6
372 Words
The moment my feet touched the soil of my hometown, I felt the tension begin to melt away.
I opened the door and was greeted by the scent of food.
My parents looked up from their midnight snack, stunned.
My mother recovered first and rushed to hug me.
"Nannan, why didn’t you tell us you were coming back? We would’ve sent your dad to pick you up!"
Dad joined a second later, sandwiching me in a warm embrace.
"Baby, coming home alone—what a heartbreak."
I froze at the word baby.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Dad..." I said softly. "The last person who called me that… hurt me so much."
They didn’t ask. They just sat me down on the sofa and held my hands.
"What happened, sweetheart? Tell us everything."
The wrinkles on their faces, the love in their eyes—every wall I had crumbled.
"It’s all your fault!" I cried. "I graduated more than a year ago and you still wouldn't let me into the company. I had to drift out there alone!"
Dad blinked in surprise. Mom narrowed her eyes at him.
He chuckled, trying to defuse the mood.
"Well, Nannan’s finally thinking about starting her career. Great! Start tomorrow!"
Mom didn’t smile.
Dad looked even guiltier.
"Hasn’t she been dating that artist guy for years? I just didn’t want her distracted from love. Speaking of which—where is he?"
"I dumped him."
My voice shook, but I held back the tears.
They didn’t press.
They just led me to the dining table and quietly fed me.
The next morning, my father walked into my room with a laptop.
He opened a PowerPoint presentation and beamed.
"Nannan, since you’ve decided to work, I made you a business plan last night. Moved yet?"
Dozens of slides.
I nearly fainted.
But he pulled me out of bed, grinning.
"Time to study. Work hard so we can retire early!"
I looked into his hopeful eyes… and nodded.
Within two months, I’d gotten through the basics and slipped into the company’s management ranks.
I was so busy, I barely had time to think about Tom at all.
And that—
That was the beginning of my real life.
- Writer
