Everyone said my father, Henley Davidson, was a good man. The neighbor’s son couldn’t find a job after graduation. Without a second thought, my father gave him my mother’s job, and when my mother wanted to get it back, he scolded her. “What’s wrong with helping out neighbors? How could you go and ask for it back? You’re just making me look bad! Later, my father lost his job because of a mistake at work. And then, he started giving away our savings to keep his image as a “good man”. When my sister, Lynne Davidson, was sick, we didn’t have the money to treat her illness, and my mother had to watch her daughter die in her arms helplessly. After graduating from college, I worked hard and finally saved enough money to buy a house. However, my father asked me to give it to his brother, Terry Davidson’s son, Percy Davidson, who was getting married. I refused, and my father pointed his finger at me, yelling, “We’re family! What’s wrong with helping each other out? All those years of studying, and you haven’t learned anything useful, have you?” Looking at his self-righteous expression, I couldn’t help but laugh. He probably didn’t know that everyone called him a fool or a sucker behind his back.
“Rosina, you should listen to me. You should give the house to Percy. He’s getting married and needs it urgently. We’re relatives. Don’t make a fuss over it.” My father sat on the sofa, one hand holding a cigarette, the other gesturing at me. Seeing I didn’t look willing to give them the house, Terry, who was sitting next to me, poured me a cup of coffee and smiled as he set it in front of me. “Henley has a point. As a family, we should support each other. Percy’s girlfriend insists that he buy a house before they marry. Considering you don’t require the house at present, perhaps you could give it to him. It makes sense to lend it to let him use it for now.” I glanced at the coffee on the table but didn’t say a word. Anger was boiling inside me. In my mind, I thought, “Here we go again. Dad does it again, playing the role of the good guy.” Last month, after receiving my paycheck, I’d finally saved up enough to buy the house I’d been eyeing for a long time. It was a house near a good school district. The first thing I did after buying the house was call my mom, wanting to share this good news with her. But after hearing my words, my mom warned me, “You should hide it from your father. Don’t let him know you bought the house. You know how he is. If he finds out, he’ll want to give it away to someone else.” We all knew that my dad would do everything within or without his power to help others. A long time ago, when our neighbor’s son couldn’t find a job after graduating, my father didn’t hesitate to give away my mother’s job. At that time, my mother had just given birth to my sister Lynne and was resting at home. Without saying a word, my father handed over her job. When my mother found out, she went crazy, demanding that he get it back. But my father was reluctant, mumbling, “We’re neighbors. What’s wrong with helping each other out? It’s already done. How can I ask for it back? What kind of man would I be? And besides, I have a job. You can stay home and take care of the kids.” My mother glanced at my baby sister, crying in her arms, then at me, bent over at the table doing my homework, and said nothing. However, after that, my father didn’t take his work seriously anymore. He started showing up late, leaving early and kept making mistakes in his work. Eventually, the company lost a major contract because of him. His boss had had enough and fired him. That year, my sister fell ill and needed to be hospitalized. My mother, holding the bank card, stared at it in disbelief. She was told that there wasn’t a penny left. It turned out that my father had loaned it all out to “help” others. He had given away all our savings. My mother had to go door to door, begging them to return the money. However, by the time she got the money back, it was too late. She had to watch helplessly as my sister died in her arms. When we got home, my father raged at my mother, blaming her for asking others for money. He said she had embarrassed him. After I bought the house, I took my mother’s advice and didn’t even post about it on Twitter, so when my father called my company and asked me to go home, I had no idea how my father found out about it. It seemed like Terry was afraid I wouldn’t give it to them, and he smiled, “I know you just bought the house, and it’s not renovated yet. Don’t worry about that. We’ll handle the renovations ourselves. When Percy gets married, he’ll thank you properly.” I was stunned, thinking, “What kind of nonsense was that?” I opened my mouth, wanting to say something. I couldn’t figure out how someone could be so shameless. He was the one who wanted someone else’s house, and yet he made it sound like I was taking advantage of him. He wanted to take my house, which was worth 1.6 million dollars, and he thought that all he had to do was say thank you? I looked at the two of them sitting on the sofa, and suddenly, I laughed. “Fine. You can have the house. “It is worth one million and six hundred thousand dollars. Do you want to pay it by card or in cash?”
My father’s face immediately darkened, and he slammed his hand on the table. “Rosina, how dare you say that? Is giving the house to Percy so hard for you? Don’t you know you should support your family? “Do you really think it’s appropriate to ask your uncle for that much money? How heartless can you be? I’m not dead yet! This family is still under my control! Now go give your house to Percy!” I thought, “It’s easy for you, huh?” I had already seen the pattern. I knew that my father would give anything that wasn’t his to others without hesitation. My house was like the job he gave away from my mother and the money he loaned out from our savings. He’d give away whatever others wanted. Other people’s problems always came first. If the neighbor’s water pipe broke, he would get out of bed in the middle of the night to fix it. If the streetlight outside someone’s house went out, he would change it promptly, even in the dead of night. Everyone thought my mom had married a “family-oriented” man, and they called my father the local “good guy”. When my mom married him, it seemed like she was in for a life of comfort. Unfortunately, things didn’t develop that way. At our own house, my dad just gave us the runaround. When my mom asked him to do something, he always said, “I’ll take care of it soon,” but he never actually did. Later, my mom broke her leg going upstairs in the dark, and he didn’t bother to replace the light bulb. When I finally made it to college, just before tuition was due, my father gave my tuition money to a friend’s kid instead. That man was hardly his friend, it was just someone he knew from the bar. When it was time for me to pay my tuition, he couldn’t come up with the money. After he couldn’t hide it any longer, he finally admitted he’d lent it to a person who was almost a stranger. It was a sunny September day, but after hearing his words, my mother and I were drenched in cold sweat. At that time, we were outside, surrounded by many people. My mother grabbed my father by the collar and glared at him. “Did you give the money away again? That is Rosina’s tuition!” My father looked everywhere but at us, too guilty to speak. My mother and I cried helplessly at the gate of the university, and it was only with the help of a senior that I managed to apply for a student loan and finally got into university. I never understood why people always called my father a “good man”. They said it with smiles, but there was always a mocking undertone. It was as I grew up that I understood why my mother became more and more silent when she heard someone else say that and why everyone’s face always had that same sarcastic expression when they talked about my father. Now, he was attempting to win favor by pretending to be generous with my house. Hearing my father’s words, Terry sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I understand if Rosina doesn’t want to give it to us. Everyone knows you’re the kindest person around, a real friend. That’s why I came to you for help. Since it isn’t your call, we’ll let it go. Percy’s wedding can be delayed for a few years.” The more he said, the lower my father’s head dropped and the angrier he looked at me. I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. “Uncle Terry, you should know better. As Percy’s father, you are responsible for getting him the house. I have never heard anyone come to their niece for a house. If I give you my house, people would think Percy is my son!” No sooner had I finished speaking than my father slapped me across the face. “How dare you talk like that to your uncle? How dare you call Percy your son? It’s just a house! How dare you disobey your father? “Rosina, as long as I’m alive, I’m the one in charge of this house! You’re going to give that house to Percy whether you like it or not!” Looking at my father, all righteous and indignant, I trembled with anger. “If he wants the house, let him buy it himself! I’m not giving it!” No wonder my mom had warned me so many times not to let my dad know about the house. She had already predicted someone would come asking for it. It had always been like this. Whenever anyone had a problem, they’d come to my father, and he wouldn’t turn anyone down. He was known as Mr. Nice Guy, but in reality, people saw him as a pushover.
After I left home, I stood on the street and called my mom to tell her what had happened. She sighed on the other end of the line. “Your dad won’t give up. He hates being called a hypocrite. Don’t go back home for now. Why don’t you come to stay with me for a few days instead?” I thought for a moment and said no. Maybe it was because my mom had put up with my father so much for so long. By the time I went to college, my mom finally exploded. After I was settled in, she and my dad had a huge argument. That same day, they went to file for divorce. By the time I was in my third year of college, my mom had remarried. Now, it didn’t feel quite right to visit her. I hesitated for a long while, and in the end, I rented a small apartment near my company. I knew I couldn’t go back to live at home. When my parents divorced, my dad’s sole stipulation was that I should live with him, ensuring that I would take care of him when he was old. He wanted me to live with him solely for his own benefit. I thought that if I just kept my distance, it would be fine. But I had seriously underestimated how far my dad was willing to go to maintain his image of the “good guy” in front of others. One day, while I was at work, I received a call from the property management of my house. I hadn’t been back home for a long time because of the house situation. They had been quiet these past few days. After I scolded them once, they didn’t bother me again. I really thought they had given up on trying to take my house. But when I heard what the person on the phone said, I realized just how naive I had been. “Ms. Davidson, a gentleman who claims to be your father is here with a group of people and is demanding that we open your door. Do you know about this?” My head was spinning. After days of work, I felt dizzy at this news. I didn’t expect they would be so crazy. “Don’t open the door. Stop them. I’ll be there soon.” I took the rest of the day off and rushed back to my house. When I arrived, the scene at the door was chaos. “Why won’t you open the door? If you don’t, I’ll file a complaint! I’m her father. Don’t I have the right to enter my daughter’s house? “If you don’t open it, I’ll have my daughter fire you!” There was pushing and shoving. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control. I walked over and stood in front of the door, coldly eyeing the crowd. “What do you think you’re doing?” My dad looked guilty. He couldn’t bring himself to look at me and remained silent. “Ah, so this is Rosina. Long time no see. “When you were little, your dad always said you’d do well in school and have a bright future. He even said you’d help our family one day. Looks like he was right!” I looked at the man speaking with a cold gaze. I gave him a once-over before dismissively looking away. Judging by his tone and the people around him, I could tell this was Percy, the son of Terry, the one who was getting married. “What are you doing here?” I asked coldly. He chuckled, running his hands through his greasy hair. “We’re here to take over the house!” For a moment, I was stunned, unable to process what he meant. “This is my house,” I said slowly, still trying to wrap my head around it. “Well, I should really thank you and Uncle Henley for this,” he said. “If Uncle Henley hadn’t agreed to give me this house, I wouldn’t have been able to get married! We’re just here to see how we’ll renovate it. “By the way, Rosina, the property management here is really unreliable! They block us at the door. Once we move in, I’m going to file a complaint!” At that moment, everything clicked. My dad had decided to act first and deal with the consequences later!
I took a deep breath at the door, trying to calm myself. I’d been working overtime for days. The sudden anger made my heart ache. My dad stood in front of me. “Rosina, look, everyone’s here now. You should open the door so they can come in. We can’t just let everyone stand out here, can we?” His words were the final straw. Terry’s wife, Martha Davidson, who had been standing beside him, squeezed past and grabbed my hand, her eyes filled with barely contained mockery and glee. “Exactly! I’ve always said that you two are nice people. No one in this whole area can match your generosity! “Your dad’s been helping so many people over the years, and he’s basically a saint! Who knows, he might even end up in the county history book!” She spoke the words as if they were compliments, but all I could think of was the memory of her laughing behind our backs, calling us “goody-goody”. I sneered. Slowly, I pulled my hand out of her grasp. “Did you hear that, Rosina? Open the door and let everyone in! You are my daughter, and you should be more considerate of others! “You really shouldn’t be so money-obsessed! Don’t make such a big deal out of it. When family or friends are in need, you should always lend a hand.” I was stunned. I didn’t know how I could have given him the impression that I was so money-obsessed. I raised an eyebrow, my gaze cold as ice. I took a slow breath and said, “If I give you the house, where can I live?” I wanted to see how shameless they could get. As expected, their faces lit up at my words. They thought I’d finally agreed to give them the house. They smiled wider, pretending to care about me. “You’re so successful, so why would you need this house? You could easily buy another one!” “We won’t just take it from you. After Percy gets married and has a kid, his kid will take care of you in your old age. You’ll be their favorite aunt!” “But, you’ll need to help take care of the kid. You can pay for things like formula, diapers, and the tuition fees.” I felt they were all out of their minds. I thought, “If money is so easy to make, why don’t you buy your own house?” Meanwhile, my dad stood to the side, soaking up their praise, his head swelling with every compliment. He looked like he was floating on air. “Did you hear that, Rosina? Hurry up and let us in!” I thought, “Oh, he likes being the good guy, doesn’t he? Fine. Let’s see how generous you are when it comes to your own benefit!” “But Uncle Terry, taking my house won’t do you any good,” I said with a sly smile. “Why not take my dad’s instead? Haven’t you heard? They’re planning to demolish that neighborhood. That house is worth over ten million dollars now!” The words hit them like a thunderclap.
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