I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room when my phone rang. It was Angela, my only daughter. Her voice sounded strange, almost cold, when she said, “Mom, we’re going to Europe tomorrow. I already sold your beach house and your car.”

No, Mom. He taught me to be responsible, to value family, to not be selfish. And I did the exact opposite. I abandoned my mother for a man who turned out to be a liar. I sold my family’s heirlooms for money. I ruined everything he built. For the first time since I’d returned, I heard genuine remorse in her voice.
It wasn’t just regret for the consequences of her actions, but a true acknowledgment that she had done something morally wrong. People make mistakes, honey. The important thing is to learn from them. But how do I learn from this, Mom? How do I repair the damage I’ve done? There was the question I’d been waiting for.

Angela was finally ready to face the truth about her actions and their consequences, but it wasn’t yet time to reveal my final card. First, I had to let her hit rock bottom completely. The next few days were crucial to my plan. Angela decided to sell most of the jewelry, keeping only the engagement ring Roberto had given me and a small necklace that had belonged to her grandmother.

I watched her prepare to go to jewelry stores, research prices, negotiate with buyers. It was painful to see her reduce decades of family history to business transactions, but necessary for her to understand the true weight of her decisions. “Mom, I got 180,000 pesos for the jewelry,” she told me one afternoon, counting the bills on the kitchen table. “

Continue reading…