Mom Faked Being Paralyzed to Play Pitiful, But Then She Really Was

The younger brother I'd cut off long ago called me, crying.

The first thing out of his mouth was that our mother had had a stroke and was paralyzed, that she was refusing to eat and trying to starve herself to death, and would I please come home and see her.

In my last life I went without a second thought. My heart broke for her, so I brought her home and cared for her myself.

But on her deathbed she told me the paralysis had been fake.

All because she couldn't bear to see her son struggle.

She said to me, "Zoe James, you've got money. Don't hold it against your brother. That two hundred grand you set aside for my old age, plus my pension, just give it all to him."

I looked at the account, at the money already transferred out, and the rage hit me all at once. I dropped dead on the spot.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my brother called.

This time I didn't answer the phone. And this time, my mother really was in a car accident, and really was paralyzed.

A ringtone broke the quiet.

I came back to myself and glanced at the screen.

The caller was the younger brother I hadn't spoken to in ages.

The familiar scene dragged me back into my last life.

I'd picked up, and Herbert James had launched straight into his sob story.

"Sis, Mom's body's just too frail, she's had a stroke, she's paralyzed. She doesn't want to be a burden on us, so she's decided to just stop eating and starve herself."

"Nothing I say gets through to her. She told me her one wish now is to see you, to know whether you're doing all right."

"She thinks she was too hard on you back then. Her conscience is eating at her, she feels like she owes you. Sis, come home, please. Otherwise next time you come back, Mom won't be here anymore."

Hearing that, something in me clenched.

Back then Mom had favored Herbert and refused to let me go to college. I did resent her for it.

But she was still my mother. There was no way I could hear she was in trouble and feel nothing.

The moment I saw her, she rolled off the bed and lay flat on the floor apologizing to me, saying she'd been wrong all those years ago.

I softened. I couldn't stand to watch her actually die, so I brought her home and wore myself out taking care of her.

Only right before she died did she admit it. She'd faked the paralysis to cling to me, to make me take care of her for the rest of her life.

Her favoritism toward my brother never changed, not from the first day to the last.

She was even so afraid Herbert would run out of money after she was gone that she quietly signed everything I owned over to him.

This time, I wasn't going to answer.

I set the phone to Do Not Disturb and put it aside.

Not long after, a sharp knocking came at the door.

I set down the book in my hand and went to open it.

Herbert was standing there, pushing a wheelchair up to me.

"Sis, Mom... she said she wanted to see you before she died, so I brought her."

"I meant to tell you first, but you never picked up. She misses you so much."

The mother in the wheelchair saw me, and her eyes went red at once.

Her hand trembled as she slowly lifted it.

As if she wanted to touch my cheek.

But no matter how she raised it, she couldn't reach me.

"I know you still resent me. Resent that I favored Herbert, that I couldn't afford to send you to college. But you know your father was gone. One woman, raising two children, I just couldn't manage it."

"And now look at me, a useless woman who can't do a thing for herself. Call it my punishment for abandoning you back then. It's all what I deserve. I deserve to die a thousand times."

She lowered her hand, sighed softly, and a few more tears slid down.

"Zoe, seeing you doing so well now, my heart's at peace. When the day comes that I close my eyes, I can go without regret."

"But if I could, I'd want to see your face every single day. I suppose that's just a fool's dream. How could you ever forgive me? I wasn't a good mother."

Given a second chance, I could see the whole thing with a much cooler head.

She played her part beautifully, vivid enough that it almost looked real.

She lied without the smallest flicker of guilt.

A talent like that, wasted on real life instead of the screen. A shame, really.

Going on about how hard it was for one woman to raise two children.

Before Dad died, he'd already set aside a bank card each for me and Herbert, meant for college.

His accident came with a settlement payout too.

All of that money stayed clenched in my mother's hands. Not a single cent ever reached me. Every bit of it went to fund Herbert's studies abroad.

And now she was playing the pitiful card again, claiming there'd been nothing she could do back then?

Herbert gently wiped the tears from her face.

He crouched halfway in front of her, held her hand, and said,

"Mom, I know Zoe won't blame you. She'll come back to see us!"

"She's the best sister in the world, and your best daughter too, Mom. She'd never really hold a grudge against us."

Then he lifted his head and looked at me.

"Zoe, you feel the same way, right? We're family. Family doesn't really resent each other. Family is supposed to make room for each other, help each other."

"Mom's only wish now is to see you every day. Just seeing you sets her heart at ease. You wouldn't refuse that, would you?"

Watching his eyes wait for me to agree, I found it almost funny.

Family?

The two of them had never treated me as family, and they had never had room for anyone but themselves.

Before Dad died, he'd still speak up for me.

But the moment he was gone.

Herbert and my mother started freezing me out.

Acting pitiful in front of me, confessing they'd been wrong, all of it came down to one thing. They'd seen I was worth using again.

Even in my past life, when I poured everything into caring for my mother through her final years, she never spared me a scrap of tenderness.

On her deathbed all she could think about was Herbert. Whether he'd eat properly without her. Whether he'd have money to spend.

The same tricks. I wasn't going to fall for them a second time.

They could play pitiful to win sympathy. So could I.

I put on a deeply troubled face and said, "I'm about to be laid off. I'm in millions of debt now, and I'm getting ready to sell the house."

"Honestly, Mom, ever since I left home I wake up every night from nightmares. I dream about the day you wanted to trade me off for a dowry payment."

I covered my face and sobbed softly.

"Forgive me, there's nothing I can do. I can barely keep myself afloat right now, so I can't forgive you either. Please give me some time."

Herbert looked a little startled. "How could that be?"

"I asked around before we came. You're doing great these days. How could you possibly be in debt?"

I lowered my hands and looked at him with red eyes.

"I just wanted to hold on to a little dignity. Would I show the ugly side of things to outsiders?"

"Herbie, Mom, if it were you two, would you?"

Herbert and my mother exchanged a glance.

I didn't wait for their answer and pressed on.

"Mom, does it hurt you to see what I'm going through? Then could you lend me a hand and help me out?"

"I'm 2.26 million in debt. Your life right now has to be a little better than mine. Could you take me home and give me a place at your table?"

"After I sell the house I'll still be 560 thousand in debt. Can I come home with you? I'd like for us all to live together as a family too."

Herbert's face twisted with unease.

Whenever a question was hard to answer, he just went quiet.

He nudged the mother with his hand, on the sly.

The mother forced out a bitter little smile.

"Zoe, it's not that we don't want to take you in, it's... the truth is we can barely keep our own heads above water. Otherwise we wouldn't have come looking for you in the first place."

I let out a soft sniffle.

"All I need is a bowl of food, Mom. Herbie. Are you really going to leave me to sink?"

"Just now you two said you missed me, said you wanted to see me every single day, said we'd all live as a family. How did you change your minds so fast?"

Once the mother saw there was nothing left to squeeze out of me, only the risk of me dragging them down,

she rushed to explain. "There's only one room fit to live in back home. Your brother and I already crowd in together. We eat meal-replacement porridge, not even a side dish. You wouldn't be able to stomach it."

"Even if you came back, there'd be nowhere for you to sleep. You're better off staying here. I'm sure someone as capable as you will land a new job in no time."

So this was enough to scare them off?

Weren't we one big loving family?

The moment I was the one needing help, they wanted no part of it?

I opened my mouth to keep pleading poverty, but before the words came out,

the mother was already waving Herbert over.

"Herbie, forget it. Your sister's having a hard time too. Same as us, she can barely keep herself afloat."

"Let's hurry home and stop bothering your sister. We don't want to weigh on her."

Herbert grabbed the wheelchair and bolted.

No matter how I tried to make them stay, they wouldn't.

Terrified I'd actually latch on to them.

Hmph. They really were laughable.

I shut the door and clapped my hands, satisfied.

There. Finally sent them off.

Not long after, Herbert's call came through.

I thought about it. If I was going to play the part, I'd play it to the end.

I tapped to answer.

Herbert's frantic voice spilled out.

"Zoe! A car just went out of control, Mom shoved me out of the way and got hit herself. We're at the hospital now and she still hasn't come to. I've never dealt with anything like this. Can you come be with me?"

Who'd have thought that after faking paralysis, the mother was now genuinely on the verge of it.

I had no idea what he wanted, calling me over.

Either way, my role was already set. Going to see them, playing along a little, that worked fine too.

I'd just reached the door of the ward.

And I heard the mother's voice inside.

She was awake already?

Curious, I edged closer to the wall and listened.

"When your sister gets here, I'll keep pretending I've passed out, and you cry your heart out beside me. Remember, make it as pitiful as you can. Once she feels sorry for me, she'll take me home and look after me."

"After she takes me back, the two of us will be set for life!"

Herbert sounded doubtful.

"Mom, did you forget? We already went to see her. She's a million in debt now. How could she possibly take you home and care for you?"

"She was ready to grovel and follow us back and beg us for scraps! Mom, is this plan of yours actually going to work?"

Mom smacked him across the forehead.

Her voice carried that tone of someone despairing at a hopeless case.

"How could she be a million in debt? Her job is rock solid. That boss thinks the world of her, and she's got over a million saved up!"

"Just listen to me. You cry when the time comes, that's all you have to do. She's soft-hearted, can't stand to see me hurt. Once she takes me home to care for me, however much money I get out of her, I'll hand it all to you!"

"That way you won't have to go out and slave at a job. Every month I'll give you money to spend. And when you get married someday, even the dowry and the new house, Zoe will pay for all of it!"

Herbert lit up at the picture she was painting.

"Mom, if it really works out, how much will you give me every month? Will it be more than a job pays?"

"Eight thousand at least!" Mom held up five fingers. "That's just the first few months."

"After that, I can give you sixty thousand a month! That little chit Zoe's got a high position, pulling in eighty thousand plus every month! In a few years it'll even hit two hundred thousand!"

"By the time she's making two hundred thousand, I can pull a hundred and eighty out of it for you to spend! I guarantee you'll live like a king every month!"

How did she know my salary and my job situation?

Everything she was saying, why was it exactly the same as what I'd lived through in my last life?

Could it be that this car accident had made her come back too, just like me?

Herbert clapped and cheered for her.

Mom glanced toward the door and told him to keep it down.

"All right, all right, put your hands down. Don't let that little chit hear you. Just stick to the plan."

"As long as you do as I say, every last thing that girl owns will belong to us. We'll live in the lap of luxury off of her!"

Ha. Live in luxury off of me? Still dreaming pretty dreams, are they?

This life, they could forget about ever leeching off me again.

They wanted to play. Then I'd play along, just a little, and see who came out the winner in the end.

I knocked twice and walked in.