1
Facing this sudden blow, my raised hands trembled, and my original concern for my family vanished in an instant. Although it was midsummer, I felt like I was in an ice cellar. The door in front of me, which used to be the exit for my longing day and night, now seemed like a cliff, stopping me in my tracks.
Although my parents favored my younger brother, he had always been close to me, and I went to jail to take the blame for his crimes. I didn't believe he would want to see me kicked out of the house. With so many thoughts in my mind, I still plucked up the courage to knock on the door.
My mother opened the door and saw me, pretending to be surprised and said, " Alex , why are you back? Your dad just said he was going to pick you up." She looked at me and squeezed out a distressed expression: "You have worked so hard in the past few years, and you have lost weight." If I hadn't heard her true words at the door, if this concern came from the heart, how good it would be.
A wave of sadness welled up in my heart and I forced a smile and said, "It's okay. It's convenient to take a taxi now." Then I stepped into the house.
My sister-in-law came up to me immediately and sprayed alcohol on me, as if she wanted to pour the whole bottle on me. "Don't think too much, I'm just trying to get rid of your bad luck." She said this, but her face was full of undisguised disgust.
She despised me for being a labor camp prisoner, but forgot that I was in prison for her and my brother. I said nothing and walked straight to my room. "Don't look, there is no room for you at home." My father's words were like cold water poured over my head, chilling my heart.
I stopped and looked at him: "Dad, I just spent three years in jail, I'm not dead, don't I deserve even a room?" My father put out his cigarette and said confidently: "There are so many people in the family, and there are only a few rooms, how can we live together?"
I didn't want to argue with him, so I turned to my brother: " Hugo , is that what you mean?" My brother came out of the bathroom and looked at me embarrassedly: "Brother, Emma is only two months pregnant. If you live at home, there really won't be enough rooms. But it doesn't matter, you are my real brother, and I will definitely put you first. If you really want to live here, I will vacate the baby room that I originally arranged for you to live in."
My brother was straightforward, but I understood his dilemma. I nodded and said directly: "Okay, the baby won't be born for another eight months, so I'll live here for a while." When my brother heard what I said, his expression instantly froze, and he hesitated to speak.
My sister-in-law couldn't help it, and rushed over to yell at me: "How can you be so selfish? Don't you see that there's not enough room at home? You have the nerve to take our baby's room, you're so shameless!" I laughed out of anger, looked at her and replied: "We could live here before, but I went to jail, and the baby hasn't been born yet, so how come we can't live here? And, have you forgotten? I bought this house with full payment!"
My father slammed the table and said harshly, " Alex , what's with your attitude? You think you're great because you paid for a house in full, right? You came to us for the house as soon as you got out of prison?" I said disappointedly, "Am I the one who asked you to return the house? It's you who refused to give me even a room to live in!"
" I told you from the beginning, there is no room for you at home. If you want to find a place to live, go out and rent a house yourself. We don't owe you anything!" My father was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at me, and clearly ordered me to leave.
" You don't owe me anything." I sneered, "Who was the one who wiped my tears and begged me to take the blame for my brother? Who said that if I took the blame, I would be the great benefactor of this family and would repay me in the future? I just want to live in a room that originally belonged to me. Is that too much? Is this what you call repayment?"
I said it word by word, and all kinds of emotions rolled violently in my chest. At the beginning, my brother and sister-in-law drove my car against the speeding and hit someone to death, and my parents immediately came to me. They said that they had finally supported my brother to enter a prestigious university, and his future was bright. His life must not be ruined by this car accident. And I am just an ordinary employee of a small company, and my future is far less than that of my brother. So they cried and begged me to take the blame for my brother, and said that when I get out of prison, my family will repay me well.
I didn't do it for any reward, but I felt sorry for my parents and really loved my brother, so I didn't hesitate to ruin myself to go to jail for my brother. In order to save my brother, I sold my car, emptied my savings, and lost my job to pay compensation for him, to take the blame, and to endure all the insults for him. I was in prison for three years and suffered a lot, but I endured it all. But how could I have imagined that what was waiting for me was not a stronger family relationship, but a complete betrayal and blow.
My beloved family turned out to be a bunch of ungrateful people who wanted to destroy their families. My younger brother also revealed his true inner thoughts at this moment. In his eyes, I am now a burden and the culprit who caused them to lose face.
The last bit of hope in my heart was completely annihilated. This family no longer has a trace of warmth. All my efforts have become the biggest joke. I looked at my younger brother who was taller than me and said coldly: " Hugo , don't forget that you are the one who should be a labor camp prisoner, and you are also the one who brought shame to the whole family! If you really care about the overall situation, you should have taken the initiative to confess your guilt, instead of enjoying my efforts, occupying my house, and having the nerve to blame me for not thinking about you!"
Hearing what I said, my brother's face suddenly became extremely ugly. He said unhappily: "I've already thanked you for taking the blame for me. What else do you want from me? As my brother, isn't this what you should do? It's just a small thing, do you have to keep talking about it?" My brother said it very lightly, as if my three years in prison for him was just like the time I gave him the biggest chicken leg to eat, and a thank you was enough to offset it.
My father also defended my brother as always, and scolded me: "The eldest brother is like a father. You want to take credit for doing something for your younger brother. Why are you so petty?" "That's right, you are a labor camp prisoner who has accomplished nothing. Aren't you here to suck blood? If you are living here and relying on me, how can the baby in my belly live?" My sister-in-law touched her belly and spoke mercilessly.
My mother also looked solemn, and said to me earnestly: " Alex , your father and I are still waiting to hold our grandchildren, and you are not young anymore. Even if you rent a house and live alone, it is reasonable." They said one by one, and every word was like a sharp knife, piercing my heart.
I was extremely disappointed, but my eyes were still wet. I looked at them and said in a hoarse voice: "No wonder you didn't come to see me once in the three years I was in prison. I convinced myself that you were too busy to come and see me. But it turns out that you just think I am shameful."
I raised my head, held back my tears, and then asked solemnly, "I just want to ask you one question, are you determined to drive me away today?" "Yes!" My father said without hesitation. My mother, brother, and sister-in-law all looked determined. There was obviously no room for negotiation on this matter. I couldn't see any emotion in their eyes. I nodded and said resolutely, "Okay, in this case, from today on, I will break off all ties with you. I hope you won't regret it!" This family is not worth any more of my nostalgia. The 100 million that I originally planned to share with them has nothing to do with them anymore.
After saying that, I walked out of the house without looking back. Behind the door, I heard my sister-in-law's angry roar: "Why are you pretending? We broke off relations with you, a prisoner with no future. What do we have to regret? We will really regret letting you stay at home and suck your blood from your parents!"