“Tell Your Mom to Apologize”, My Billionaire Dad Ordered, Unaware She Died 3 Years Ago Chapter 01
It was my third year shining shoes on the street when I ran into my dad at the mall.
He was buying luxury gifts for his new wife. When he saw me, he froze for a second.
Before he left, he scanned the QR code on my shoe shine kit.
A small fortune hit my account. Then came his sigh.
“Stop doing this. Go back to school. Tell your mom to take you out for a decent meal.”
I didn’t say anything. I silently refunded the money.
His face went stiff. His brow furrowed tight.
“You’ve got the same damn stubborn streak as your mom. If you weren’t so proud, would you be out here shining shoes?”
“Go tell her—tell her if she apologizes to Sierra, maybe I’ll still toss you some alimony. For old times’ sake.”
I just stared at him coldly. Didn’t speak.
Did he not know my mom had been dead for three years?
***
Dad looked me up and down. Saw my torn clothes, the cuts all over my hands. His face softened with something like pity.
“I never should’ve let you go with your mom.”
“Look at you. Look at the kind of life she’s made you live.”
I kept my face tight. “Don’t trouble yourself, sir. However we live, it’s none of your business.”
His expression darkened. He started to say something else, then fell silent.
Finally, he turned and walked away.
The vendor lady next to me smelled gossip. She leaned in, curious. “You know him? That’s the CEO of Harrington Group! I heard he’s totally devoted to his ex-wife.”
I gave a cold laugh.
“If he was so devoted, why’d he divorce her?”
She tried to convince me.
“He walked away from his whole family for her. Gave up the trust fund life to stay with her in a trailer park for eighteen years.”
“I even heard he built an estate for their daughter. Named the whole place after her.”
“How’s that not devotion?”
I squeezed my hands into fists, holding back the hate.
“He spent eighteen years pretending to be broke. Made his wife sell plasma to pay off debts that were never even real.”
“Their daughter’s leg got beaten so bad it snapped clean in two. And his wife? Debt collectors beat her to death.”
“You really think he ever came home to check on them? That’s your idea of devotion?”
The vendor’s eyes went wide. “You…”
I swallowed the burn in my throat and said quietly, “Yeah. My mom was his ex-wife. I’m his daughter.”
The vendor shut her mouth. Then after a moment, she couldn’t help asking, “But isn’t your mom…”
I didn’t answer. I pulled out my cane and limped out of the mall, one leg gone.
The vendor watched my empty right pant leg. Sympathy in her eyes. She didn’t ask again.
I carried a bouquet of white lilies and limped toward where we used to live.
The whole area had been torn down three years ago. Nothing left but rubble.
Under the old oak tree, the three of us used to sit in the shade.
Back then, Dad would wrap his arms around Mom, hold my hand, and just keep smiling.
“When Annie grows up, Daddy’s gonna buy her a big mansion, okay?”
Now all that’s left is a little mound of dirt.
A wooden stake stands crooked, with words I carved when I was eighteen.
[Lauren Miller—Rest in Peace]
I set the white chrysanthemums beside Mom’s grave. My voice came out raw.
“Hey, Mom. It’s Annie. I came to see you.”
