My son loves to threaten me by punishing himself. It was scorching hot, over 100 degrees, and he deliberately smashed the AC unit. “Unless you immediately transfer fifty thousand dollars to my dad,” he snarled, “I’ll let myself overheat and die right here!” I was just so tired of this familiar drama. Quietly, I used that fifty thousand dollars to buy a small apartment, then moved to a cooler resort town overnight. The temperature hit a new high today. News reports said two hundred new cases of heatstroke had been reported, including two severe heatstroke cases. I remembered my son, Liam, had complained the old AC wasn’t cooling well, so I immediately ordered a brand-new one for him. Before he got back, I turned the AC on, setting it to a comfortable temperature. For dinner, I made some refreshing, cool salads and cold noodles. The food was on the table when he walked in. “Mom, why is it so cool in here? Did you get a new AC?” he asked the moment he stepped inside. I smiled. “Yep, it cost over five thousand dollars, but the weather’s so hot, I had to. You wouldn’t sleep well otherwise, and how would you study?” His face inexplicably darkened. He slammed the book in his hand onto the floor. He glared at me, his eyes cold. “Five thousand dollars for an AC, just like that?! How can you be so wasteful? No wonder Dad divorced you!” My smile vanished. “It’s so hot, I only replaced it for your good. How can you talk to your mom like that?” “Besides, I’m spending my own money. What does that have to do with your dad?” He rubbed the back of his head, annoyed. He pointed out the window. “My dad’s out there delivering food in this scorching heat, and here you are, chilling in air conditioning. Don’t you feel ashamed?” He started to get teary-eyed with anger. “It’s almost 100 degrees! After a hard day, he only has a fan in his cramped, rundown apartment in the city’s older district. How many times does he wake up in the middle of the night from the heat? He barely falls asleep before he has to get up before dawn to deliver food again! And what were you doing then? Sleeping soundly in your nice, cool room!” He pointed a finger at my nose, spitting as he yelled, “Just for that, you don’t deserve this AC!” With that, he angrily grabbed the fire extinguisher from the corner and rushed towards the standing AC unit, smashing it with all his might. “My dad’s suffering, so I don’t deserve to be comfortable either! Unless you transfer fifty thousand dollars to him, I’m not using this AC!” Under his relentless blows, the AC unit shattered. He didn’t stop there. He grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped the AC wires into pieces, completely destroying it. I was too shocked to speak. I thought about the past few days, how Liam had several times seemed on the verge of saying something to me, and how he’d been having inexplicable outbursts of temper. Suddenly, it all clicked. He was blowing off steam for his dad.
My ex-husband, Richard Peterson, and I divorced five years ago. The reason was that he secretly lent my ten years of savings to his younger sister, Chloe, for her business without telling me. In less than three months, Chloe blew through all my money. Richard then secretly told Chloe that she didn’t have to pay it back, so they wouldn’t feel burdened. At that time, my smoothie shop was forced to close because it lacked the working capital from that money. I still clearly remember how he scolded me when I asked his sister for the money back. “We’re married, so my sister is your sister. What’s wrong with spending some money on family? Why are you so selfish? Only thinking about yourself!” “I’m the oldest in the family; it’s my responsibility to support my siblings. How can I ask for the money back now? Where would I put my face?” “Yes, I know you’re upset, but we’re the older ones, aren’t we? We should suffer a little so our younger siblings can have a good life, right?” So, I divorced him without hesitation. Our son, Liam, lived with me, only visiting his dad for a few days during summer and winter breaks. At first, everything was harmonious. Later, Liam, for some reason, started finding fault with me every other day. When I bought expensive grapes, he said I was wasting money. When I had a late-night snack, he said I was extravagant. Even when I bought him study materials, he said I had too much money and nowhere to spend it. The day we moved into our new house, he flipped over a table full of food in front of my friends. He screamed, asking me why I was moving. Why I deserved to live in such a nice house. I never understood. I tried every way to create good living conditions for him, so how could everything I did be wrong in his eyes? Now I get it. He could empathize with his dad but couldn’t empathize with me. No matter what I did, as long as I was doing better than his dad, I was wrong. I suddenly remembered when he found out the reason for my divorce, he said something dismissively. “It’s just two hundred thousand, isn’t it? Aunt Chloe isn’t an outsider. Do you really need to make such a big deal out of it?” Back then, I thought his dad had taught him that. Now, it seems he and his dad are cut from the same cloth. They both want to burn themselves out to light up others. Unfortunately, I’m not that noble.
I tried to reason with him. “Your dad is a private school teacher; he has a solid salary. He has enough money to install an AC for himself. Do you know why he still works hard delivering food after work?” He kept smashing the AC, scoffed, and said nothing. I patiently explained, “It’s because his younger brother, David, is getting married and needs a three-hundred-thousand-dollar dowry. He sent all his savings back, but he’s still short by one hundred and fifty thousand, so he had to start delivering food.” “For the past year, he’s been working multiple jobs so hard, all to save money for David’s wedding.” “Last month, I heard he was still short fifty thousand, and David couldn’t wait any longer, urging him to get the money quickly. That’s why he came to me. After buying this apartment, I didn’t have much money left, and I needed to save that for your college tuition, so of course, I wouldn’t lend it to him.” He cut me off. “I don’t care! I just want my dad not to work so hard! Transfer the money to him right now! Otherwise, I’ll overheat and die right here!” He went back into his room, grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around himself, and said firmly, “I mean it!” The temperature in the room quickly rose. I was already sweating profusely. He was even worse. He was panting from the heat, his breath hot, like steam from a boiling pot. But his eyes, covered in sweat, stared at me with fierce determination. He’d used this trick since he was little. He always used himself to threaten me. If I didn’t buy him something, he’d go on a hunger strike or lock himself in his room. My heart ached for him, and I always had to give in. This time, though, I felt unusually exhausted. Suddenly, I wondered what the point of working so hard was. He wrapped another blanket around himself, forcing me to transfer the money to Richard. I had no choice but to FaceTime Richard. I aimed the camera at Liam and told Richard, “Your son is punishing himself because you won’t use the AC. Please, talk some sense into him. He’s deliberately suffering; he’ll get sick eventually.” Richard said exactly what I expected. “That’s my good boy. It’s okay to be a little hot; it won’t kill anyone. The money saved on the AC can be used for your uncle David’s wedding.” I watched Liam’s reaction, hoping he’d realize the truth. But he just nodded, moved. “Dad, don’t worry, I know you’re doing this for me. I’ll always support you!” Seeing this, the last flicker of hope in my heart was completely extinguished. I opened my SnapChat wallet. Liam immediately threw off the blankets, his face beaming with pride, thinking he had me exactly where he wanted me. “That’s right! You married my dad, so you should be his strongest supporter, fully backing all his decisions.” “After you transfer the money to him, go buy an AC from eBay. No, buy two! One for us, and one for Dad. A family should share hardships together.” I didn’t respond. He noticed I wasn’t transferring money at all; I was actually browsing hotels. He immediately exploded. “What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to transfer money to Dad?” I booked a king-sized room right in front of him, calmly saying, “It’s too hot to sleep without AC. If you want to share hardships with your dad, that’s fine, but I have no interest in joining you.” His face contorted with rage. Then he piled all the blankets back on himself. “If you dare go to that hotel, I’ll literally overheat and die for you!” I didn’t answer, packed a change of clothes, and walked out.
I was sleeping comfortably in the hotel when I was woken up by a call from my neighbor. He said my son had suffered heatstroke and had crawled to his doorstep in the middle of the night for help. He was currently being treated at the hospital. I notified Richard to rush to the hospital. By the time I arrived, Liam’s condition had stabilized. His face was still flushed, as if it had been scorched by fire. When he saw me, his eyes reddened, and he stubbornly turned his face away. “What are you doing here? Go back to your hotel and enjoy your AC! Just let me die from the heat!” I was both angry and amused. “So, you really don’t want me here?” He retorted without hesitation, “Who needs you here? Without you, my dad would take care of me. Living with him is a hundred times, a thousand times better than living with you!” I chuckled. “It only takes about fifteen minutes to get here from your dad’s place, while it takes me half an hour from the hotel. I only left after I notified him, and I’ve been here for ten minutes already, but he still hasn’t arrived. Do you really think he puts you first?” Just as I finished speaking, Richard arrived. He was wearing a loose, shapeless white undershirt and faded black shorts, his head completely shaved. He looked like he’d stepped out of the 80s. The first thing he did when he saw me was to curse. “How could you take care of our son so poorly? The AC was on at home, and he still got heatstroke?” Liam started sobbing, touched. Watching this touching father-son scene, I suddenly said, “Alright, since you say I can’t take care of him, then you take him. Anyway, he doesn’t care to live with me.” Both of them froze. Richard opened his mouth and chuckled awkwardly. “Sarah, don’t try that on me. You begged and paid to get custody of our son back then, and now you’re willing to give him up? I don’t believe your nonsense!” Liam also had a cold expression, saying impatiently, “She’s just so dramatic. She’s unwilling to help her family at all. She’s just a self-centered and manipulative person who only cares about her own pleasure.” I had no strength to argue back. After a sigh, I said, “Say whatever you want. Anyway, I won’t interfere with your affairs.” Liam immediately sat up and pulled out his IV drip. “I told you to transfer the money to Dad, so you better do it! Otherwise, I’m leaving with Dad today, and I’ll never see you again!” Richard chimed in, “My son, so young, understands this, but you, an adult, don’t. You should reflect on yourself. Anyway, if I just get fifty thousand to solve my brother’s urgent problem, I can relax for a while.” As he spoke, his phone rang. From the sound, it seemed to be his brother, David. “Bro, I’m hungry. Can you bring me some food? I want crayfish and stir-fried noodles, and a cold beer, plus Michelle’s bubble tea, a large one! Hurry up and bring it. You know my room number. Just send it up with a robot; you don’t have to run all the way, save yourself the trouble.” Richard looked troubled. “David, your nephew is in the hospital. I can’t leave right now. How about I transfer two hundred dollars so you can order takeout?” The voice on the other end wouldn’t give up. “I don’t trust takeout, Bro. I only trust food from the places you personally buy it from. And isn’t Liam with his mom? How could you bother yourself with this?” “Anyway, if you don’t bring it, then we’ll just starve. We might just get stomach problems, and then Mom and Dad will have to worry about me and lose sleep.” At this point, Richard quickly agreed. “Alright, alright, Bro, I’m going to buy it for you now. Just wait. There should be some crackers in the hotel; eat those to tide yourself over.” He hung up the phone and looked at me. “Sarah, you heard that. My brother’s here. You watch Liam. He seems stable enough.” I asked him, “Your brother’s here, why isn’t he staying with you in your rental? Don’t you always preach frugality?” He frowned. “He brought his girlfriend; could I make them stay with me? Besides, I’m the eldest brother. It’s only right for the eldest brother to take care of his younger siblings. Why are you so against my family doing well?” I waved my hand. “Forget it, I don’t care. It’s none of my business anyway.” He hesitated, then turned to Liam. “Liam, Dad has to go. Take care of yourself.” Liam nodded, his eyes soft. “Dad, I know your struggles. Don’t worry about me; I can take care of myself.” As soon as Richard left, Liam’s eyes reddened. “My dad works so hard. He earns the money, but others get to enjoy it. Some people just don’t have any sympathy for him.” He still hadn’t reinserted his IV. He glared at me resentfully. “I think Uncle David is only here for that fifty thousand. He won’t leave until he gets the money. For Dad’s sake, can’t you just let him use the money?” I shook my head. “No.” He got angry. “Fine, you’re something else. Then you can guard your money. From today on, I’m moving in with my dad!”
My son kept his word. That evening, he went home, packed his things, and left. He only took his study materials, a few clothes, and essential ID. He left everything else behind. As he left, he gave me a particularly defiant ultimatum: “Unless you solve my dad’s financial problems, even if you roll out the red carpet for me, I won’t come back!” “I’ll just re-study in that hot, cramped room in the city’s older district. Then I’ll be too hot to study anything, and next year I’ll score even worse than this year, maybe not even enough for community college! In the end, I won’t find a decent job and will end up doing manual labor in a factory. My life will be completely ruined!” I didn’t say a word. He stood there for a few minutes, then finally walked away with his backpack. This was his second time running away from home. The first time was three years ago. That’s when I heard his aunt Chloe had money, so I sued her to get my money back. His dad found out and was so angry he ended up in the hospital. Liam also got anxious and forced me to withdraw the lawsuit. When I refused, he ran away from home. He rode the bicycle I bought him to his dad’s place overnight. No matter how I tried to convince him, he wouldn’t go back to school. I was worried. Afraid he’d fall behind in school, I had no choice but to compromise and withdraw the lawsuit. He even made me apologize to his aunt Chloe in front of everyone. Only then did he reluctantly come back with me. Now, looking back, I truly regret it. The past cannot be changed. But the present and future are in my hands. I won’t make the same mistake again. I contacted a real estate agent that night and put my apartment up for sale. At the same time, I contacted someone to find me an affordable place in a small, remote town. The agent was efficient and got back to me the next day. They sent me several small apartments that cost only tens of thousands of dollars. The temperature there was around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, a natural summer retreat. It gets very cold in winter, but with floor heating, it wouldn’t be an issue. On the day I arrived at my new home, my son, who had been silent for a week, suddenly called me. “Mom, where are you? Why can’t I get into the house anymore?”
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