Chapter 36 Vangie Couldn't

• Vangie couldn’t stop crying after Marta left her house. She shut the door and locked herself in her room. She didn’t even care whether her small store was open. She ignored the voices calling out from outside and didn’t bother to respond.
• Her cheek was swollen, but what hurt more were the painful words her former mother-in-law had said. She had always known the woman looked down on her, but it still hurt. It felt like something was breaking inside her chest—far more painful than the swelling on her face.
• She had done everything back then. When Fredo found a job in Manila and started earning, she didn’t complain when he decided to give money to his parents. Every 15th and 30th of the month, she handed his mother two thousand pesos. And yet, Fredo only sent her five thousand in total. They didn’t even have their own house; they lived with his parents. On top of that, she had to help with expenses and even did laundry for neighbors to make ends meet.