Chapter 2The Last Strawberry

Emma had gotten me a passport half a year ago, wanting me to visit her in Australia. But my daughter-in-law had just given birth, so I couldn't find the time.

Hearing that I had finally decided to visit her, she was overjoyed. She had one of her colleagues teach me how to apply for a visa.

The young girl was very nice. She helped me with everything and didn't mind my technological incompetence at all.

"Auntie, it'll take a week at most. I'll let you know the second your application is approved."

One week. Not long.

On the way home, I felt like the air today was exceptionally sweet. Even the little dog in the elevator looked adorable.

I had been terrified of dogs since I was a kid. But for some reason today, I suddenly gathered the courage to pet that little golden retriever. It wasn't as scary as I thought, and it even wagged its tail at me.

This good mood lasted until I reached my front door.

Before I even walked in, I heard my daughter-in-law, Chloe, throwing a fit.

"Is he not your son? You don't even bother to look at him? He's so small, he gets hungry constantly! Is this whole family dead?!"

I paused as I opened the door, then walked in pretending I hadn't heard anything.

Seeing me, Mark, who had been keeping his head down like a scolded dog, looked like he had found the culprit.

"Mom! Where did you run off to all afternoon!? The baby was crying his lungs out from hunger!"

Arthur suddenly seemed to come alive too. He walked out of the bedroom with his hands behind his back, his face grim as he started nagging.

"If you're going out, go out, but at least take the baby with you."

"We don't know how to soothe him. My grandson cried all afternoon."

"If you have to leave, can't you at least tell someone? Coming back this late, not making dinner... is the family supposed to starve..."

Thinking about how I'd be leaving to see my daughter in a few days, I originally didn't want to fight with him.

But I tried to hold it in, and I just couldn't.

"If you don't know how to soothe him, learn."

Emma said it best. No one is born knowing how to cook, do laundry, or soothe a baby. Arthur hadn't washed a single piece of clothing or a single bowl in his entire life.

Starting today, I wasn't washing them either.

If he doesn't know how to cook, he can learn. If he doesn't want to learn, he can starve.

After all, we had just bickered that afternoon. Seeing that I was still angry, Arthur shut his mouth.

But Mark had just been scolded by his wife, and he was genuinely angry.

"Mom, what is wrong with you!? Are you trying to ruin this family?"

"Chloe worked all day, and I finally get a day off. You're the only one sitting around doing nothing. If you don't cook, who will?"

I didn't bother arguing with them. I walked straight into my room, leaving the three of them staring at each other in the living room. Through the door, I could hear them whispering.

"Dad? What's going on?"

"I don't know! She has no real responsibilities, but a massive temper. It's like she's got a black hole in her mouth. She didn't get to eat a single strawberry, and she completely lost her mind."

"Ugh, all this over something so small? If I had known, I would have saved two for her. Besides, we can just buy some more tomorrow, right?"

Chloe didn't say a word. She grabbed the baby and went back to her mother's house.

I didn't cook that night.

I didn't make breakfast the next morning, either.