Parents and Son Under Attack Chapter 14

Through unremitting effort, I became the youngest attending physician in our hospital's history. Meanwhile, the gallery the principal and I ran together had grown considerably in scale. Sarah and I had relatively low material desires with few places needing money. Every year we donated a large portion of our income to children in mountain regions forced to drop out of school.

I occasionally sent alimony to Mr. and Mrs. Grant, but beyond that we had no contact. Later I once saw Ethan on the street. He'd gone completely blind, walking slowly alone with a white cane.

Because Lily needed to work, he seemed to have moved back to the Grant house. Ethan, who used to look at me with a victor's eyes, now had a face full of defeat. The Grant family used to cherish him on their palms—a sneeze would scare them to death. Now they left a blind man alone on the street.

A child deliberately threw stones in front of Ethan on the tactile paving. I kicked them away.

I didn't pity Ethan one bit. His current situation was all his own doing. If he hadn't cheated on the art exam, perhaps he could still be praised as a disabled-yet-determined genius boy like in my previous life. The Grant family would still love and cherish him as before.

Though I was very satisfied with this life, I didn't intend to forgive Ethan for everything he'd done to me.

I called Sarah, arranging to have dinner tonight with her and the principal. The Grant family didn't matter anymore. They were my true family, the two most important people to me in this world.

Having a beloved career, someone worthy of entrusting my life to, elders who loved me—this happiness that belonged only to me was something no one could steal away.