Chapter 1

My Mom Hated Me, Until I Saved Her

My mom had just turned nineteen when a high school bully assaulted her, and she was forced to carry me to term.

That same year, my grandpa accepted a hefty settlement of nearly thirty thousand dollars from the bully, dropped the lawsuit, and effectively sealed off Mom’s only path to justice.

My first cry, ironically, was drowned out by the final bells of senior year, becoming the last straw that broke her spirit.

That night, she sat alone, wide awake, until dawn.

The next day, she left a letter severing all ties, walked out, and was never heard from again.

I thought I’d never see her in my life.

But eighteen years later, as I entered my senior year, a new transfer student, Chloe, stepped in to help me, then smiled and invited me to her house.

The moment the door opened, I saw that face—a face I’d missed countless times in photographs—and instinctively said, “Mom…”

----

Mom’s smile froze. Her face drained of color when she saw the birthmark on my hand.

She pressed down on her trembling voice, suddenly pushing me away with force.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” she said coldly.

I fell to the ground, and my only decent school uniform, the one without any patches or wear, was ripped by the sharp asphalt.

She then pulled Chloe inside, slamming the door shut with a loud *bang*.

From inside, I heard the sound of a vase shattering, followed by Mom’s sobs:

“Did she approach you? Drag you here? I told you to stay away from the wrong crowd! Why won’t you ever listen?”

“Baby, please, stay away from her. Your mom is begging you.”

Each word struck my ears, weighing more than a thousand pounds, crushing the last remnants of my surprise and hope at seeing her.

Blood seeped from the asphalt cut on my hand, but the pain was less than a millionth of what I felt in my heart.

Lost and unsure what to do, a gentle male voice spoke from above me:

“Little girl, why are you sitting on the ground? You’re bleeding so much. Does it hurt?”

It wasn’t until he took me to his house to bandage my hand that I realized he was Mom’s husband. Daniel.

He immediately noticed Mom’s swollen eyes.

“Ellie, why are you crying? Are you still sad about leaving our old home? Thank you both for supporting my work and moving here with me.”

Mom didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, she stared at me, her expression a mix of despair and deep disgust.

She collapsed to the floor, clutching her head, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I knew it! You’d haunt me like a ghost, cling to me, and destroy all my happiness!”

I forgot how I dazedly left.

I only remembered Mom’s frantic cries:

“I am not your mother!”

As dusk settled, Grandpa Arthur waited for me at the door as usual.

I quickly wiped away my tears with my sleeve and brushed the dust from my clothes.

I forced a smile.

But when he saw the bloodstains on my school uniform, his grip on his cane tightened.

“Did those classmates of yours bully you again? Don’t listen to their nonsense. Your mom went out to make money for your schooling. When she comes back, she’ll go settle the score with them! She’ll let them know our Harper is loved!”

The tears I’d been holding back finally broke free. I pulled away from Grandpa’s hand and sobbed uncontrollably.

“You’re lying! It’s because of you Mom left! And now she’s back, but she doesn’t love me at all. She hates me!”

I locked myself in my bedroom, hugging Mom’s photo, and didn’t sleep all night.

When I woke up in the morning, Grandpa had already left for his stall.

On the table were seventy-nine dollars, cobbled together from quarters and dimes, and a can of peaches.

Next to it was a note from Grandpa:

“Harper has grown up, her uniform is too small. It’s time to buy a new one. And Harper, Happy Birthday.”

On my way to school, I deliberately took a detour past Grandpa’s sock stall.

His deeply lined face hid his emotions, but I felt his already hunched back sag even lower.

2.

Chloe didn’t come to school all day.

I was terrified, afraid Mom would take her and move away today, disappearing without a trace, just like eighteen years ago.

I couldn’t resist going to the office to ask the teacher why Chloe wasn’t there, but then I heard Mom’s voice.

“Teacher, could our daughter be moved to a different class? That girl, Harper. I’ve heard about her family. I don’t want Chloe associating with someone raised by that kind of grandpa.”

I stood frozen at the office door, my limbs felt like lead, heavy and immobile.

It seemed the teacher heard a sound from outside and opened the door.

Mom and I locked eyes.

The instinctive disgust in hers made me tremble, and a wave of hurt and resentment washed over me.

I almost ran, turning and fleeing.

I ran back to Grandpa Arthur’s small stall, only to find Chloe there, skipping school.

She had overturned Grandpa’s stand and cut up all the socks.

Her eyes red, she shrieked,

“How can there be a father like you in this world?! You don’t deserve to be my grandpa, you don’t deserve it!”

Grandpa knelt on the ground, heartbroken over the shredded socks, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

“Child, you can hate me, hit me, curse me, just please don’t cut them! The money from these sales is for Harper’s tuition next semester!”

Chloe scoffed.

“Does a scumbag’s child deserve an education? Mom told me and Dad everything yesterday. I won’t let you two, who ruined Mom, have a moment’s peace.”

I rushed forward, trying to snatch the scissors from Chloe’s hand.

“Don’t cut them, please…”

As we struggled, Mom, who had followed me, pushed through the crowd of onlookers.

She saw Grandpa kneeling on the ground, picking up the socks, and her eyes instantly welled up.

She reached out, as if to touch Grandpa’s white hair, but then pulled her hand back, scoffing coldly,

“Hmph. Did you blow through that settlement money already? Still living in squalor, I see. Why don’t you sell that little monster too?”

Grandpa froze for a long moment at the familiar voice, but he never looked up.

I saw Grandpa’s tears flow into the deep lines on his cheeks, streaking across his weathered face.

However, the gasps from the crowd shattered the scene:

“Blood! Oh my, those two girls are bleeding! Quick, take them to the hospital!”

The moment Mom heard this, she immediately rushed to Chloe’s side.

Her tension was palpable. “Baby, where are you hurt? Let Mom see!”

Chloe seemed stunned,pointing at the small severed finger on the ground.

“Mom, she…”

Mom let out a long breath.

“It’s good that you’re not hurt.”

Soon, she realized something.

She looked sharply at my profusely bleeding finger.

A flicker of reluctance crossed her eyes, and she immediately pulled out her phone and dialed 91