that they left me out of the will entirely while giving Ethan everything another pause no she left that part out of course she did well I said keeping my tone even that’s what happened Lisa sighed again Jake I had no idea I really didn’t and honestly I don’t blame you one bit that surprised me really of course look I love your mom she’s my sister but she’s always played favorites with Ethan and I hate to say it but I think she just assumed you’d always be there to clean up their messes that you would never say no well I said she assumed

wrong Lisa was quiet for a moment then she said so what now I exhaled slowly now now they figure it out on their own I’m done being their safety net Lisa didn’t argue in fact she let out a dry little chuckle honestly good for you we talked for a few more minutes and before we hung up Lisa said something that stuck with me I have a feeling this isn’t over they’re going to try something be careful Jake she wasn’t wrong because later that evening I got another text from Ethan fine if you want to act like a selfish a go ahead just

don’t come crawling back when you realize you messed up I stared at the message for a second before shaking my head messed up I hadn’t messed up a single thing if anything this was the first time in years that I was finally getting something right but Ethan’s text made one thing very clear they weren’t going to back down that easily and part of me was almost looking forward to whatever they tried next the next morning I woke up to a pounding on my front door not a polite knock not even an impatient one this was the kind of pounding that made

you think someone was about to break the door down I already knew who it was before I even checked the peephole for a second I debated just ignoring it letting them stand out there and fum but something told me that if I didn’t answer they just keep banging until the neighbors complained with a sigh I opened the door sure enough there stood my parents and Ethan mom had her arms crossed her face pinched with disapproval dad as usual stood slightly behind her like he always did when she was in full attack mode and Ethan well

Ethan had the same smug self-satisfied expression he always wore when he thought he was in control of a situation I leaned against the door frame arms crossed wow this is unexpected mom didn’t waste Time Jake we need to talk I let out a small chuckle oh now you want to talk not when you were riding me out of the will not when you were expecting me to keep paying your bills while giving Ethan everything now suddenly it’s urgent dad SED like I was being difficult son can we come in I pretended to think about it then shook my head no

I don’t think so we can have this conversation right here Ethan scoffed are you serious dead serious mom huffed clearly not used to being denied what she wanted Jake you’re being childish childish I repeated raising an eyebrow that’s rich coming from the people who showed up at my house unannounced pounding on my door like debt collectors mom’s face turned red but she took a deep breath trying to regain control listen she said shifting to what I called her guil trip voice we know you’re upset we understand that you’re

feeling left out but you have to look at this rationally I actually laughed rationally you want to talk about rationality after what you did Dad who had been silent up until now finally decided to chime in son you’re doing well for yourself you have a good job a stable life Ethan well he needs more help I turned to Ethan who was still standing there arms crossed like this was all beneath him he needs more help I repeated he’s 30 years old he’s not a kid he’s had every Advantage handed to him while I had to work for everything I

have and now after all that you decided he deserves to inherit everything while I get nothing Ethan smirked it’s not my fault you didn’t fight for it I stared at him genuinely stunned by how Shameless he was fight for it I repeated my voice quiet fight for what my own parents love my own share of what should have been an equal inheritance mom waved a hand dismissively oh stop being dramatic we just thought it made sense you don’t need the money Jake that’s not the point I snapped it’s not about needing the money it’s about fairness

it’s about the fact that you used me for years took my help took my money took my time and then tossed me aside like I was nothing when it came to the one thing that should have been Fair mom’s eyes flashed Jake we are your parents we raised you the least you could do is show us some respect I laughed a short sharp sound respect you want respect when you’ve shown me none Ethan rolled his eyes God you’re so dramatic you’re seriously throwing a tantrum over this you’re acting like you’re some poor struggling victim I turned to him my

voice I cold you really one to talk about struggling huh when’s the last time you had to work a full-time job without Mom and Dad bailing you out oh wait you never have that wiped the smug look off his face but before he could fire back Mom cut in again enough she snapped then she took a deep breath smoothing out her features look Jake this is not how I wanted this conversation to go but the reality is you’re family and family takes care of each other I could practically hear the Trap she was setting uhuh I said not

giving her anything she sighed as if this was exhausting for her the mortgage is due I tilted my head and and we a little short this month I couldn’t help it I actually laughed are you serious after everything you just said after standing here defending your choices you’re still asking me for money mom’s lips pressed into a thin line Jake we asking you to do the right thing there it was the manipulation the guilt tripping the expectation that no matter how badly they treated me I would still come running when they needed me I took

a deep breath looked each of them in the eye and said no Mom flinched like I’d slapped her excuse me I said no I repeated my voice steady I’m not paying a single scent not now not ever again Ethan let out a low whistle well so that’s it huh you’re just going to let your own parents lose their home over some petty grud I stared at him you live there too don’t you maybe you should step up and pay for once in your life his face darkened you’re selfish Jake mom however wasn’t done Jake she said her voice dangerously low do you really

want to do this do you really want to walk away from your family over money I met her gaze without flinching that’s funny I said because from where I’m standing you walked away from me first she opened her mouth but I didn’t let her speak you made your choice you chose Ethan you chose to leave me out well now I’m making my choice and I choose to be done I stepped back and without another word shut the door in their faces for a few seconds there was silence then I heard Mom’s muffled Voice through the door this isn’t over Jake I smiled to

myself no it wasn’t because something told me they were about to learn just how badly they’d messed up I didn’t expect them to leave right away my mother wasn’t the kind of person to back down when she thought she was owed something sure enough less than a minute after I shut the door the knocking started again this time louder angrier Jake mom’s voice was shrill barely muffled through the door you’re making a huge mistake you’re going to regret this I leaned against the door arms crossed listening to her rant dad ever the quiet

follower muttered something I couldn’t quite make out probably trying to calm her down but Ethan ever The Golden Child had no such patience you’re such a selfish piece of garbage you know that he shouted all those years we took care of you that actually made me laugh I swung the door back open just enough to glare at him you took care of me that’s funny Ethan because I seem to remember working two jobs in college while you had Mom and Dad paying your rent I seem to remember lending you money that you never paid back I seem to remember

bailing Mom and Dad out while you sat around doing nothing his smug expression wavered but he quickly recovered well I was the one they trusted with their estate wasn’t I maybe you’re just mad that you weren’t good enough I clenched my jaw inhaling sharply this is what he wanted he wanted to get under my skin to make me react to make me lash out so that I’d be the one looking like the bad guy I refused to give him that satisfaction instead I simply smiled good luck with that estate then I’m sure it’ll be real helpful when

you’re struggling to pay the mortgage next month I shut the door again this time they didn’t knock for a moment there was silence then I heard my mother’s voice lower this time but still carrying that same Venom this is not over Jake I smirked yes Mom I muttered under my breath it really is the next few days went by in a blur of tension I expected them to try something maybe send a passive aggressive text maybe get my extended family involved but to my surprise nothing came no calls no emails no word from anyone I kept

waiting for the other shoe to drop but instead it felt like the world had just shifted I wasn’t constantly on edge anymore I wasn’t hearing my mother’s guilt trips or my dad’s weak apologies it was like they had all vanished and for once I could breathe freely then 2 weeks later I came home from work to a small envelope stuck to my front door it was white unmarked with nothing but my name scribbled across the front in familiar your handwriting I tore it open expecting something passive aggressive or manipulative and I wasn’t

disappointed Jake this is your last chance you were throwing everything away for Pride Ethan may have been chosen as executive of the estate but you are still family don’t make this harder than it has to be come to your census you’ll regret it no signature just the same tired threats I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash without even a second thought a few more days passed then I re received another message this time it wasn’t a letter it was an email from my mother’s address Jake I really thought you’d come around you’re the one who

always told us family is everything now you’re turning your back on us we’re struggling we need you Ethan’s making a mess of things please let’s fix this before it’s too late this time I actually felt a little something anger the audacity to make me feel guilty about their mess to pull that old card about family is everything when they had chosen Ethan over me from the start I took a deep breath then I deleted the email without replying it was then that I realized something I wasn’t mad anymore I was just done and yet I still

hadn’t heard from Ethan he was silent his arrogance replaced with something more desperate I had to admit that part of me was surprised Ethan the one who had always believed he was Untouchable wasn’t making a move I half expected him to show up at my door with an apology but he didn’t then one afternoon out of nowhere my phone rang the number was unfamiliar but something told me I should pick up I answered and sure enough it was my mother’s voice again Jake please she was crying I could hear it in her voice and I was taken aback

you need to come over Ethan’s lost the house he’s messing everything up we have nowhere to go please we need you to help us for the first time I felt nothing no sympathy no guilt no obligation I almost felt a strange sense of Rel Le this was it this was what I had been waiting for instead of responding immediately I let the silence linger I could feel her desperation across the phone her need for reassurance for me to step in and clean up Ethan’s mess but I wasn’t about to be dragged back into that cycle of

manipulation no I finally said my voice calm this is your problem mom you’ve always wanted him to be The Golden Child and now you get to deal with the consequences of that choice you chose him to handle everything you trusted him you don’t get to pull me into your mess now she was quiet for a long moment then she whispered Jake please I don’t know what else to do I didn’t even Flinch I spoke my next words as coldly as I could you should have thought of that before you decided I wasn’t good enough to be part of the

family I hung up the phone didn’t ring again for weeks I didn’t hear from anyone but strangely enough I felt better the weight of years of resentment and manipulation had finally been lifted and then one day while I was at the store I saw a familiar face in the parking lot my father he was walking toward a beat up car carrying some bags I hadn’t seen him in weeks I debated whether to approach him but something told me that nothing was left to fix I just turned away ignoring the way he called my name that was the last time I

saw him so here I am a year later I haven’t heard a single word from my parents or Ethan part of me wonders if they’re still struggling part of me wonders if they ever realized what they did wrong but honestly I’m okay maybe for once it’s time for me to take care of me so Reddit what do you think did I go too far should I have tried to fix things instead of shutting them out let me know your thoughts

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