\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2 Blood and Tears\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 \u00a1Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2 Blood and Tears\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFive grand barely covers three months of his lost income. Your achievement, however, has boosted the family\u2019s reputation, while his repeated failures have dragged it down. One gain, one loss, not canceling each other out, but stretching the gap wider!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He produced a crimson notebook that recorded all my \u201ccrimes\u201d and flipped it open with a snap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must make additional compensation! Starting next week, you\u2019ll work nights at the convenience store downstairs, and dedicate every penny of your salary to your brother\u2019s social and recreational expenses until he lands a proper job!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pushed his glasses up and announced with authority. \u201cIt\u2019s called \u2018Family Resource Allocation.\u201d\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I jerked my head up, staring at him in disbelief. Then my gaze shifted to Barnaby, whose smug grin practically said \u201cthat\u2019s more like it,\u201d and then to Mom, who had buried her face in her plate, pretending not to hear a word of this absurdity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My scholarship, my achievements, the blood, sweat, and tears I poured into my studies-they had, in this moment, become my \u201ccrimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon, Barnaby blew my \u201csocial funds\u201d and found himself a new girlfriend, named Eileen Conway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eileen was pretty, her makeup perfectly done. She was also a smooth talker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On her first visit, she successfully charmed Mom and made her giggle like a fool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She bought Dad a top-shelf Bourbon and a silk scarf for Mom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From her designer bag, she fished out a beautifully wrapped gift box, presenting it to me with a radiant smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSyl,\u201d she cooed. \u201cBarny told me that you\u2019re a straight-A student and the family\u2019s pride, so I chose this Parker pen for you, wishing you all the success in the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I yanked my hand back as if I had been scalded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:38\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2 Blood and Tears\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 (Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
In this family, there was no such thing as \u201cgifts,\u201d and everything revolved around the concept of \u201cequivalent exchange.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Subconsciously, I stole a glance at Dad, who perched at the head of the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pushed his glasses up, his gaze sharp and cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSylvie, you can\u2019t accept other people\u2019s things for free. This pen is considered a \u2018favor\u2019 from Eileen. What will you offer in return?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The smile on Eileen\u2019s face froze. Clearly, she didn\u2019t expect this to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to respond, my cheeks burning as shame crawled up my spine. I wished I could disappear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCut Sylvie some slack, Dad! It\u2019s just a pen! Don\u2019t make a scene on Eil\u2019s first visit. We\u2019re a family. Tell her to take it!\u201d Mom interjected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRules are rules,\u201d Dad stated, his voice devoid of warmth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, Eileen smiled awkwardly and took the pen back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She clung to Barnaby\u2019s arm and pouted. \u201cIt\u2019s my fault! I totally forgot about your family\u2019s rules. Barny, you never mentioned that your family is so ceremonious. It feels like I\u2019m at court!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barnaby\u2019s face went red and pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shot me a glare, then whispered to Eileen, \u201cMy sister has always been like this, bookish, obsessed with rules, and clueless about people. I\u2019m sorry if she embarrassed you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The whole meal, I was on pins and needles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
57.97%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:38\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Marriage On Hold by Mark Twain 2 \u00a0 Chapter 2 Blood and Tears\u00a0 288 \u00a1Vouchers\u00a0 Chapter 2 Blood and Tears\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-story-of-my-life-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}