My parents swiftly moved their things over, settling down into my place.
The house I rented was a one-bedroom apartment, naturally, they took the room while I slept on the sofa.
Their stuff was scattered all over the floor, local specialties brought from our hometown were displayed everywhere.
I started tidying up from the afternoon and didn't finish until eleven at night.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, their snores could already be heard.
After finishing my nightly routine, I collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.
At five in the morning, my mother woke up.
She was making noises in the kitchen, and I just couldn't manage to sleep through it.
Normally, I wake up at eight, so this completely threw off my biological clock.
"Mum, why are you up so early?"
I asked. "I prepared dough last night, I'm making puff puff for you," my mother replied.
I just smiled, not uttering a word.
I never eat puff puff, but my father loves them.
My mother often wakes up early, enduring all the hard work just to please my dad.
Unable to sleep, I had no choice but to get up.
After she finished frying the puff puff, my mother emerged from the kitchen, took my arm, and guided me to the sofa.
"Ella, come here, I want to talk to you."
I knitted my brows, knowing she was about to bring up something I preferred not to discuss. In silence, I just looked at her without speaking. Despite my lack of response, she still began talking.
"Ella, can't you try and make up with James?
What will become of you, a divorced woman?
What about your younger brother who is looking for a job?
Before, we were hoping he'd get into James's company because of you, but that's impossible now."
"Mom, could you stop mentioning James?"
I interrupted her somewhat impatiently.
"But what then?
How can a woman like you survive in this city without relying on a man?"
My mother looked at me with disdain.
Maybe she thought a woman's worth was solely determined by men.
Unable to listen any longer, I stood up and went to the bathroom.
When I returned, my mother was on the phone.
"Do you have a girlfriend?
Would you mind dating a divorced woman?"
Who was Mom calling?
I walked over, snatched the phone from her and realized she was calling a male colleague from my previous company.
Fortunately, I had already quit, otherwise it would have been terribly embarrassing.
I promptly hung up the call.
After checking the call history on the phone, I was nearly meltdown.
During the time I went to freshen up, she had already called five different men, all of them were old colleagues.
How utterly mortifying!
"Mom, is it really that hard to marry me off?
Does a woman instantly lose value after a divorce?
Who told you such nonsense?"
I was infuriated and unable to control my emotions.
"Nonsense.
In this day and age, all men care whether a woman is 'second-hand' or not!"
The brazen reply from my mother.
Having a mother like this, I didn't want to argue anymore, hastily picked up my bag and left for work.
Letting my parents live with me was out of question now.
Either they went back to our hometown, or I rented a place for them.
But now, I just had over a thousand dollars to my name and was burdened with a huge debt.
How could I possibly handle their affairs too?
I knew they had savings, but it was only for my brother and I had no right to it.
I didn't hold any hope from this male-centric household.
As I descended the stairs to grab breakfast, I found only a few bucks in my wallet.
My bag was left on the couch and the money was missing.
It must've been my mother's doing.
That was the last of my money!
I called mother to ask about the missing cash, only to find out she had transferred it to my brother.
What an ironic fate, having parents like these!