gracie said she could not stomach her mother-in-law's cooking. In the early stages of her pregnancy, she had been dealing with constant nausea and cravings. She insisted I come over to take care of her for a while.

So, I had to cancel my plans with my best friend, pack my things, and head over to Gracie's place to take care of her.

By the time I got to her house, I felt much better in my mood.

My health was still relatively good, and all I had to do at her place was some cooking and grocery shopping.

I could manage that just fine.

After meals, I would accompany her on walks, and we would chat about life. Gradually, my spirits lifted.

Deep down, I felt grateful that Gracie was still so considerate.

But after a while, things started to feel a bit off.

Paying for groceries and fruit was fine. I loved Gracie, and it was my choice to spoil her.

However, her husband kept coming to me every few days to borrow a bit of "small change", saying that Gracie kept a tight grip on their money. That started to raise some questions in my mind.

One day, he approached me again, explaining that his car had accidentally scraped someone else's. Since he wanted to settle it privately, he needed some money to pay for the damages. He promised to return the money as soon as he got his next paycheck.

I hesitated for a moment, but then I figured that everyone ran into trouble sometimes, so without a second thought, I withdrew a few thousand dollars and handed it to him.

That evening, during our walk, I told Gracie not to be so tight with money. After all, a man had his pride, and it was hard for him to feel confident if his pockets were empty.

Gracie just smiled, seemingly unbothered.

I kept going, but eventually, she grew impatient and snapped back.

"What's wrong with spending a little money on your son-in-law? Is it only okay for my brother to get money but not for us?"

Her words left me speechless for a good while.

So, my children both thought I was secretly funneling money to the other's family behind their backs.

After that, Gracie started hinting that I should just give her my bank card to manage, so her cunning sister-in-law would not get any bright ideas.

I refused firmly, saying I would be careful about it.

Gracie promised she would not touch a cent of my money, only keep it safe for me. I could access it anytime I wanted.

Still, I did not agree.

Her tone grew sharp. "What do you need all that money for at your age? If you keep it with me, at least it'll be secure.

"Besides, I know how to invest! By the time I'm done, you'll have more money, not less."

I held my ground. I told her that I would spend my own money, and neither my son nor daughter would get a penny from me.

I also expressed my strong opposition to her talk of investing. I told her I was just grateful to hold onto my principal and had no interest in chasing dreams of making more.

Not giving up, she started telling me stories of elderly people living alone who got scammed out of their savings by health supplement salespeople or tricked by phone scammers.

But I remained resolute.

Seeing I would not budge, Gracie seemed a bit saddened.

She sighed and said, "I know. You just want to leave all your money for your precious grandson, right? I get it. I'm just the daughter who married out."

I swore to her that this was not the case.

She gave me a small, bitter smile, looking helpless.

After a few moments of silence, she brought up the issue of the demolition property again. I made it clear to her, as I had with her brother, that the property would be split evenly between my two children.

She pouted, looking like she did not believe me.

"Mom, it's easy for you to say that now. But you won't even let us touch a little of your money without making a fuss. Do you think you'll be able to give me a fair share of your assets when the time comes? Empty words mean nothing if you haven't written a will."

I told her that I would write a will, but the time had not come yet.

Gracie smiled and said, "Mom, just make sure you are fair when the time comes. We are both your children, so I should have my share of your things. If you leave everything to my brother, I will take it to court if I have to, just to get what is rightfully mine."

She went on to say that in today's world, I couldn't trust anyone; only what you held in your own hands was truly reliable.

I could only sigh, left speechless.

I thought that my children had grown up and developed their own opinions, but all I felt was a deep sadness.

Here I was, taking care of her out of love, only to receive such cold remarks. I felt somewhat hurt.

Over the past few days, I have been buying groceries and household items, always using my own money.

Buying small groceries was one thing, but my son-in-law had a lot of friends, and it seemed like every few days there was a small get-together, and every few weeks a larger one. Every time, I ended up hauling home bags of food, and just the cost of the good wine alone was significant.

One day, my son-in-law announced that he was hosting another dinner.

As usual, he reminded me to buy some more expensive dishes and not to worry about saving money.

He handed me a carefully prepared menu.

I was surprised by it. There was chicken, duck, fish, seafood, and so on. It looked like it would cost well over a thousand dollars.

"Kenya, today I'm hosting my superiors, so we can't cut corners. Don't worry about the money; you cover it for now, and I'll repay you later."

I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

Every time he said he would repay me, it never seemed to happen.

Once the groceries were home, I rested for a moment before starting to prepare dinner.

By the time everything was ready, a group of people came, finishing the lavish spread I had laid out.

I was so tired that I barely ate a couple of bites before losing my appetite.

When everyone had finally left, I looked around at the mess of leftovers, my son-in-law slumped drunk on the couch.

I knew I was in for a long night of cleaning up.

Gracie gave me an apologetic look. "Mom, I'm sorry you had to go through all this trouble. But, Mason is about to get a promotion. You've really played a big role in that."

What a lovely daughter. She sure had no problem working her mother to the bone.

I began clearing the table quietly, washing dishes, and mopping the floor.

It was late into the night by the time I could finally rest.

The next morning, I got up early, but Mason had already left for work.

As for the promised money, I could never get it.

Not that I ever took his promises seriously.

I decided it was time to go home. I had my own life to live, after all.

Gracie objected, and Mason also strongly urged me to stay.

But I was firm. I did not want to keep playing the fool.

Gracie then said that if I insisted on leaving, she would have to hire a nanny.

I expressed strong support for that.

She hesitated and then mentioned that the cost of hiring the nanny might require some financial help from me.

I did not respond. I just sighed.

I could not understand how the little girl I had once adored had turned into the person she was today.

I looked at her calmly and said, "I could pay for that. But Gracie, do you really think that money should come from me?"

She pouted and acted spoiled.

"Of course! If you do not want to put in the effort, then you can just pay instead."

It was June, yet I felt a chill run through my entire body.

This was the daughter I had raised.

Seeing that I was silent, she went on, "Mom, you don't even need money right now. You get a lot in retirement funds. What's wrong with giving some to your daughter?"

I replied, "It seems you're taking it for granted."

Her face immediately darkened.

"Mom, do you not love me anymore? Or do you just want to save your money for my brother? After all, he is the true heir of the Payne family, right?"