Chapter 10 The Cuff Button
Chapter 10 The Cuff Button
When she gets the money from the bank, she stops a taxi and it takes her twenty minutes to get to the
hospital.
When she comes into the ward, she sees her mother is lying on the bed, with her legs hanging over the
bed. Her sister Joey is playing games next to her mother, screaming out loud.
“Mom, what happened?” Lily puts down the fruit she bought on the road, and looks at her mother sadly,
“How did you get hurt?”
Lily’s Mother is afraid of her and answers, “I is doing housework and I broke my leg by accident, it is
not a big deal.”
“She is just being clumsy,” Joey interrupts, “She is working as a part time cleaner in someone’s house,
and she fell down and hurt her legs.”
Lily says unhappily, “You work as a librarian. How did you end up falling down in someone else home?”
Lily’s mother keeps silent.
Joey puts down her phone and mumbles, “She is just too stupid, she fell down in their house, but she
didn’t know how to ask for compensation, and called me right away, such an idiot.”
“Shut up.” Lily puts her bag on the bed and shouts to her sister, “Your mother is lying here, you think
she is stupid, then how about you?”
“Maybe you are right, I am as stupid as your mother, anyway, since you are here, I gotta get going. And
Lily, I have to pay for my school fees.”
Lily bursts into laughter, “No wonder you told me to bring more money. It your time to pay the tuition
fee.”
“Sweetheart, you just give her the money.” Lily’s mother opened her mouth. “You sister is studying in an
art school, where you have to pay a lot of money as school fees. I will give it back to you later when I
earn the money.”
Lily feels helpless right away.
She hates her mother, her family is so poor, but they keep on having babies, and all the responsibility
come to Lily, just because she is the oldest child.
She actually does not want to take care of the family, but a few years ago, she was admitted in to a
translation college and her mother borrowed money from all her relatives and she could be sent abroad
to further her study. All of this remind her that she did have the duty to take the burden.
Lily works very hard, and earns herself a place in the company. But due to her family background, her
mother-in-law has been looking down on her since she was married to Jason.
Lily tries to control her anger and gives some money to Joey. When she is about to close the bag, a
cuff button falls down, and Joey picks it up.
“Lily, the cuff button is very expensive.” Joey spends a lot of time watching fashion magazine, she
knows that this worth a lot of money. Her eyes are wide open. “Are you two in a good relationship?”
She knows that although Jason works in a large company, he is too mean to treat himself such an
expensive cuff button. He could not afford it. Her sister must be dating someone else.
“It is none of your business.” Lily takes it back and says. She passes the money to Joey and says,
“This is the last time I pay for your school fee. Next time, you earn it by yourself, do you get it?”
Joey does not answer, so she says again, “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.” answers Joey unwillingly. She takes the money and stucks it in her bag.
Lily’s mum sees that there is some extra money in her bag and she says, “Baby, I know you still have
some money here, can you give it to your little brother. He mentioned to me that he did not have
enough money. Can you give him some money?”
“Mom, this is for you. You need this for your treatment.” She gives half of her salary to Janet. Right
now, she really does not have any money left. She is pissed off when her mother talked about her
brother and says, “He lives in a boarding school, everything is included in the school fees, and I buy
him clothes every month. Does he really need extra living expenses?”
Her mother says, “He is a boy, sometimes he goes out with his friends, at least he needs some money
for the meals.”
After counting the money, Joey also pumps up and says, “Lily, you must know some figures in the
company, just introduce one to me.”
“Joey, you had better go now.” Lily says angrily, “Or I will be pissed off, right after that, you have to give ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
me back the money.”
Joey shrugs her shoulders, and dares not to say a word.
When Lily is talking to her mother, Joey quietly takes the cuff link away, and Lily does not know that.
Right after that, Joey leaves the hospital.