Chapter 2
Jake didn’t return for three days.
Meanwhile, my sister posted another WhatsApp update: “My boyfriend met the family today. Mom says we should toss out all the unlucky trash!”
The photo showed several large trash bags filled with my belongings.
That’s when I remembered–Mom’s pearl necklace was still at the Carson Family home.
Then I returned home, they were having dinner–a feast of seafood laid out on the table.
Sitting there was a man with a bloated body and a face covered in pimples. He was shoveling crab meat into his mouth like a starving animal, his lips smeared with disgusting white residue.
When he saw me, his eyes lit up with a lecherous gleam.
“And who might this beauty be?”
“Steven, this is my younger sister who just got married,” Sage said with a mocking tone.
“You wouldn’t believe it–she’s so lucky! She married a hideous cripple. Not everyone gets to experience something like that.”
“Oh, Emily, you’re still alive? I thought that psycho cripple from the Oakley Family would’ve tortured- you to death by now. You’re one lucky girl,” Bonnie Addison sneered.
Dad’s face twisted in disgust as he kept piling crab onto Sage and Steven’s plates.
“Sage, Steven, eat up. Don’t let certain freeloaders think they can leech off the family’s meals.”
Dad was always like this. All his love and favoritism went to my stepmother and Sage. For me, he reserved spoiled leftovers, as if terrified I’d take even the smallest advantage of the family.
I let my face grow cold and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not here for your food. I came to take my things.”
Dad flew into a rage and slapped me hard across the face.
5
“How dare you talk back to me! Everything in this house is mine! Who do you think you are to claim anything as yours?”
Blood Ties, Broken Bonds
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Look at your sister–she’s won the heart of the Crown Prince of Capital City. She’s going to help this family rise to new heights. And you? What can you do?”
“Instead of bringing back anything valuable from the Oakley Family, you have the audacity to take things from your maiden home? You’re just as useless as your dead mother!”
So, this was the so–called Crown Prince of Capital City? He couldn’t even compare to Jake Oakley’s
toes.
Watching Dad’s self–righteous demeanor, I suddenly found it amusing.
“Don’t forget, you were nothing but a gambling addict back then. It was my mom who slaved day and night to pay off your debts. She worked herself to death to save enough for your startup funds.
y mom was useless? And yet, you–a cheater during your marriage–were useful?”
Dad’s face turned red with rage, and he slapped me again.
“Rubbish! That was my own skill! Your mother willingly humiliated herself to give me money. And that tiny bit of money? It’s not even worth mentioning–I should’ve asked for more!”
“If your mother hadn’t been so spineless, she wouldn’t have given birth to a worthless brat like you. Don’t think getting married has made you untouchable. I’ll still beat you if I want to!”
Sage smirked meaningfully.
“Dad, she’s just here for that pile of junk. Let her take it.”
“Steven’s still here–let’s not ruin our meal.”
$
As I headed upstairs, I could still hear Bonnie fawning over Steven: “Steven, our Sage has given you everything. You have to keep your promise and marry her.”
Sage, full of pride, replied, “Mom, Steven said the Grayson Family hid him abroad to protect hin since he was young.”
“I’m the first person to know his name and face, and the first woman to make him feel like heaven on earth. There’s no way he’d betray me.”
Bonnie beamed with delight.
“My daughter is so capable–much better than certain trash. Once Sage marries into the Grayson
Family, she’ll have everything she wants.”
Dad nodded enthusiastically.
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“By then, our family will be at the pinnacle of society in Capital City. The Oakley Family will be nothing compared to us. Sending that worthless girl to marry was the right call.”
“Steven, when are you going public with Sage? Maybe she should visit the Grayson elders soon?”
Steven let out a nervous laugh, his voice tinged with guilt. “Soon, very soon.”
I couldn’t bother listening to their delusional fantasies because the pearl necklace Mom gave me
was… missing.