Oops, I’ve Been Exposed

“Woody, this is all your fault! What makes you think that you can just show up right now? Haven’t you caused enough trouble for my family?”

Woody was shocked, but he couldn’t say a word. He knew that Sasha was disappointed in him, but he didn’t expect her to hate him to the core!

In reality, he had already noticed that Shane looked quite old, and Mindy looked like she had gone through a lot. Compared to other people their age, they seemed to have aged like milk.

It was especially true for Mindy. Her rough hands were dry and cracked although it was only late fall or early winter at most. It wasn’t hard to imagine what her hands would be like deep in the winter.

Woody was heartbroken, and he wanted to slap himself hard! Sasha was

right. He was hiding in prison and enjoying his life. We knew nothing about what had happened out there.

He even foolishly thought that if he took responsibility for everything, the others would live a decent life out there. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“You were forced to live a life of hardship because of my incompetence. What does this have to do with Woody?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Glaring at Sasha, Shane continued, ” Why did Woody get in there? It’s because he took action and stopped the bad guys from harassing his wife. This is a man’s duty, and he did it bravely. He’s not at fault! Sasha, I’m disappointed in you. You don’t have any sense of morality at all!”

Sasha was furious. “I don’t have any sense of morality? Alright, even if you’re right, and Woody had stood up for Pamela, shouldn’t the York family have taken charge?

“Look at the Yorks’ wealth and compare it to ours! They were capable of helping us, but they pretended like they never saw anything. They even wanted to con money out of us!”

Mindy said earnestly, “Sasha, they lead good lives because they’re capable enough. Helping us would be an act of grace, not duty. 1

“It’s our fault that we don’t live a good life. We can’t blame it on anyone else, let alone ask too much of others.”

Sasha was so mad that she almost burst into tears. “That’s because you guys are too nice! You’re always so considerate of others, and that’s why you fell into the Yorks’ trap back then.

“Since I can’t convince you guys anyway, I’ll just leave, alright? It works just well for me. I’d be ashamed to be lumped in with a jerk like Woody.”

With that, she turned around to leave.

When Sasha started working, she and her classmate rented a small apartment near the company. She claimed that it would be easier for her to go to work, but in reality, she just wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Although she was a young woman, she had to live in this terrible and noisy urban village. It was quite inconvenient and dangerous.

Her colleagues either drove their own cars or had chauffeurs take them to and from work. Sasha had nothing but a scooter to ride on.

She always believed that if Woody’s incident hadn’t happened, her family would certainly be wealthy enough to get her a small apartment and a stylish commuter vehicle. Alas, she had to work hard to get all these things!

As time passed, her parents grew older, and their health worsened. All the burdens were weighing on her tender shoulders.

“Sasha!” With a stern look on his face, Shane said angrily, “If you leave right now, don’t ever come back! I refuse to acknowledge such an unreasonable woman as my daughter!”