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420words
I sneered to myself.
Our parents, who only had Miranda and me, planned to leave the family home to me.After they died,Miranda and Derek,shameless,seized it,claiming,“Jenna,you’re young—what do you need a house for?We’re a family of three,we need it more.”
They added,“If you end up homeless,we’ll take you in—family,right?”
Last life,naive,I believed them,only to end up betrayed.
Mason,rubbing his aching eyes,bought the“blessed soul”story,boasting,“Of course!I was holy last life—I’ll be huge!”
Miranda patted his head,a picture of loving mother - son duo—if you ignored their crimes.
From then on,whenever relatives came to visit,Miranda bragged about her“holy”son.
When folks hinted Mason’s eyes looked sick,urging a doctor,she scoffed,assuming jealousy.
She’d glance at me,expecting me to support her.
I smiled.“Miranda must’ve been blessed in a past life to have a holy son like Mason.”
She glowed,praising Mason’s future greatness,dismissing my“a second-tier university”degree.
She’d say I should support Mason,since his“holy”success would“lift me up.”
Lift me up?Yeah,right.
Some older folks here think any school outside Harvard or Yale is a less - prestigious school.I let it slide.
Due to Miranda’s stubbornness,no one bothered to advise her anymore,leaving Mason’s cataracts to worsen.
I was in my junior year of college when Derek called during class.
Miranda fell for Derek at 16,a rough-around-the-edges guy who“saved”her from a bad boss at a diner.
She defied our parents,got pregnant while still a minor,and married him.
His family disowned him for it,but Miranda acted like she’d won the lottery.
Fools remain fools.
I ignored his call,focusing on class.He kept dialing.
After class,I answered.
“Jenna,Mason says his eyes are blurry and he can’t see well at night.Take him to the city for glasses,got it?”
I smirked. Just like always, they were trying to offload Mason's problems onto me, preaching about “family ties” in a bossy tone.
They never mentioned stealing my house.
Glasses?That’s no nearsightedness—it’s cataracts progressing.
Twirling my pen,I said casually,“Derek,you know Mason’s a special kid—he's gonna achieve great things!”
“His eyes?Maybe it’s part of his spiritual awakening.Holy souls face trials,right?”
He paused.“Really?”
I dodged blame,softening my voice.“They say blessed souls endure hardships.But I’m no expert—maybe take him back to Mama Bess?”
I'm just a clueless college kid. What do I know?
Derek grumbled about Bess charging so much for a“holy”kid’s charms.
I raised an eyebrow—$3,000 for paper?Only suckers buy that.
I heard arguing—probably the couple fighting again.
Miranda,jobless since marriage,relied on Derek’s construction wages.
Spending$3,000 on charms?No wonder they clashed.
I hung up,unbothered.
