Her words hit me harder than any argument could.
Adam, standing beside her, added quickly, “We heard Grandma scold you that you couldn’t give her anything nice for her birthday. We wanted to help, Mom. We thought… if we could buy her gold jewelry, you’d both be happy.”
My anger melted in an instant, replaced by guilt. My lips parted, but no words came. I just looked at them, my chest tightening painfully.
“You…” I whispered, then stopped myself. I couldn’t scold them anymore. Their hearts were pure, even if their actions were reckless.
I turned to my mother. She had been silent all along, but now I noticed tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Mom,” I said sharply, the anger returning, “if you hadn’t always said those things, if you hadn’t always compared me to Zarah, would they have done
