The way Mom kept asking about the transfer suddenly felt different. She and Dad had excluded me from Christmas, but they had still expected me to hand them a fully paid $265,000 home a few weeks later. When I said that aloud, Mom became defensive. She insisted the bungalow had nothing to do with the dinner and reminded me how much they had already planned around it. I told her that was exactly the problem. They had become so certain of my generosity that they no longer considered whether they were treating me like someone they actually loved. I ended the call without arguing and waited until my attorney reopened after the holiday.
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