Chapter 3

I tried to reason with him.

“Your dad is a private school teacher; he has a solid salary. He has enough money to install an AC for himself. Do you know why he still works hard delivering food after work?”

He kept smashing the AC, scoffed, and said nothing.

I patiently explained, “It’s because his younger brother, David, is getting married and needs a three-hundred-thousand-dollar dowry. He sent all his savings back, but he’s still short by one hundred and fifty thousand, so he had to start delivering food.”

“For the past year, he’s been working multiple jobs so hard, all to save money for David’s wedding.”

“Last month, I heard he was still short fifty thousand, and David couldn’t wait any longer, urging him to get the money quickly. That’s why he came to me. After buying this apartment, I didn’t have much money left, and I needed to save that for your college tuition, so of course, I wouldn’t lend it to him.”

He cut me off. “I don’t care! I just want my dad not to work so hard! Transfer the money to him right now! Otherwise, I’ll overheat and die right here!”

He went back into his room, grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around himself, and said firmly, “I mean it!”

The temperature in the room quickly rose.

I was already sweating profusely.

He was even worse.

He was panting from the heat, his breath hot, like steam from a boiling pot.

But his eyes, covered in sweat, stared at me with fierce determination.

He’d used this trick since he was little.

He always used himself to threaten me.

If I didn’t buy him something, he’d go on a hunger strike or lock himself in his room.

My heart ached for him, and I always had to give in.

This time, though, I felt unusually exhausted.

Suddenly, I wondered what the point of working so hard was.

He wrapped another blanket around himself, forcing me to transfer the money to Richard.

I had no choice but to FaceTime Richard.

I aimed the camera at Liam and told Richard, “Your son is punishing himself because you won’t use the AC. Please, talk some sense into him. He’s deliberately suffering; he’ll get sick eventually.”

Richard said exactly what I expected.

“That’s my good boy. It’s okay to be a little hot; it won’t kill anyone. The money saved on the AC can be used for your uncle David’s wedding.”

I watched Liam’s reaction, hoping he’d realize the truth.

But he just nodded, moved.

“Dad, don’t worry, I know you’re doing this for me. I’ll always support you!”

Seeing this, the last flicker of hope in my heart was completely extinguished.

I opened my SnapChat wallet.

Liam immediately threw off the blankets, his face beaming with pride, thinking he had me exactly where he wanted me. “That’s right! You married my dad, so you should be his strongest supporter, fully backing all his decisions.”

“After you transfer the money to him, go buy an AC from eBay. No, buy two! One for us, and one for Dad. A family should share hardships together.”

I didn’t respond.

He noticed I wasn’t transferring money at all; I was actually browsing hotels. He immediately exploded.

“What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to transfer money to Dad?”

I booked a king-sized room right in front of him, calmly saying, “It’s too hot to sleep without AC. If you want to share hardships with your dad, that’s fine, but I have no interest in joining you.”

His face contorted with rage.

Then he piled all the blankets back on himself.

“If you dare go to that hotel, I’ll literally overheat and die for you!”

I didn’t answer, packed a change of clothes, and walked out.