My Mom Hid Gold In Her Truffle Box Chapter 03

My Mom Hid Gold In Her Truffle Box Chapter 03

“Fifteen hundred a month?” My aunt’s eyes went wide. “Eleanor, what were you spending all that money on?”

“You got that much and never thought to share any of it with Chloe?”

My uncle shook his head.

“How could your mother play favorites like that? Chloe’s her daughter, too.”

“Seriously, that’s insane!” My cousin was quick to pile on.

“Chloe got five hundred and Eleanor got fifteen hundred? That’s not favoritism. That’s her draining them dry.”

My other cousin let out a sharp laugh. “No wonder you act so generous. You’re just throwing your parents’ money around and pretending it’s yours.”

I let them talk. Chloe stood there with the look of someone finally cashing in a winning lottery ticket.

One accusation stacked on top of another, and somewhere along the way, the hurt in my chest froze over.

“Mom, tell them. How much did I actually get from you during college?”

I looked straight at her.

Mom wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“That was a long time ago. Why bring that up now?”

“Eleanor, just drop it. Pay Chloe what you owe her and move on.”

Even now, she was still trying to make me the one in the wrong.

I laughed, but there was no warmth in it. The tears came anyway.

“Pay her back? With what money?”

Chloe jabbed a finger in my face.

“Don’t even think about backing out. You agreed to this in front of everyone!”

“If you try to back out now, I’ll call the cops!”

“Go ahead. Call them.” I didn’t blink.

I never took a single cent from my parents during college.

The day I started college, Mom held my hand and sobbed. She told me the family business had gone under and they were buried in debt.

She said they’d sell whatever they had to and take out whatever loans they needed, just to put me through school.

I couldn’t let them do that.

I picked up every job I could find—summer break, winter break, every break I had. I tutored, worked retail, waited tables, and washed dishes.

I scraped together enough for tuition and food on my own.

The next year, Chloe got into college too. Mom showed up crying again, same story. There was no money.

“Eleanor, I’m thinking Chloe might have to drop out. She can get a full-time job and help cover your tuition.”

Mom’s face was streaked with tears. The guilt hit me like a wall.

I couldn’t let Chloe give up her future so I could keep mine.

“Mom, no. I’ll cover Chloe’s tuition and living expenses.” The words were out before I could think.

After that, I ran myself into the ground. Some days, I almost passed out on the way to a shift.

I’d come to, dust myself off, and keep going. A trip to the ER was money I didn’t have.

I kept just enough for tuition and cheap groceries. Every dollar I had left went to Mom, so she could put Chloe through school.

I always believed I was the favored one, the daughter who should be grateful. I told myself it was the least I could do.

And now Chloe stood here, righteous as ever, claiming I’d been handed fifteen hundred a month.

A metallic taste rose in the back of my throat. I swallowed it down and held myself steady.

“Besides the living expenses, what else?” My voice shook, but I held it together.

Chloe mistook the tremor for fear. She got bolder.

“Of course there’s more!”

“The moment you graduated, Mom bought you a brand-new luxury car, fully paid off!”

“And me? I got some beat-up used car. That’s it.”

Her voice cracked, and the tears started falling.

“And Mom told me to keep my car a secret from you.”

“She said you’d be upset if you found out, that you wouldn’t want her spending money on me.”

My cousin pulled Chloe close. “Oh, Chloe. You don’t deserve this.”

My other cousin marched over and roughly pushed me backward, sending me stumbling onto the floor.

“Eleanor, you’re unbelievable!”

“Your parents give you everything, and the second Chloe gets something, you throw a fit!”

“Are you really that heartless?”