My mom called me useless for not sending $10K like my sister! when I tried to say! Dad cut me off…
Six Years Later
After the tumultuous events, my parents found themselves filing for bankruptcy. Their debts were wiped clean, but as a consequence, they had to sell our family home and move into a modest apartment.
Despite everything, both of them managed to find jobs through a temp agency and were making ends meet. Ironically, my father ended up working at the construction site where I had previously worked part-time.
On his first day, he was greeted with:
“Ah, it’s the old man, help me out here. There used to be a young lady here before, but she quit. She worked hard, sending money to her parents. I’d love to see the faces of parents who’d make their daughter work here”.
My father’s expression hardened upon hearing this. Meanwhile, Meera, having abandoned her modeling aspirations, tried her luck in the nightlife scene. Unfortunately, her self-centered traits didn’t sit well with customers, and she was quickly dismissed from various clubs and lounges.
Eventually, she scraped by with earnings from a small bar. Her lifestyle led to noticeable changes in her appearance, and among the regulars, tales of her modeling days seemed like distant, almost unbelievable memories.
“A model? Who are you kidding? Look in the mirror,” they would mock.
As for me, I severed ties with my family and focused on building my own life. Six years later, I found myself at Scarlet’s wedding, held in a scenic chapel in Tampa, USA, overlooking the sea. The vast blue stretched before us, and the atmosphere was charged with a sense of new beginnings.
Next to Scarlet stood her husband, beaming with pride. Scarlet, who had been focusing on her career, had unexpectedly fallen in love with a colleague. During the wedding, she leaned over to me and said with a radiant smile:
“Amanda, you should also face your feelings. I achieve everything I want on my own and quickly discard what I don’t need”.
Her husband chimed in jokingly:
“Don’t throw me away, okay?”.
Scarlet’s wedding was a celebration of freedom, the freedom she helped me find. I expressed my heartfelt gratitude:
“Scarlet, be happy. I’m really grateful to you”.
It was a joyous occasion, and as the festivities drew to a close, Scarlet introduced me to a friend of theirs, Ethan. Ethan, or Ethan as he was known, was tall, well-built, with a charming smile. He ran an architectural firm.
“I wanted to introduce Ethan to you, Amanda. Your personalities are almost the same,” Scarlet joked, sparking laughter among us. Ethan and I connected instantly and decided to grab a meal together.
As we talked and laughed, I felt a sense of hope and excitement bloom within me, much like the amandus my grandfather so loved. Moving forward, I planned to embrace both work and love. I was determined to live life to its fullest.
“Grandpa, please keep watching over me from above. I’ll make sure to blossom fully,” I whispered to myself, a smile spreading across my face as I looked forward to the future.
