Chapter 481 No More Mercy
She wants me to take Steven’s place in prison? Am I not their child? Do they not feel worried if I get locked up in prison? I stared at Mom with a look of disappointment on my face and tears in my eyes. It was the first time her words had hurt me so much.
“Mom, are you mad at me for not taking Steven’s place in prison?” Although Mom had made herself very clear, I still refused to believe that she wanted me to get locked up in prison.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean! You could’ve just agreed to take your brother’s place in prison, but what did you do? You betrayed him just so you could get back into the Shaw family!” Mom yelled furiously while pointing a finger at me.
My heart felt like it was bleeding all over after hearing that. I never expected for her to feel that way about me.
If getting back with Michael was the only thing I wanted, then I wouldn’t have told the Shaw family that I injured Josephine. I kept the truth to myself even when I was detained at the police station.
I had always put up with my parents playing favorites, but I didn’t think Mom would say such a heartless thing to me.
It hurt so much that I even started questioning if I was actually her daughter.
“Mrs. Garcia, you’ve gone too far! Anna may be Steven’s sister, but he is a grown adult now! He has the obligation to take responsibility for his own actions!”
Ronan glared at Mom angrily as he stepped forward to defend me.
“She’s my daughter! I raised her and paid for her school fees so she can repay us when she grows up! If she can’t even do something this simple, then why should we even keep her around?”
Mom was completely unfazed by Ronan’s words and maintained her unreasonable attitude. Little did she know, every word she said hit me in the heart like a sledgehammer.
Did she raise me with the sole purpose of having me repay the favor? Shouldn’t they be loving me more because I’m their daughter? Why should parental love be such a luxury for me? Why would they be so cruel toward me?
Ronan probably wasn’t expecting such a response from Mom at all. He froze in shock for a bit before his eyes lit up with anger. “This is emotional blackmail!”
“She’s my daughter, so she has to do whatever I want her to do!” Mom then ignored Ronan and shifted her gaze toward me as she continued, “You must save your brother, Anna! He cannot afford to go to prison! If you don’t save him, then you are nothing but an unfilial daughter who doesn’t appreciate everything we’ve done to raise you!”
Instead of making a request, she was practically giving me an order at that point.
I stared at her in shock for a while before breaking into a wry smile. I used to think that they were simply biased toward us, but I came to realize that they never even loved me at all.
Michael, who had been silent the whole time, shouted coldly all of a sudden, “That’s enough!”
He then glared coldly at my parents as he continued, “I’m the one who decides whether Steven goes to prison! Anna is my wife, so I’m the only one who has the right to talk to her like this! Do you two want to get Steven out of prison? Well, guess what? That’s impossible! Now, if you two don’t leave Anna alone, I will make sure Steven stays in prison for another ten years!”
Michael’s threat was as cold as the look in his eyes.
He was a very protective person, to begin with, especially toward the people that he cared for. He refused to let anyone hurt me, including my own family members. As such, Mom’s words had angered him to the core.
The domineering aura that he exuded was so intense that even the defiant look in my parents’ eyes began to waver.
Mom was the first to regain her composure.
She shot Michael a disapproving look as she shouted angrily, “We’re your parents-in-law, Michael! How could you say that to us? Steven is your brother-in-law, you know? You can’t do this to him!”
“All of you are nothing compared to my woman! Had you guys treated Anna nicely, I would’ve been nice to you all as well! However, you three don’t even treat her like a human being! Not only have you all not given her any love, but you’ve all been using her like a tool the whole time!”
The anger in Michael’s eyes burned even stronger as he hurled those accusations at my mom.
Everything he said was exactly what I had wanted to say for so many years. For some strange reason, I found myself able to keep my emotions in check even when my mom said those hurtful things to me. However, I felt like I was breaking down after hearing Michael speak my heart.
Michael’s words hit my parents so hard that their eyes were darting about slightly out of guilty conscience.
“Nonsense! She’s our daughter, and we’ve raised her into the adult she is today! How could we have not given her any love?”
Mom had clearly lost her confidence as she turned to look at me when she said that. I didn’t know why, but I saw no truth in her statement at all.
“If you love her, then why would you ask her to take your son’s place in prison?”
Unable to stand it any longer, Ronan spoke up once again. Although it wasn’t his place to interfere with my family’s matters, he took Michael’s side in rebuking my mom that day.
Mom was rendered speechless once again, and I could see the panic in her eyes.
It was clear as day what my mom felt about the whole situation. I let out a wry chuckle and took a deep breath before turning to face her.
“Mom, I told you a year ago that it would be my last time helping you guys out. This time, I will not do anything no matter what you say. I am thankful for you raising me, and I will repay you in some other way. Please refrain from making any more unreasonable requests like this because I will not agree to them,” I said coldly while staring straight into her eyes.
Everything my mom said earlier had eliminated whatever reasons I had to show mercy on them.
They saw me as nothing more than a tool, and that was something I refused to put up with as a human being. I couldn’t bring myself to help someone unconditionally if I knew they were just using me, even if they were my family.
Some people may think of me as being selfish, but I have Michael and a child now. All I want is to stay by their side, and I won’t let anyone nor anything separate us.
