One Day My Boyfriend Said He Didn’t Know Me Chapter 08
A few days later, my parents showed up.
Mom did something unprecedented—she cooked my favorite dishes.
Her gaze swept across the trophy on the shelf, and she let out a long sigh.
“You win one award and turn the whole world upside down. How is Sophie supposed to show her face after this?”
I picked up the trophy and polished it carefully.
“You’re right. Sophie turned the whole world upside down trying to win an award. If she can’t show her face anymore, that’s exactly what she deserves.”
Dad came out of the kitchen carrying a dish.
“Sit down, all of us. Let’s talk like a family. Stop arguing the second we walk through the door.”
“A family?”
I looked at them.
“Who? Us?”
Mom threw the spatula into the wok.
“Here you go again.”
I said calmly, “Ever since I was little, I could never figure out why you two always preferred Sophie. Today it finally clicked.”
Dad set the plate on the table, his expression darkening.
“Emma, that’s enough nonsense.”
I shrugged.
“It’s because you two never accomplished much yourselves, so you needed someone to validate your taste.”
“Sophie throws you one compliment, and you put her on a pedestal.”
“Anything I achieve, all you ever ask is whether I just got lucky.”
Dad’s face turned ugly.
“Don’t change the subject. Let’s stick to the point—what’s the use of those photos you take? Can they put food on the table?”
“Yes.”
The first-place prize in a national competition came with a generous sum.
Mom glanced at my bank balance, then pushed the phone back.
“Even if you became a millionaire, you’d still need to listen to your parents.”
“Mom. Dad.”
I looked at them squarely.
“If you bring Buddy back, I promise I’ll be as obedient as I used to be.”
“I’ll give you all the prize money too. Deal?”
Dad couldn’t keep his composure.
He slammed his palm on the table.
“All this over a dog!”
“His name is Buddy.”
My voice shot up.
“Buddy is my friend. He’s not just some dog.”
My parents froze.
Mom turned her face away and dabbed at the corner of her eye.
“We raised a child and got an enemy.”
“At least Sophie knows how to be grateful. Every time she sees us, it’s Aunt Claire this, Uncle Mark that. And you? All you ever do is give us attitude.”
I walked to the door and gripped the handle.
“If you like her so much, go find her.”
I gestured toward the hallway.
Mom stared.
“We came all this way to see you, cooked for you, and you’re throwing us out?”
I shook my head.
“Mom, don’t you get it yet?”
“You’re the one who gave up on me. Not the other way around.”
Mom went still.
Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror.
She was wearing the matching mother-daughter outfit Sophie had given her. The phone in her hand was Sophie’s old one.
The new phone I’d bought her, she’d turned around and given to Sophie.
And she’d actually scolded me for not being as thoughtful as Sophie.
Dad looked at me, his expression complicated.
“If we leave, who’s going to look after you?”
I smiled.
“I don’t need anyone to look after me.”
A few days ago, I’d pushed Ryan out of this apartment and ended a relationship.
Now I was showing my parents out, ending a bond that had been suffocating me for as long as I could remember.