Chapter 38

"I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice. If I didn't tell them, they would've killed me. You wouldn't want to see your mother dead, would you?" Tears streamed down Mom's face as she stumbled toward me, grabbing my hand tightly. "Look at this place. It's been smashed to pieces and it's not even ours anymore. Why don't you take me to your place? I'm getting old, so you can't just leave me to wander the streets, right?" I spun around and slammed my fist into the wall, hanging my head as I let out a yell. "Mom, do you just hate seeing me live a decent life? Is that it?" I could barely keep going as it was, so why did she have to make it harder for me? Mom didn't get it; she never did. Instead, she burst into a dramatic wail. "I worked so hard, raising you from nothing! And now that you're grown, you're just going to abandon me? Is that it? Who said that having children was the way to secure a comfortable life after retirement? What a lie! If that were true, why is my son unwilling to take