Chapter 13 - The Hard Work
Over the next six months, Marcus proved me wrong in the best way possible.
He didn't ask me for another dime.
He got a job working the graveyard shift at a manufacturing plant.
He rented a tiny, miserable room in a boarding house and sold his expensive car to pay off a portion of his credit card debt.
Every Sunday, he called me.
He didn't complain about his aching back or his terrible living conditions.
Instead, he asked about my garden, my health, and my life.
He apologized for a different past mistake every week, taking full accountability for his blind arrogance.
"I saw a guy treat a waitress badly today," he told me on one call.
"It made me sick to my stomach, Mom."
"It reminded me of how Chloe treated you, and how I just stood there and let it happen."
I could hear the genuine growth in his voice.
He was finally shedding the toxic entitlement that Chloe had wrapped him in.
He was becoming a man who understood the value of hard work and basic human respect.
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"I'm proud of you, Marcus," I told him honestly.
For the first time in years, I heard him smile through the phone.
