He stalked back and forth in the living room, irritation rolling off him, when suddenly his eyes landed on the punching bag.
He hammered it with a flurry of punches, each blow far heavier than his son’s, making the bag tremble violently.
The violent shock surged through the canvas and slammed into my body.
A faint sound of bone breaking echoed in my ears and pain tore through every nerve.
My body no longer had the strength to cry out; my vision blurred, my mind drifting away.
I seemed to see my mother again, gently placing meat into Nathan’s bowl. But when her eyes flicked toward me, there was only impatience.
“You’re the older sister, you must be sensible. That tuition-free school is good enough. Graduate quickly and start supporting the family.”
“Do you hear me? Don’t even think about going to a university in another province. If you dare, I’ll break your legs…”
The admission letter from that prestigious university was clenched tightly in my hand before slipping silently into the trash.
After I graduated, I sent my entire first salary of $3,500 home, keeping only $500 for myself.
“You live in the dorm and the cafeteria is free. What do you need so much money for? Two hundred a month is enough…”
I lived so tightly that even when my shoes split, I didn’t dare buy new ones. When colleagues asked me to go shopping, I only smiled and said, “Next time,” then stayed behind to work overtime.
When my roommates split the bill for dinner, I found an excuse, “I already have plans tonight,” and wandered around a free park for two hours before heading back to the dorm.
At last, I endured until Nathan graduated and I was on the verge of getting married. I thought leaving my old family would be freedom.
But Chase was a man who only cared for work; everything else he ignored.
The baby’s cries, endless chores and the strain of work, like ropes, wound tighter and tighter around me.
I endured for years, until my daughter went off to university and my son moved up to high school.
But as her graduation approached, she failed class after class. Watching her sink deeper into mobile games, I grew restless with worry, yet she only angered me more.
Bella stood proud, full of her own reasoning.
“Everyone in class just leeches off their parents. No one studies, no one works; they just enjoy life. If you can’t give me what I want, why did you bring me into this world?”
“Why must you control me? You’re unhappy, so you want me to live the same way? Why should I do chores? Why can’t I fail classes? Why must I hand over money once I graduate?”
“Responsibility! You repeat it every day, don’t you ever get tired? If you’ve hit menopause, then go get treated!”
Her words struck me again and again, cutting deeper each time, until the last of my hope was gone.
No matter what, it was always me who stood at fault.
My giving was treated as nothing, while her demands were treated as law.
This life of mine, such a failure, far too much of a failure.
Silent tears slipped down, bitter and salty.
Maybe it would be far better to die like this.
At least I would no longer see my daughter’s cold stare, no longer hear my husband’s self-righteous scolding, no longer count that pitiful salary, no longer endure my mother’s endless demands, no longer imagine that even after my children married, I would still be burdened with grandchildren, treated like a nanny and despised.
I was tired. Exhausted.
The last spark of will to live was smothered by this endless weariness and despair.
I let my eyes drift shut, slowly, slowly.
The sounds of the world outside faded further and further away, then came a crash.
From beyond the room came the sound of my husband, raging, throwing something, likely a trash can or a chair overturned in anger.
His roar was heard.
"It’s already midnight and you’re still not back! Where the hell have you been? Always such a nuisance!"
In the living room, both Bella and Percy flinched at the sudden outburst. They exchanged a startled glance, neither daring to make a sound.
For a moment, silence weighed heavily in the air before Percy’s timid voice broke it, trembling with tears.
"Dad, Mom never stays out this late... Could something have really happened to her?"
Bella’s eyes flicked instinctively toward the sandbag in the corner. Her heart skipped and a cold shiver ran through her. She quickly turned away, forcing her tone to remain steady.
"What... what could have happened? Don’t let it trick you! She must have gone to a friend’s house to complain!"
After his furious shouting, Chase slammed the door shut and stormed off to bed.
Percy rubbed his hands nervously, then lowered his head and slipped quietly back into his room.
Bella lingered in the empty living room, the game in her hands, suddenly losing all its charm. A sudden shudder ran through her and she hurried back to her room, locking the door tight.
The world finally sank into complete silence.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
A faint light suddenly slipped in from above.
The zipper of the sandbag was slowly undone from the outside.
