The day after my mom used 880 grand from selling our family restaurant to buy a house for my cousin, my girlfriend of five years dumped me.

"Evan," Ruby Lawrence said while she sat across from me. "Let's break up."

My hands trembled. "Why?"

"I waited for you for five years." Her eyes welled with tears. "You said once the restaurant was sold, we'd have the down payment for a house in Seahaven. Where is it now? Where's the money?"

I tried to explain, but she cut me off. "In your parents' eyes, you're not even as important as your cousin. So tell me, who's really their son? I'm 28, Evan. I can't keep waiting."

She grabbed her bag and walked away without looking back.

My phone buzzed. My mom sent me a photo of her and my cousin at his new house.

That was followed with a voice note. She sounded joyful. "Your cousin finally achieved his biggest life goal. We can relax now."

I stared at his smug smile in the photo. I laughed until tears ran down my face.

I exited the 'Clark Family Forever' group chat and blocked every single relative.

'Since you all choose him, then from this moment on, your reputation or loyalty will have nothing to do with me. I only wonder if you'll think of the son you abandoned when that precious nephew of yours, who you poured all your resources into, throws you out of your own home.'

Three days later, I still received a call from a landline number I didn't recognize.

"Evan Clark! Why did you block your parents? What's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?"

It was Edith Manuel, my mom Jane Clark's younger sister.

"Edith. What do you want?" My voice was calm.

"What do I want? You've got the nerve to ask that? Your mom is practically having a heart attack because of you! She couldn't reach you, so she called me!"

She kept yelling at me. "Unblock them. Call your mother back. Now."

"I have nothing to say to her," I saw through clenched jaws.

"You–" Edith uttered. Her voice turned sarcastic. "Is this all because your parents gave your cousin the money from selling the restaurant? There's a reason for that! Your uncle passed away early. Your cousin's been struggling along with his mom. Your parents are just helping them out a little. What's wrong with that?"

"Helping them out a little?" I snorted. "Edith, you call 600 grand helping out a little?"

There was silence.

"I've worked in Seahaven for seven years. I started as an intern. Now I'm a department manager. I make four grand a month," I said with force.

"For seven years, I worked my butt off on overtime. I drank with clients until my stomach bled. I even worked during holidays. I saved 115 grand. Every dollar is blood money."

"I know you've worked hard–"

"Last month, I looked at a 900-square-feet apartment in Mirnivia. It was priced at 880 grand. The down payment was 30 percent, which was roughly 260 grand. I was short 150 grand.

"I told my parents to sell the restaurant, lend me 150 grand, and keep the rest for retirement. I said I'd pay them back monthly. Do you know what they said?"

Edith didn't answer.

"My dad said a man should rely on himself, and that they're not obligated to buy me a house. My mom said Seahaven was too expensive. She asked me why I had to stay there and if I would consider moving home."

There was silence again.

"They turned around and gave Logan 600 grand."

I didn't even notice my voice was trembling. "He's 24. Trade school graduate. He makes 450 bucks a month and spends his days in internet cafes. My mom said they had to make his wedding look impressive so that the bride's family wouldn't look down on him."

"Well–"

"Edith, I'm not jealous of him. I just want to know if I'm really their son. I fight my way through life just to build a home, and they tell me to rely on myself. But Logan? They throw money at him."

"Evan, don't think that way. Your parents only did it for your uncle–"

"My uncle?" I cut her off. "My uncle's been dead for twenty years! Haven't they helped enough over the past twenty years? My parents paid for all his tuition and living expenses. Now that he's getting married, they're even throwing in their retirement savings just to seem generous in front of relatives!"

Edith sighed. "Your parents are old-fashioned. They feel responsible for their nephew."

"So they have no responsibility to their own son?" I shot back. "I'm 30. My girlfriend of five years just left me because of this. Tell me, Edith, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Ruby broke up with you?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah. The day after my mom sent that photo of my cousin's new house." I laughed bitterly.

"She said she couldn't marry a man who means nothing to his own parents."

Edith fell completely silent.

"They want to be saints. They want to look good in front of relatives. Fine, they can do that.

"But when they need someone to look after them once they're older or arrange their funerals after they die, don't come knocking on my door. They can go to the precious nephew they just invested 600 grand in."

"Evan, don't say things like that–"

I hung up right away.

Finally, there was peace.

I switched on my laptop and started frantically searching for cheaper properties around Seahaven.

I didn't mind if it was in Jardino, Skyren, or Quentaris. I just needed to stay in this city.

I'd find a way to pay the 260-grand down payment.

I didn't need help from anyone else.

A week later, I was working overtime when I got a call from an unfamiliar Seahaven number.

"Hello?"

"Evan. It's me."

It was my dad, Tom Clark.

He sounded tired.

I stayed silent.

"Are you really going this far? Won't you even answer our calls?"

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Your mom is sick. She has high blood pressure. She's in the hospital."

My heart sank, but it soon grew cold. "Is it serious?"

"The doctor says she needs to stay for observation." He paused before adding in a commanding tone, "Go on leave. Come back for a while."

"I'm busy. I can't."

"Is work more important than your mother?" He raised his voice.

"Yes," I said calmly. "Because I can't rely on my mother. I can only rely on my job."

I could hear his breathing grow heavy. I knew he was upset.

"Evan, you've grown wings, haven't you? Are you abandoning your parents over some money?"

"Dad, that's not just some money. That's 600 grand." I corrected him. "That was my chance to build a life in Seahaven, and you ruined it."

"That was our money! We can give it to whoever we want!" he roared.

"Exactly." I nodded. "So my time and energy belong to me. I'll give them to whoever I want. Right now, I choose my work."

"You–" He was so upset he couldn't say a word.

"Mom's in the hospital. You're there, aren't you? What about your precious nephew? He just received 600 grand from you. Shouldn't he show some filial piety?"

"You ungrateful brat!" He yelled.

"Dad, let me do the math for you," I cut him off.

"I make four grand a month. One day off costs me about 300 bucks with deductions and bonuses. Round-trip train tickets cost over a grand. Add time lost, one trip back costs me at least 1,500 bucks."

He didn't say anything, but I could hear his breathing grow heavier.

"Insurance covers most of mom's hospital bills. You'll pay a few hundred bucks at most. Don't you still have 300 grand saved for retirement? Is it that hard to spend a few hundred bucks on her treatment?"

He gasped. "How do you know we still have 300 grand?"

That sentence got rid of the last bit of warmth in me.

"So you do have 300 grand left."

I laughed coldly. "Last week, Edith told me you spent everything on Logan's new house and barely had anything left from your retirement fund. I almost believed her."

They weren't dumb. They kept a safety net.

It just never included me.

"You had 900 grand. You gave 600 grand to Logan and kept 300 grand for yourselves. I'm your son, but I couldn't even borrow 150 grand from you," I said each word firmly. "Dad, what are your hearts even made of?"

There was a long silence.

"Evan–" He seemed to want to explain.

"Don't bother." I cut him off. "You have 300 grand for Mom's treatment. You have time to look after her too. Logan has time as well. Whether I go back or not doesn't matter."

"Are you really not coming back?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm not," I said. "Take care."

I hung up and blocked the new number too.

The office lights were harsh and made me look like a ghost.

I slumped over my desk, and my shoulders shook uncontrollably.

It turned out I really did mean nothing to them.

They'd rather spend their money on outsiders or save it up for themselves than give a cent to me.

That was fine.

It just made it easier for me to walk away completely. I had no regrets.

Two weeks later, Logan's wedding was held at the most luxurious hotel in our hometown.

It was extravagant. The wedding convoy alone was filled with Mercedes and BMWs, and the lead car was a red Ferrari.

The photos and videos flooded every family group chat.

Although I had already left those groups, there were always a couple of 'kind-hearted' distant cousins who sent me screenshots privately.

[Evan, look how impressive Logan is! Your parents really outdid themselves. They must be so proud!]

[Evan, why didn't you come back for the wedding? This was a big deal!]

I looked at the photos. At the main table, my parents were glowing with pride. They smiled brighter than the groom's own parents.

They were the center of attention. People kept coming over to toast them. Everyone praised them for being generous. They were like role models in the family.

I deleted every message with a blank expression.

The day after the wedding, I got a call from my grandfather, Gerald Clark.

He was the only one in the family I felt was reasonable.

"Evan, are you still mad at your parents?"

"Grandpa." My voice softened.

"You didn't come back for the wedding yesterday. Your parents were embarrassed." He sighed. "Relatives kept asking. They had to say you were busy with a project in Seahaven."

"I am busy."

"I know." He paused. "I heard from Edith that Ruby broke up with you. Is that true?"

"Yeah."

"What a shame. She was a good girl."

He sighed again. "Evan, I know you're angry. What your parents did was wrong. They ignored their own son just to play the big shot for others."

My eyes welled up with tears when I heard the word 'wrong.' For the first time since everything happened, someone in the family was on my side.

"Grandpa, I'm fine."

"I know you're stubborn," he said. "I know your dad very well. He cares too much about appearances. He thinks since your uncle died early, it's his responsibility as the older brother. Now that your cousin got married, making it grand was his way of honoring your uncle and gaining recognition from other relatives."

"So for his pride, my happiness is expendable?"

"He didn't think that far," Grandpa said. "He's stubborn. Honestly, I think your mom and your aunt influenced him behind the scenes."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "What's done is done."

"Yesterday, your parents got drunk at the banquet. They even bragged to me. They said everyone respects them now, and that they're the pillar of the Clark family."

Grandpa's tone carried a hint of disdain. "I scolded him. I told him he was putting out fires for others while his own house burned down."

I said nothing and just listened.

"Your dad's expression turned dark. He said I didn't understand him." Grandpa paused. "Evan, don't stay angry forever. Money can be earned again. But family? Once it's gone, it's gone."

"Grandpa, I'm not angry. I've just figured things out."

"What did you figure out?"

"That relying on myself is better than relying on anyone else. I'll buy my own house. I'll get married with my own funds. As for them, they've got their precious nephew to take care of them."

"You–"

"Grandpa, don't worry. I'm doing fine. Once I buy a place, I'll bring you to Seahaven."

"Alright, alright." His voice softened with relief.

After hanging up, I stared out the window.

Seahaven's night was still bustling with activity. I knew from now on, I'd have to walk this road alone.

I switched on my laptop and sent a proposal I had just finished to my supervisor. At the end of the email, I added a few more sentences.

[Mr. Warren, if there are overseas assignments in Faricia or Zionia, please consider me first. I'm not concerned about hardship as long as the allowance is high.]

He replied quickly.

[Evan, are you crazy?]

[I'm not crazy. I'm just trying to make some money.]