I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 04

I Fixed His Martyr Mom With My High Self-Worth Chapter 04

That night, Derek gave me a thumbs up. “Miss Shaw, you’re incredible. You’ve got my mom wrapped around your finger. That was the first happy holiday meal we’ve ever had.”

“Get some sleep. We’ve got to visit my dad’s grave tomorrow.”

Derek was a devoted son. His father used to be buried back in their old town, but once Derek made it big, he bought a prime plot in the city cemetery and moved him there.

We got up before dawn the next day, which struck me as odd. Why so early?

Turns out his mom said, “It’s a few miles of hiking up the hill. Gotta start early.”

Only then did I realize—there were seven cars sitting in the garage, and she still wanted to walk to the cemetery.

“Mrs. Carter, these shoes have leather soles. One puddle and they’re ruined. I’m not walking. I’m taking the car.”

Derek jumped in immediately. “She’s right, Mom. Miss Shaw’s a city girl—she gets chauffeured everywhere. Just ride with us.”

His mom shook her head. “No way. Gas is too expensive. I walked every day back in the trailer park. I’m used to it. You young people are so soft—always riding in cars, your bodies are falling apart.”

I wasn’t going to argue. She wanted to walk? Fine by me.

“Alright, Mrs. Carter. You do you. Derek and I will drive over and wait for you there.”

Before we pulled out, Derek asked one more time, “Mom, you sure? The gas is the same whether there’s two of us or three. Just get in.”

But she wouldn’t budge, waving us off.

Derek hesitated, but I told him to close the door and drive.

We got to the cemetery gates and parked. Then we waited. And waited. And waited.

At first I figured she was just slow on her feet. But noon rolled around and still no sign of her.

Derek called her seven or eight times. No answer.

“Probably left her phone at home to save battery,” he muttered, getting restless.

He tried again. This time, after a few rings, someone picked up.

“Are you a relative of this phone’s owner? She took a fall on the hill and we’ve brought her to the hospital. You need to come right away.”

Forget the grave visit. We sped down the mountain and rushed to the hospital.

“This is all my fault,” Derek said from the passenger seat, drowning in guilt. “If I’d just gone up with her, she wouldn’t have fallen. Forget it—she wants to be frugal, let her. She’s my only mom. She raised me through hell.”

The moment he heard she was hurt, panic took over and all his resolve crumbled. This was probably how it always went—he’d try to correct her habits, then she’d get hurt, and he’d cave.

“Miss Shaw, I think we should call off the deal. My mom’s in this state—I just can’t be that hard on her.”