Reunion of Mint Candies

On the day I was crowned the national college entrance exam champion, the father I’d hardly ever met appeared at our door. He offered four million and an ultimatum: leave my mother and return with him to his family.

I only smiled, then tossed the check onto the floor of the cramped rental apartment that had been our home for more than ten years.

“I’m done being poor with you,” I told my mother. “From now on, just pretend you never had a daughter.”

Watching her tremble and sob left me cold—so cold that I took the initiative to draft a formal document severing all family ties.

But no one knew about the blister pack of painkillers hidden in my pocket, each tablet a silent countdown to the three months I had left.

***

“Mariah. I am your father.”

The man stood before us, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, his face carefully maintained. His tone dripped with a condescending charity.

Behind him, his assistant slid a check across the table toward my mom, Quinn. “Four million. Consider it compensation for all these years. From today, Mariah… no, our precious Mariah, will be returning home with Mr. Caleb.”

My mother shook with rage, her face ghostly pale as she moved to shield me. “Caleb, have you lost your mind? You walked out on us sixteen years ago, when Mariah was just four! Now that she’s topped the entire country, you think you can swoop in and claim the prize? Over my dead body!”

Sixteen years. Not a single visit, not a word.

And now here he was, arrogance and money in hand, like some king reclaiming a lost heir from the commoners.

Neighbors had crowded into the doorway, pointing and murmuring.

“So that’s Mariah’s real father? Looks filthy rich.”

“Four million! I’d be grinning in my sleep.”

“Quinn’s too proud for her own good. Turning down a comfortable life…”

Tears glistened in my mother’s eyes, her lips pressed into a bloodless line—her final stand for dignity.

Caleb frowned, clearly irritated by the spectacle. His eyes locked onto mine, voice leaving no room for debate. “You’re a smart girl, Mariah. Come with me, and you’ll attend the best university, secure the brightest future, enter circles you can’t even imagine now. Stay here, and you’ll rot in this rental for the rest of your life. The choice is yours.”

Everyone stared at me, waiting—for the righteous refusal, the curses hurled at a deadbeat dad, the tearful embrace with my mother.

Even Mom watched me, her eyes full of desperate hope and trust.

I smiled.

Under their stunned gazes, I stepped out from behind her and picked up the check.

Then, calmly, I looked at Caleb and said, “Four million isn’t enough.”

The apartment fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

My mother stared, lips moving without sound.

A flicker of approval crossed Caleb’s eyes. *That’s my girl*, they seemed to say.

With amused interest, he asked, “How much, then?”

I