They Chose the Nanny, I Chose to Stop Funding Them

"Please don't get mad, Mr. Peterson," Julia said quickly, stepping forward and gently tugging at Dad's arm with a meek smile.

"Ms. Peterson has had a tough time working in Berrington. Being a manager in such a cutthroat city isn't easy for her. It's very demanding, so it's only natural that she can't keep coming home like you wished she could. I'm sure that she still cares about you two."

Yet, Dad only got angrier at her words.

"So what if she's a manager?" he snapped. "Why is a young woman even working so hard for? Sooner or later, she'll still have to get married and settle down. What's the point of climbing so high anyway?"

Mom agreed with him and chimed in, "You're not getting any younger, Jen. You really should think about getting married.

"A colleague of mine has a son about your age. He's honest and reliable, works here, and comes from a good family. Since you're back, you can go on a date with him. If you think he's a good match for you, you can get engaged."

I rejected her at once. "I'm not going to any blind dates, and I'm not getting married either."

"You're not getting married?" Dad's face was as black as thunder now. "Are you planning to work for the rest of your life?"

"Why not?" I asked, staring back into his eyes.

"You—" Dad's chest heaved with anger. "Your mom and I are getting older. We need someone by our side. If you went on the date and got married, then we'd have someone to rely on. Why can't you just think about us?"

I frowned. "Didn't I already hire Julia to take care of you?"

Dad slammed his hand on the table as he swore in my face. "Since you refuse to get married, then quit your job right now and move back home to take care of us! If not, then don't even bother calling us your parents anymore! Julia can be our daughter instead!"

I laughed in anger.

"Back when I graduated from college, I originally planned to come back here to work so that I could take care of you," I said calmly, looking at him.

"But, you thought that it was embarrassing for a prestigious college graduate to return to the village to find a local job here. You yelled at me for being useless and forced me to go into the city to work there instead.

"I struggled in Berrington for years, and now that I've finally found a foothold and have the life I have now, you think that you can make me give it all up and quit my job just to come back to take care of you? Just because you said so?"

I shook my head and added firmly, "That's not happening."

Dad frowned. His tone rose as he demanded, "What do you mean by 'not happening'? We raised you all these years! We're just asking you to come home and take care of us now. And you're making excuses?"

"I'm not making excuses," I explained patiently. "I worked hard for my position in Berrington. If I just give it up now, all my years of hard work would have been for nothing!"

"So you're not going to care about us anymore?" Mom demanded, her face tight with disapproval. "You're our only daughter. Who else are we supposed to rely on when we're older, if not you?"

"I never said that I wasn't going to care about you anymore," I said, taking a deep breath before offering them another solution.

"Fine. If you want me to take care of you, then you can move to Berrington with me. Then, I can go to work and also take care of you at the same time."

Dad immediately waved his hand dismissively, looking at me impatiently. "Move to Berrington? We've lived in this village for decades. All our friends and relatives are here. We won't be comfortable living in another place at all."

Mom nodded as well. "Exactly! Also, you're living in a rented apartment in Berrington. It's not going to be as comfortable as our own house! We're not going!"

I frowned. "If you don't want to come with me, and I can't quit my job, then there's nothing that I can do."

Dad's face was thunderous. "Nothing you can do? Now that you've spread your wings, you think you can just ignore us? You don't respect us anymore!"

"I'm not resigning no matter what," I said firmly, without the slightest hint of backing down.