She Said She Only Wanted Love – So I Cut Her Off

At the New Year's Eve dinner, my mom suddenly assigns some rules to me and my siblings. She claims that those who don't fit the criteria aren't allowed to eat at the table.

Rule number one: One must have spent at least 50% of their time keeping Mom company at home last year.

Rule number two: One must have gone shopping with Mom all the time.

Rule number three: One must keep giving Mom allowance.

But it appears that I, the oldest sibling, am the only one who doesn't meet the requirements.

My little sister, Chelsea Cage, begins acting coquettish immediately.

"All Cassidy cares about is her business, unlike me, Mom! I care about you!"

Meanwhile, my younger brother, Cameron Cage, lectures me with a frown, "What's the point of you being able to earn more money than average people? No matter how good a breadwinner you are, the fact that you don't care about Mom completely nullifies it!"

My mom tells my siblings to sit around her happily. Then, she criticizes me in a sarcastic tone.

"As parents, when we become old, what we need is our children's company, not cold hard cash."

I'm pissed off, to say the least.

I'm the breadwinner of this family, and yet these freeloaders get to put on airs in front of me.

The reason why I don't go shopping with my mom is that she's never satisfied with whatever gifts I've picked out for her during the times I did go out with her. That's why I gave her money straight away.

I didn't give my mom any allowance at all because all the money is regularly deposited into the supplementary card, which she has.

Since my long-term efforts are worth nothing compared to my siblings' sweet talk, I suppose I can quit being the ATM of this family.

After Mom finished laying down those three rules, she wrapped her arms around my younger brother and little sister.

"Mom…" my sister, Chelsea Cage, cooed, dragging out the word and resting her head on Mom's shoulder. Her eyes, though, flicked toward me for just a moment.

"Don't get yourself too worked up. Cass is a busy woman—she's making millions every hour! Unlike Cam and me, who are free enough to stick around and take care of you every day. She only sees business. Of course, she doesn't think about you."

Chelsea's words sounded like she was defending me, but really, she just labeled me an ungrateful child.

My younger brother, Cameron Cage, put down his cutlery, puffed up his chest like the man of the house, and scolded me with a frown.

"Cass, I'm just saying, what good is it if a woman makes more money than a man? All the money in the world won't mean a thing if you can't take care of your mom!"

I sneered inside. None of the watches he wore or the bags Chelsea carried came from their own pockets. They were all my money.

Mom listened to them and wore a look that was partly touched, partly hurt.

"Well, it's not about what I want from you guys. I'm just old and like a little company. Just the other day, I went to the garden to exercise and heard Mrs. Simpson's daughter had married a rich husband.

"First thing she did was buy her brother a luxury car, unlike Mr. Lowe's daughter, who went to a top university and vanished afterward. She got ambitious and didn't even come home once."

Hearing that, I suddenly understood.

All this talk about spending time together, going shopping, and handing out allowances was just a roundabout way to condemn me.

She made these rules to punish me for not giving Cameron money for a house yesterday. She wanted me to hand over three million dollars for him and his girlfriend to buy their wedding home, but I hadn't agreed.

It wasn't that I didn't want to. Mom had just had heart bypass surgery recently and was still weak. I had already spent the money to buy her a retirement home with a garden in a convalescent area so she could recover in peace.

As for Cameron, he was only 24. His job wasn't even stable, and he had only just started dating his girlfriend. Marriage wasn't even on the horizon yet.

So, I figured there was no rush. We could wait until Mom was stronger. Apparently, though, that didn't sit well with her.

I slowly stood. "I'm not home much, so I don't have time for shopping. And yes, I don't give out allowances as often as I should. Since I'm not worthy to sit at the table, I'm leaving."

I dropped my cutlery, grabbed my bag, and turned to leave.

Cameron shouted in a panic, "What's with your attitude, Cassidy? Mom's still here, and you're throwing a fit in her face?"

Mom's sharp voice pierced through my ears. "Let her go! She makes a little money and thinks she can act all haughty in front of her mother!"

I didn't slow down. If anything, I walked faster.

Outside the house, the winter wind cut like knives. I slid into the car, pulled out my phone, and dialed the bank.

"Hello, Ms. Cage. Happy New Year. How can I help you today?" the clerk asked.

"I want to cancel all the supplementary cards under my name," I said.

Since they wanted to accuse me of being a heartless daughter who only cared about money, I would have no choice but to shut down their cash flow.