My Rich Life Was a Lie

1 After three years abroad, I finished my studies just before the holidays. I chartered an overnight flight home to surprise my parents. Instead of calling them, I dragged my suitcase, eager to see their faces. But when I reached my old home, I froze. The grand villa was gone—replaced by a shabby mud shack, its windows patched with paper. The swimming pool had become a smelly pigsty, and our champion Golden Retriever was now a scruffy, flea-covered mutt. For a moment, I thought I’d taken a wrong turn. Then Mom appeared, tanned and carrying pig feed on her shoulder. She stared at me. "Well, look who’s back!" I rushed to ask why she hadn’t told me we’d gone bankrupt. She gave me a blank look. "Studying abroad made you daft, did it? Bankrupt? When were we ever rich?" "Your dad earns barely three dollars for a hundred pounds of pig feed! A year’s work only brings in three thousand! Now that you’re home, you better help, or we’ll starve this holiday!" My jaw dropped. If we’d always been poor, then who bought me all those limited-edition luxury goods? … “What happened to our villa that used to be here? And the swimming pool? And Buster? Our big Golden Retriever!” I'd video-chatted with Mom just a few days ago, and Buster had been right there by her feet! Mom flinched, then spat right on my face. “Villa? Swimming pool? Golden Retriever? Your father's always been a pathetic excuse for a man. Marrying him was the worst mistake of my life; I’ll never amount to anything!” “And you—” Mom’s eyes raked over me, then she rolled them. “Dressed to the nines, looking like you’re too good for us just because you've seen a bit of the world?” “You’ll still end up shoveling pig waste with me!” I stood there, completely numb. My home was gone, and Mom… she was a stranger. My mother, famous in the socialite circles for her impeccable cleanliness and demanding tastes, who insisted everything she touched be screened and disinfected by her staff, was now unrecognizable. Where was the elegant, refined woman I remembered? Had the shock of losing everything caused her to have a breakdown? It couldn’t be! Just as I was about to call Dad to get to the bottom of this, a worn-out middle-aged man hobbled out of the mud shack. His face was identical to Dad’s, but ravaged by time and hardship. “Dad, you’ve changed too—” My gaze dropped, and the words caught in my throat. His right leg was gone, just an empty space below the knee. Dad had been golfing with friends last week when we video-chatted. How could he have ended up like this? Trembling, I knelt and pulled up his pant leg. Gnarly scars crisscrossed his thigh, ending in a distinct amputation site. My voice was barely a whisper. “Dad, what happened to us?” A thousand possibilities flashed through my mind. Our family business was vast; had some formidable enemy driven us to this desperate state? Mom slapped me across the face. “You come home and start asking all these ridiculous questions! Your father’s been a good-for-nothing his whole life. Ten years ago, he got his leg cut off for stealing pork fat and didn’t even dare utter a word!” My face stung, but I felt no pain. Mom had never laid a hand on me since the day I was born! Something was definitely wrong here! I quickly pulled out a video of us surfing at the beach last year. I pointed at the screen, showing it to Mom. “A year ago, Dad’s leg was perfectly fine—” Mom’s eyes flickered across the screen for just a second, then she exploded, pointing at me. “You slut! Wearing so little, trying to tempt your own father, are you?” “I sent you to school, worked myself ragged, and this is what you learn to bring home?” It was a swimsuit! She’d bought it for me herself! Had she forgotten? Mom was now a complete shrew! What on earth had happened to our family? Why had she become like this? Almost fleeing, I stumbled out of the house and turned into the convenience store across the street. There, I bumped into my younger brother, Caleb, his hair dyed bright yellow, arms draped around two gaudily dressed girls. Caleb stared at me, dumbfounded. “Elara? You’re back?” Like a drowning person finding a lifeline, I clutched at him. “Caleb, tell me, what happened to our family? Why are Mom and Dad like this?” But then, Caleb’s expression turned strange. A chill crept down my spine. He said, “Our family has always been like this.” “Have you been away so long you’ve forgotten, Elara?” He gestured vaguely towards our house. “That mud hut, Mom built it the year she got married. And that pigsty, Mom fenced it in. Even our three hundred dollar monthly income depends on Mom.” “And me, your brother. I never went to school, never learned to read. Not like you, who got to see the world after finishing high school!” For a moment, my mind reeled. What did he mean he never went to school or learned to read? And what was with that bitter, resentful tone? He had won the national math competition three years in a row by his freshman year of high school! During the awards ceremony, he’d even given me his trophy, saying it was a gift for me. I still had the award video on my phone. But now, when I opened my gallery, I couldn't find it anywhere. Even the video I’d shown Mom just moments ago had vanished. I frantically tapped on my chat history with Mom and Dad, only to find their profile pictures grayed out. A creeping coldness slowly ascended my spine. I felt as if I’d stepped into the Truman Show. Why? Was there some catalyst? Or was it just our family that had changed this way? But I’d lived in that house for twenty-five years! And from the moment I stepped off the plane until now, I’d been perfectly lucid. Nothing unusual had happened on the way. I desperately replayed every moment in my mind, feeling like I’d missed something crucial. Suddenly, a message from my best friend popped up. “Elara, I’m almost there! I’ve got a surprise for you!” In an instant, my heart settled. My best friend, Maya, was the daughter of the wealthiest man in the city. We’d met seven years ago at a party thrown by our parents and instantly clicked. We even planned to go to college together, and we’d stayed in close contact even when I went abroad. As soon as I told her I was coming home, Maya declared she’d spend the holidays with me! As soon as she arrived, it would prove my memories were right! They were definitely up to something! Watching the shared location with Maya get closer and closer, my heart quickened. Then, I saw a tricycle approaching. Maya was on it, her clothes old and baggy. She dismounted clumsily. A bad feeling coiled in my stomach. Only when Maya stood before me, greeting me, did I notice how swollen she looked. I forced down the strange sensation in my chest, about to ask her, when Maya, looking slightly smug, lifted her shirt. Her enormous belly swayed precariously with her movements, covered in red veins and stretch marks. “Elara, look. I’m married.” “Quintuplets, four boys. Surprise?” My worldview shattered again. Maya, my best friend with whom I shared everything, was a staunch DINK (dual income, no kids). She’d never even gone to one of the arranged marriages her father tried to set up, always causing a huge fuss. She’d even gone on a hunger strike to make her father give up on the idea of her marrying. My legs felt like jelly. Dad was a pathetic man. Mom was a shrew. My brother was a yellow-haired hooligan. And now, my long-unseen best friend was pregnant with quadruplets. Everyone seemed to be moving in the opposite direction of my memories! It was all wrong, everything was reversed! I was absolutely certain now. I was in another world! I no longer cared why this was happening. All I wanted to do was one thing: I wanted to go home! But my hand was gripped tight. Maya’s strength was incredible, pulling my hand towards her pregnant belly. “Elara, where are you going? Didn’t we say we’d spend the holidays together?” “Don’t you want to see my babies? Didn’t you say you’d be their favorite aunt?” My fingertips trembled. When had I ever said that? But when my palm actually touched Maya’s belly, the babies inside seemed to sense it, kicking me gently. That kick shattered the last sliver of hope in my heart. It was real! I almost spun and ran, my legs so weak I could barely stand. Run away, just run away! It felt like I was the only anomaly in the world. I needed to go home! Seeing I was actually trying to flee, Mom’s face contorted with fury as she chased after me. I cried out in panic, "I'm not your daughter! You've got the wrong person!" "I'd recognize you even if you were ashes! You go out and see the world, and now you're too good for us? Get back here! I'll sell you to the old beggar by the village entrance!" My best friend, Maya, also called out to me, clutching her pregnant belly. "Elara! Didn't we say we'd spend the holidays together? Why are you running? Come back!" I bit down hard on my tongue, forcing myself to stay clear-headed. Then, a sharp pain shot through the back of my head. My brother had caught up and struck me hard with a stick. As I lost consciousness, I saw a flicker of sorrow and reluctance in his eyes. He said, "Elara, just bear with it. We're doing this for your own good."

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