When she arrived, I was hooked up to an IV. Wary of what she might do, I watched her suspiciously, my body instantly tensing.
“It’s just a little gastroenteritis, and you’re acting like you’re on death’s door. Who are you putting on this show for?”
Grumbling, she opened the food container, releasing a blast of spicy aroma into the air.
I stared at the chicken soup in it, red with oil and chili sauce, and shrank back with a grimace.
“The doctor said I need to avoid spicy food. I’m not eating that.”
“Not eating?” Hearing my “audacious” refusaf, Darlene’s face instantly contorted with rage. “I went through all this
trouble, and you dare refuse? Just eat it!”
Next second, she suddenly pinned me down and grabbed a piece of meat, forcing it into my mouth.
Instantly, the slippery, chili oil–covered meat slid down my esophagus into my stomach. I spluttered and sneezed several times as my throat and stomach burned like fire. Tears streamed down my face from the pain.
Seeing my suffering seemed to fuel Darlene’s enthusiasm. She held me down and forced several more pieces of meat into me. My body broke into a cold sweat from the agony, my face covered in tears, with no strength to call for help. It was midday when the nursing staff was minimal–even if I managed to call out, it might not do any good.
“What the hell you’re doing?!”
A thunderous shout suddenly exploded from the doorway. Darlene turned toward the voice and instantly paled.
“Y–you… how did you get here so quickly?”
‘If I hadn’t, your daughter would be dead by now!”
It was the officer from before!
His face dark with anger, he strode over and snatched the container from Darlene’s hands, immediately calling Raymond to come right away.
Soon my father arrived, disheveled and rushed, only to be met with a barrage of reprimands.
By then, patients returning from lunch had gathered at the doorway. After hearing the officer describe what had happened, they raised their voices in outrage:
“How can these parents be so heartless? Their poor daughter is hospitalized from their beatings, and they’re still forcing her to eat spicy chicken soup!”
00:56
Reborn My Family Tried to Bury Me Sol Purned It All Downl
“Exactly! How hasn’t a bolt of lightning struck these monsters down yet?”
Some even asked the officer if these heartless parents could be thrown in jail. The officer calmed the crowd. explaining that they were gathering more evidence, and before leaving, issued one final warning to my parents.
This public humiliation made Raymond’s face flush crimson. Once he was certain that the officer and onlookers had truly gone, he turned and slapped Darlene hard across the face.
“Try another stupid stunt like that, and you’ll regret it!”
After warning Darlene, Raymond forced an awkward smile and tried to comfort me.
“Listen, Tiffany, this won’t happen again. Look, we’re family. If you have any complaints, we can talk about them behind closed doors. Don’t be so quick to call the police–you’re just making us a laughingstock.”
I wiped away my tears and gave a barely perceptible nod in response.
From that day on, with Raymond’s warning hanging over her, Darlene indeed became much more restrained. She stopped her scheming, and I finally enjoyed a period of peace–eating well and resting properly. By discharge day, I’d actually gained some weight.
As I was leaving, the nurse who had been taking good care of me pulled me aside to give me her phone number and said earnestly:
“Tiffany, call me if you ever need anything, okay?”
Seeing her sincere concern, my eyes instantly welled up. In this miserable life, at least I hadn’t been left completely without hope.
I kept looking back as I said goodbye to the nurse.
It wasn’t until we’d left the hospital that I realized something odd–Darlene, who had come to pick me up, was unusually quiet. Normally, she would have already smacked me for being so sentimental.
I took a glance at her and was surprised to find her eyes red–rimmed. She looked remarkably haggard.
Though curious, I didn’t want to ask questions. But that night, when I got up to use the bathroom, I found Darlene sitting alone on the living room floor, eyes bloodshot, clutching a phone that clearly wasn’t hers, looking completely
devastated.
Suddenly it clicked!
In my previous life, this was exactly when our household had descended into chaos.
Remembering the reason, I immediately had an idea and approached her with feigned concern:
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
الحمام الان
