Elizabeth’s granddaughter started treating her differently after her brother left home for college. She took her grandmother to a nursing home to have the house for herself, only for her brother to take his granny away as soon as he discovered the news years later.
Elizabeth raised her granddaughter and grandson alone after their parents both passed away. She loved them dearly and gave them everything they could need.
Instead of using her pension on herself, she saved every penny for her grandchildren. She made sure to have enough to pay the bills and pay for their education.
One day, her grandson Pierce was finally headed to college. He got accepted into a top engineering university in the country and moved to another city.
“I’ll miss you so much, Pierce,” Elizabeth cried when she took him to the airport. “I know you’ll do great.”
“I’ll miss you too, grandma. I promise to call, and I’ll visit every chance I get,” he said, embracing his crying grandmother. “Emma’s there to take care of you for now, okay? You two take care.”
Once Pierce’s flight took off, there was a deafening silence inside Elizabeth’s house. Her bubbly grandson was no longer there to add life to the home, as Emma always kept to herself and preferred not to talk to Elizabeth unless needed.
After some time, Emma started to show more displeasure towards her grandmother. “It’s so suffocating in this house,” she’d comment every time Elizabeth was in the kitchen, cooking up meals. “It always smells like food. I can’t even have my own space because I’m so distracted by the smell!”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll just cook when you’re in school so you’re not bothered by the smell,” Elizabeth said to appease her granddaughter.
On other days, her issue wouldn’t be about the food but about her grandmother knitting in the living room. “Don’t you wanna move someplace else? Is there anything wrong with your room? You’re always in the living room. I can never bring friends over!”
‘”Sorry, sweetheart,” Elizabeth apologized. “I’ll stay in my room so you can have your friends over after school. It’s no problem with me.”
Little did Emma know, Elizabeth was deeply hurt. Not only did she feel like Emma didn’t value her, but she also felt lonely because she had no one to talk to. She cried herself to sleep that night, wishing Pierce would call. He had always been more loving towards her.
Every week, Emma would find something else to complain about and Elizabeth couldn’t take it anymore, so she casually said, “it seems you don’t want me home. I might as well move to a nursing home.”
Emma’s eyes lit up as soon as she heard this. “Yes! That’s a great idea, grandma! I think that’s going to make you feel happier. I’ll find you a great option,” she said, rushing to her room to search for nearby nursing homes on the internet.
Elizabeth burst into tears as soon as Emma left the living room. “Is this really happening?” she asked herself. “I don’t want to leave my home,” she cried.
She tried to call Pierce to let him know what was happening, but his phone could not be reached. Later that night, Emma entered Elizabeth’s bedroom to show her an option for a nursing home nearby.
“Look, grandma. This nursing home looks good! It’s nearby, so I can easily visit you every day!” she said excitedly.
Elizabeth’s heart shattered upon hearing Emma speak so excitedly about her move, but she agreed, giving in to her granddaughter’s request. “Alright, sweetheart,” she said sadly. “I look forward to your visits.”
At first, Elizabeth felt happy in the nursing home because it was the most she’d seen Emma. She visited every day and spent a couple of minutes talking to her.
However, after four months, Emma’s visits started to become less often until she didn’t visit at all. Elizabeth spent every day alone, finding company only through her fellow seniors and their caregivers.
After five years, Elizabeth learned to move on and buried all hope of being reunited with her grandchildren. She had assumed Pierce had likely gone home and found out about her situation from Emma and didn’t care enough to visit her too.
“They’d chosen to forget about me,” she once told her caregiver. “I guess once they were able to get everything they needed, I was disposable to them.”
Throughout those five years that Elizabeth was living in the nursing home, Emma lived a carefree life in her grandmother’s house. She chose not to go to college and instead worked a part-time job that allowed her to enjoy simple luxuries with her friends. She always partied and went out of town whenever she pleased.
One day, Pierce finally came home. He went straight to his grandmother’s house and saw only Emma there. “I missed you. How have things been?” he asked as soon as he entered the house.
“What are you doing here?” Emma asked her older brother, surprised. “You should have told me you were coming.”
“I wanted to surprise you and grandma. Where is she?” he said, walking towards their grandmother’s room. He was surprised to see that Emma had turned it into a storage room.
“Where’s grandma?!” he asked his sister again.
Emma shrugged and told him she had placed her in a nursing home five years ago. “I couldn’t deal with her alone. I had many other things to do, so I booked her a room at the nearby nursing home. She’s doing fine. I get letters in the mail updating me about her,” she revealed.
“What?! How could you do that?! All these years that I sent you messages and letters, you told me you two were doing fine!” Pierce angrily confronted his sister. “How could you lie to me that way? We’re not done with this conversation,” he said, walking out the door and heading straight to the nursing home.
As soon as he got there, he told the receptionist that he was looking for a lady named Elizabeth. Little did he know, Elizabeth was seated a couple of meters away from him and heard his voice.
“Pierce! Grandma’s here!” she said, her voice shaking in shock that he had finally come to visit her. Upon seeing his grandmother, Pierce burst into tears and gave her a tight embrace.
“Grandma, I’m so sorry it took me so long to come home. I didn’t know you were at a nursing home. I can’t believe Emma did this to you. I’m sorry, grandma,” he sobbed.
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Elizabeth said, trying to console her grandson. “I did miss you and wished I never had to leave home, but I enjoyed my time here. I gained new friends,” she assured him.
“Still, grandma. After everything you’ve done for us, we should be the ones taking care of you now,” Pierce told her. “I promise, I’m going to make things right,” he told her.
That day, Pierce and Elizabeth went back home. Pierce fixed Elizabeth’s room and arranged the house the way he remembered it before leaving for college.
Pierce also warned Emma to get her life back on track, or he would be forced to intervene and teach her a lesson. Because Emma had always looked up to her brother, she agreed and apologized for allowing her friends to influence her life decisions.
Eventually, when Elizabeth passed, her lawyer revealed that she had left her entire inheritance to Pierce, requesting that he give Emma a fair share once she changed her ways. This eventually happened, and the two siblings lived comfortable lives not only thanks to their grandmother’s inheritance but because they both had promising careers.