Julia noticed my gaze and hurriedly rummaged through the bottom of the shoe cabinet, pulling out a pair of disposable indoor slippers and handing them to me instead.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Peterson. I seemed to have been wearing the wrong pair by mistake. Why don't you put these on for now?"

I looked at the flimsy disposable slippers and then at my thick cotton slippers on Julia's feet. A strange feeling rose in my chest, but I still didn't say anything and just silently changed into the disposable ones.

After dinner, I was just about to sit on the couch and rest to ease my fatigue from travelling for hours when Dad pointed to the table and said, "Go wash the dishes."

I froze on the spot and instinctively replied, "Don't we have a caretaker for that?"

Mom frowned at once and set down her glass. Her face darkened as she looked at me. "Julia has been working hard, taking care of us, doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and more.

"She's exhausted from working all day long. She should rest now that you're back. What's the matter with you doing the dishes instead?"

"I'm tired from work too," I said, looking at them, completely bewildered. "I work overtime every day. I finally get a few days off and want to relax at home, and you're telling me to do housework instead?

"Also, I paid a lot of money to hire her. Isn't this part of her job? Why should I pay her if I'm going to be doing the housework myself?"

Julia just stood to the side with her head down, looking terribly aggrieved.

Dad slammed his hand on the table, his face darkening. He yelled at me angrily and said, "Money, money, money! That's all you care about! What else do you see besides money? You've literally abandoned your parents just for the sake of money!

"You won't even come home to visit us regularly or during the holidays. And now that you're finally home, all you talk about is money! Why don't you just live for your money and your job, then? Why even bother coming back at all?"

Mom sighed next to me, her eyes filled with disappointment. "He's right. You rarely ever come home after you started working in Berrington. We only see each other less than a handful of times a year. But Julia has always been taking care of us in every way.

"Sometimes, when we have a fever or a headache, Julia is the one busying herself to care for us, bringing us water, meds, and taking such good care of us.

"But what about you? As our daughter, have you ever treated us like your parents? Have you ever cared about us?"

When she finished, Julia went up to Mom and reached out to take her hand, comforting her softly.

"Please don't get mad, Mrs. Peterson. Ms. Peterson is working in a high managerial role now, so it's natural that she's always busy with work. It's not that she doesn't want to come home."

I was so angry hearing this from them that I almost laughed.

How could they say that I didn't care about them? I would always wire them 5,000 dollars every month, without fail, for their living expenses. And I was worried that they wouldn't bear to spend the money, so I hired a live-in caretaker and paid her a hefty sum to take care of their daily needs.

I worked myself to the bone, all alone in a foreign city, just so that they could live comfortably at home! And yet, they said that I wasn't behaving like their daughter, claiming instead that the live-in caretaker cared more about them than I did!

I clenched my fists and suppressed my anger.

"Don't you think that's unfair, Mom and Dad? You say I don't care about you and only talk about money all the time?

"I used to come home often in the past, whenever I had free time, but you said that I was wasting money, and that I was acting like a child who never grew up. You told me not to come home that often. I listened to you.

"But I still called and Facetimed you often, didn't I? I was never late wiring you the money for your living expenses, was I? And I was the one who hired Julia at a high pay to take care of you. Doesn't any of that count as caring?"

Dad's face darkened at once.

"But you didn't even come home for the holidays last year. That's unacceptable! You weren't here for Thanksgiving either and missed the family gathering. What's the point of sending us money? Your mom and I have enough retirement savings. We don't need your money!"

"Please don't get mad, Mr. Peterson," Julia said quickly, stepping forward and gently tugging at Dad's arm with a meek smile.

"Ms. Peterson has had a tough time working in Berrington. Being a manager in such a cutthroat city isn't easy for her. It's very demanding, so it's only natural that she can't keep coming home like you wished she could. I'm sure that she still cares about you two."

Yet, Dad only got angrier at her words.

"So what if she's a manager?" he snapped. "Why is a young woman even working so hard for? Sooner or later, she'll still have to get married and settle down. What's the point of climbing so high anyway?"

Mom agreed with him and chimed in, "You're not getting any younger, Jen. You really should think about getting married.

"A colleague of mine has a son about your age. He's honest and reliable, works here, and comes from a good family. Since you're back, you can go on a date with him. If you think he's a good match for you, you can get engaged."

I rejected her at once. "I'm not going to any blind dates, and I'm not getting married either."

"You're not getting married?" Dad's face was as black as thunder now. "Are you planning to work for the rest of your life?"

"Why not?" I asked, staring back into his eyes.

"You—" Dad's chest heaved with anger. "Your mom and I are getting older. We need someone by our side. If you went on the date and got married, then we'd have someone to rely on. Why can't you just think about us?"

I frowned. "Didn't I already hire Julia to take care of you?"

Dad slammed his hand on the table as he swore in my face. "Since you refuse to get married, then quit your job right now and move back home to take care of us! If not, then don't even bother calling us your parents anymore! Julia can be our daughter instead!"

I laughed in anger.

"Back when I graduated from college, I originally planned to come back here to work so that I could take care of you," I said calmly, looking at him.

"But, you thought that it was embarrassing for a prestigious college graduate to return to the village to find a local job here. You yelled at me for being useless and forced me to go into the city to work there instead.

"I struggled in Berrington for years, and now that I've finally found a foothold and have the life I have now, you think that you can make me give it all up and quit my job just to come back to take care of you? Just because you said so?"

I shook my head and added firmly, "That's not happening."

Dad frowned. His tone rose as he demanded, "What do you mean by 'not happening'? We raised you all these years! We're just asking you to come home and take care of us now. And you're making excuses?"

"I'm not making excuses," I explained patiently. "I worked hard for my position in Berrington. If I just give it up now, all my years of hard work would have been for nothing!"

"So you're not going to care about us anymore?" Mom demanded, her face tight with disapproval. "You're our only daughter. Who else are we supposed to rely on when we're older, if not you?"

"I never said that I wasn't going to care about you anymore," I said, taking a deep breath before offering them another solution.

"Fine. If you want me to take care of you, then you can move to Berrington with me. Then, I can go to work and also take care of you at the same time."

Dad immediately waved his hand dismissively, looking at me impatiently. "Move to Berrington? We've lived in this village for decades. All our friends and relatives are here. We won't be comfortable living in another place at all."

Mom nodded as well. "Exactly! Also, you're living in a rented apartment in Berrington. It's not going to be as comfortable as our own house! We're not going!"

I frowned. "If you don't want to come with me, and I can't quit my job, then there's nothing that I can do."

Dad's face was thunderous. "Nothing you can do? Now that you've spread your wings, you think you can just ignore us? You don't respect us anymore!"

"I'm not resigning no matter what," I said firmly, without the slightest hint of backing down.

Dad opened his mouth to continue yelling at me, but Julia hurriedly stepped in and gently smoothed things over.

"Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, it's rare for Ms. Peterson to come back. Let's just talk things out calmly as a family instead of arguing like this. We should be keeping our peace."

Then, she turned to me with a gentle smile. "Ms. Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are just getting old and want someone to be with them. It's only natural that they want someone to rely on. Please don't get mad at them."

Dad's expression softened slightly after hearing what Julia said. He looked at her gently and said, "Julia is very sensible. She understands us better than someone who only cares about work and money."

I didn't have the energy to argue with them anymore. It was exhausting for me to even say another word. So, I turned and walked toward my room instead.

However, I froze the moment I opened the door.

My bed was covered in unfamiliar sheets and blankets. My dressing table was piled high with hair ties and skincare products. There were also tons of unfamiliar clothing hanging up in my wardrobe. Clearly, someone had been living here for a long time.

I spun around and stared at Julia. "Don't you have your own room? Why are you staying in my room without permission?"

Julia's eyes flickered. She lowered her head and looked flustered. "I'm sorry, Ms. Peterson, I—"

Mom spoke up for her before she could even finish. "The AC in Julia's room broke. We tried to fix it a few times, but it can't be fixed anymore. Since it was getting cold a few days ago, I told her to sleep in your room for the time being.

"It's not like you're using it anyway, since you never come back. It would be a waste to keep it empty."

My anger flared up again. "Even if I don't come back often, it's still my room! What right do you have to let her move in without getting my permission first?"

"What right?" Dad roared, his face thunderous. "This house belongs to your mother and me! We can let whoever we want stay wherever we want them to! And if we can let Julia live here, we can just as easily kick you out!"

I trembled with rage at his words. I stared at my parents and suddenly realized that I didn't know who they were anymore.

This was my home too, and yet, I was being treated like an outsider.

I didn't bother arguing anymore. I just turned and headed for the front door, dragging my suitcase behind me.

"Fine, you want to kick me out? I'll leave, then."

Dad scoffed coldly as he glared at me in disdain. "Go ahead. Leave if you dare! Once you step out of this house, don't even think of coming back!"

Mom opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she just sighed and stayed silent.

Julia stood to the side, anxiously saying, "Wait, Ms. Peterson! Don't be angry! It's all my fault. I'll move out at once…"

I couldn't be bothered to listen to her anymore and just dragged my suitcase out with me, leaving the house without another backward glance.

I dragged the heavy suitcase with me, eventually flagging down a cab that took me to a nearby hotel.

…

The next afternoon, I got a call from my cousin, Sonya Peterson.

"Genevieve? We're going to the cemetery now for Great-Grandpa's death anniversary. Didn't you say that you were back? Hurry up and come over. Everyone's already here."

"Got it. I'll be right there."

After hanging up, I quickly got ready and rushed to the cemetery.

When I arrived, I saw that all of our relatives were already there, including my parents. However, when I got closer, I stopped in my tracks.

Julia was there too, standing next to Mom.

Sonya spotted me first. She waved and beckoned me over. "Over here, Genevieve."

I walked over to her and asked in a low voice, "What's she doing here?"

Sonya sighed. "Uncle Randy and Aunt Marie insisted on bringing her along."

It was my parents. They insisted on bringing Julia along.

After paying our respects to Great-Grandpa, everyone then headed to the family-style restaurant they'd booked in advance for dinner.

Everyone sat together in a private room. During dinner, Mom suddenly said, "Since everyone is here today, Randy and I have an announcement to make."