After my parents died a few years ago, these people had latched onto me. Always calling, always asking for favors. Back then, I'd thought it meant they cared. I'd even convinced myself they were good people.
Now I understood. I was never family to them. I was free labor they could summon whenever it suited them.
In my last life, plenty of people in that group chat knew the truth—knew I hadn't pushed Aunt Patricia. But not a single one had spoken up for me. Not one word in my defense.
And why? Because my parents were gone. Because Derek was a deadbeat nobody wanted to deal with. So they let me take the fall instead.
If that was how it was, then I had no reason to stay in this group chat at all.
My words clearly caught them off guard. The silence stretched. None of them had expected me to push back this hard.
Finally, Uncle Harold broke the quiet.
"Jennifer, what's gotten into you?"
"We're just looking out for you, that's all."
"It's the holidays—you should be spending time with family, not running off on some trip."
"Besides, you've been taking care of your aunt for a whole year now. You just walk away like this—what's she supposed to do?"
I read his words, and a bitter laugh escaped me.