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The Cold Reality of Maternal Neglect3
3：822words
Update Time：2026-01-26 09:12:02
When I went to class with Lily, I couldn’t help but ask her about who Amanda really was.
She let out a cold snort and shook her head. "She’s an art student, and that alone costs 88,000 dollars a year. That cello she’s always carrying, it’s said to be worth over two million dollars..."
"When a bully’s also rich, we’d better stay as far away from her as possible."
I listened, but my mind was wandering. I couldn’t help but feel that this Amanda seemed very familiar.
But when I thought about it carefully, I felt it was impossible. After all, my family was so poor. How could I have ever met such a wealthy girl?
Halfway through the class, my phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a delivery order.
The text message said that I was needed to buy some tampons, and the delivery fee for just this one trip alone was 1,000 dollars.
I tightly gripped my phone and looked at this big order excitedly. I couldn’t wait to run out right away.
Lily noticed that I was distracted and reminded me: "Although this class isn’t very important, the professor is very strict. If you’re called to answer a question but you aren’t here, it’ll be bad."
But I really didn’t want to give up this order. I thought that with this money, my mother could relax for a few days.
So, I bent down and sneaked out of the classroom when the professor wasn’t looking.
The customer’s request was very simple:
Buy ten daily-use tampons and ten night-use ones.
They had to be put in a transparent plastic bag.
Payment was on delivery.
I didn’t have any shame over carrying ordinary women’s hygienic stuff, so I did as I was told.
It wasn’t until I reached the music building that I realized I had been played by Amanda again.
It was as if she had targeted me and always wanted to embarrass me.
This time, she made me carry a big bag of tampons and stand in front of a bunch of boys studying music.
She shouted loudly at me: "Girl, are you bleeding to death? Do you need to use so many tampons?"
I looked at the triumphant look on her face and spread my hands.
"The promised 1,000 dollars delivery fee. I’ve delivered the goods. Pay up."
She looked at me as if I were something dirty.
She hooked the bag of tampons with her little finger and then deliberately let it slip from her hand, making all the tampons roll down the steps.
"Sorry, my hand slipped. Pick them up for me, and I’ll pay you the delivery fee."
Some boys passing by gave me strange looks, as if they were watching a clown.
But I remained unyielding and looked at her coldly.
"You have to pay extra."
"Five thousand dollars."
She seemed to have never expected that I was so short of cash and would even put aside my dignity to earn more.
Or that I would ask for so much money...
Seeing her hesitate, I retorted: "What, can’t you afford it?"
The eyes of the people around turned to her. It seemed they couldn’t believe that a rich young lady like her couldn’t afford five thousand dollars.
"Amanda, girl, can’t you really afford five thousand dollars?"
Amanda couldn’t stand my provocation.
She didn’t want to be humiliated in front of her classmates, so she made a phone call.
As soon as the call was connected, I heard her speaking in a sweet and coquettish voice:
"Auntie Shirley~ No, my dear godmother. There’s a poor nut who’s asking me for five thousand dollars as her delivery fee. Please give me some money now."
Hearing her words, I clenched my fists tightly.
My heart was pounding nervously.
The next second, my mother’s extremely doting voice came from the other end of the phone:
"Which creature dares to bully our Mandy!"
"I will transfer another 20,000 dollars to our Mandy as pocket money right away!"
I was completely stunned.
The last bit of hope in my heart was now completely shattered.
Because I could never mistake my mother’s voice—not even after death.
Amanda flirted shamelessly: "Auntie’s always the best to me. Mandy loves her godmother so very much!"
My mother doted on her and transferred the money instantly, telling her: "Ask for more if you aren’t satisfied!"
The money arrived quickly.
Amanda did not hesitate. She actually gave me 5,000 dollars and said mockingly:
"Look at your poor face. I’ll just consider these five thousand dollars as a meal for a beggar."
"I’m so kind to you. You can work a lot fewer part-time jobs in the future... El—"
She cut off abruptly after saying "El," but her eyes held a glint of vicious recognition.
I looked up at her in surprise.
And then I finally remembered who she was.
Her father, Charles, was my mother’s first love.
She let out a cold snort and shook her head. "She’s an art student, and that alone costs 88,000 dollars a year. That cello she’s always carrying, it’s said to be worth over two million dollars..."
"When a bully’s also rich, we’d better stay as far away from her as possible."
I listened, but my mind was wandering. I couldn’t help but feel that this Amanda seemed very familiar.
But when I thought about it carefully, I felt it was impossible. After all, my family was so poor. How could I have ever met such a wealthy girl?
Halfway through the class, my phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a delivery order.
The text message said that I was needed to buy some tampons, and the delivery fee for just this one trip alone was 1,000 dollars.
I tightly gripped my phone and looked at this big order excitedly. I couldn’t wait to run out right away.
Lily noticed that I was distracted and reminded me: "Although this class isn’t very important, the professor is very strict. If you’re called to answer a question but you aren’t here, it’ll be bad."
But I really didn’t want to give up this order. I thought that with this money, my mother could relax for a few days.
So, I bent down and sneaked out of the classroom when the professor wasn’t looking.
The customer’s request was very simple:
Buy ten daily-use tampons and ten night-use ones.
They had to be put in a transparent plastic bag.
Payment was on delivery.
I didn’t have any shame over carrying ordinary women’s hygienic stuff, so I did as I was told.
It wasn’t until I reached the music building that I realized I had been played by Amanda again.
It was as if she had targeted me and always wanted to embarrass me.
This time, she made me carry a big bag of tampons and stand in front of a bunch of boys studying music.
She shouted loudly at me: "Girl, are you bleeding to death? Do you need to use so many tampons?"
I looked at the triumphant look on her face and spread my hands.
"The promised 1,000 dollars delivery fee. I’ve delivered the goods. Pay up."
She looked at me as if I were something dirty.
She hooked the bag of tampons with her little finger and then deliberately let it slip from her hand, making all the tampons roll down the steps.
"Sorry, my hand slipped. Pick them up for me, and I’ll pay you the delivery fee."
Some boys passing by gave me strange looks, as if they were watching a clown.
But I remained unyielding and looked at her coldly.
"You have to pay extra."
"Five thousand dollars."
She seemed to have never expected that I was so short of cash and would even put aside my dignity to earn more.
Or that I would ask for so much money...
Seeing her hesitate, I retorted: "What, can’t you afford it?"
The eyes of the people around turned to her. It seemed they couldn’t believe that a rich young lady like her couldn’t afford five thousand dollars.
"Amanda, girl, can’t you really afford five thousand dollars?"
Amanda couldn’t stand my provocation.
She didn’t want to be humiliated in front of her classmates, so she made a phone call.
As soon as the call was connected, I heard her speaking in a sweet and coquettish voice:
"Auntie Shirley~ No, my dear godmother. There’s a poor nut who’s asking me for five thousand dollars as her delivery fee. Please give me some money now."
Hearing her words, I clenched my fists tightly.
My heart was pounding nervously.
The next second, my mother’s extremely doting voice came from the other end of the phone:
"Which creature dares to bully our Mandy!"
"I will transfer another 20,000 dollars to our Mandy as pocket money right away!"
I was completely stunned.
The last bit of hope in my heart was now completely shattered.
Because I could never mistake my mother’s voice—not even after death.
Amanda flirted shamelessly: "Auntie’s always the best to me. Mandy loves her godmother so very much!"
My mother doted on her and transferred the money instantly, telling her: "Ask for more if you aren’t satisfied!"
The money arrived quickly.
Amanda did not hesitate. She actually gave me 5,000 dollars and said mockingly:
"Look at your poor face. I’ll just consider these five thousand dollars as a meal for a beggar."
"I’m so kind to you. You can work a lot fewer part-time jobs in the future... El—"
She cut off abruptly after saying "El," but her eyes held a glint of vicious recognition.
I looked up at her in surprise.
And then I finally remembered who she was.
Her father, Charles, was my mother’s first love.