After Michelle’s mom abandoned her with her stepdad, the teenage girl vowed to prove she wasn’t a burden by becoming successful. After overcoming many obstacles, Michelle crossed paths with the woman who left her behind.
Michelle didn’t realize something was wrong until her stepdad, Eugene, started crying. They’d just arrived home and found a note from Mom on the coffee table.
“Michelle, don’t,” Eugene warned the girl as she navigated her wheelchair through the gap between the sofa and the armchair and grabbed the note…
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“I can’t do it anymore, Eugene. But I tried my best to care for Michelle. That burden has taken the best years of my life from me. Now that she’s 16, it’s time I pursue my dream of becoming an actress before it’s too late…”
“And what about you? Am I a burden to you too?” Michelle asked Eugene in tears, not having the courage to read the rest of the note.
“Never, Shelly! Never!” Eugene rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you like my own, and I’ll never abandon you.”
Michelle returned his hug, but Mom’s words lingered in her thoughts.
“I want you to remember that you’ve done nothing wrong, Shelly,” Eugene wiped Michelle’s tears with his thumbs. “This is…well, it’s an awful and shocking thing that’s happened, but we’ll carry on without her, okay?”
Michelle nodded, but she couldn’t just “carry on.” She had to prove her mother wrong, and she was determined that one day when she was wildly successful, she’d hire a detective to find Mom and then flaunt her achievements in Mom’s face.
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Michelle worked hard and graduated at the top of her class. She was offered scholarships from several colleges but chose to pursue a major in film studies.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Eugene was surprised by her decision as he ate his dinner. “I’m concerned you’re choosing a film for all the wrong reasons.”
Michelle stopped eating and looked at him. “I want to be a director, Eugene. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, Shelly…so long as you’re not doing it ’cause of your mother.”
“She has nothing to do with it,” Michelle lied and focused on eating again. She’d never admit to Eugene, or anyone else, that she often imagined her mother staring at her in shock after appearing to audition for a...
