enough. The gossip is unbearable. Staying
longer without any status would be
disrespectful to your wife.”
The man stared at me for a moment, then
smiled.
“Oh, that’s it. Don’t worry. My wife is broad-
minded, she won’t mind.”
“You just want to marry me formally. That’s
just a formality.
وو
“Just be a little more obedient, treat Grace
well, and I might marry you…
“No.”
وو
I shook my head. “I don’t want to marry you,
or get a marriage license.”
The man’s eyes darkened.
Before, I would have trembled and
apologized, finding ways to appease him.
But I was tired of that.
<
“I don’t want to stay in this house.”
“I’m going back to the orphanage, to be with
the matron and care for the children.”
“Grace is grown, she doesn’t need me.”
“Just give me the money you promised, and
I’ll leave…”
With a loud crash, Mr. Thompson swept
everything off the table.
“Shut up!”
“We’ve been too kind to you. You think you
can come and go as you please!”
“You can’t leave this house without my
permission!”
He turned and left, ordering the servants to
lock me in my room.
The heavy door slammed shut. That night, the
only thing I received was water.
The servant who locked me up was
apologetic, saying Mr. Thompson had ordered
them to starve me for a few days to teach me
a lesson.
I was shocked by his wickedness. He broke
his promise and tortured me.
My body was weak after the miscarriage. I lay
in bed, thinking of an escape.
The next day, as sunlight streamed into the
room, I heard a commotion outside.
“What? That bitch actually wants to leave?
And Father locked her up?”
Grace’s shrill voice rang out. After some futile
pleas from the servants, she kicked the door
open.
She rushed in and saw me lying weakly in
bed.
A cruel smile twisted her lips, she grabbed my
hair and pulled me up.
“I heard you fought with Father yesterday?”
“You’re useless, you’ve been here for over a
decade and don’t even have a single
admirer.”
<
The pain in my scalp made me wince.
“Grace, let me go!”
“Oh, you dare yell at me? Do you think you’re
my mother?”
She pulled harder, then threw me back onto
the bed.
My nose hit the bed, stinging, tears welling in
my eyes.
Grace laughed louder.
“I heard you didn’t eat last night, so I kindly
brought you something.”
She grabbed a food container from a servant
and forced it into my mouth.
The sticky texture mixed with blood, I
coughed violently.
Grace was amused by my suffering.
“Delicious? People say children are made of
وو
their mother’s blood and essence.”
“Since it’s so nutritious, I’ll let you eat the
baby you aborted back!”
“This is your punishment for dreaming of
replacing my mother!”
“Hahahahaha!”
Disgust and shock filled me. I retched, as if I
would vomit my heart out.
With a few heaves, the bloody clumps fell to
the floor.
“Does it look familiar? After all, it lived in
your body for months!”
Grace laughed cruelly, waiting for a look of
terror on my face.
Seeing her cruelty, my heart sank.
She used to be such a sweet girl.
When she was little, she was weak, allergic to
many things, and prone to indigestion. I made
all her meals.
But I was a novice cook, and toddler food
was complicated, leaving my hands constantly
cut.
Thinking of this, I tearfully showed my blood-
Г
stained hands to Grace.
“I never tried to replace your mother.
Everything I did for these ten years was to
take good care of you.
وو
Grace was stunned, a fleeting look of
confusion on her face. It was quickly replaced
by rage.
“Don’t try to fool me! I asked around, you
married into this family for money!”
“Grandma promised you a fortune to take
care of me.”
And you secretly got pregnant, to stay here
and enjoy the luxury!”
Looking at her disgust, I looked at her with
tears in my eyes.
“Grace, why do you hate me?”
“Have I not been good to you for the past ten
years?”
The girl’s confusion was undeniable, she
couldn’t speak for a long time.
L
What could she say?
I devoted all my energy to her.
Her food, clothes, everything, I provided it all.
She was frail, with delicate needs.
I knew her habits and preferences intimately.
When she was five, she had a serious illness
and almost died.
I carried her to the hospital, pleading with
every god, and brought her back from the
brink.
When I made the deal with Mr. Thompson’s
mother, I warned myself.
Wealthy families are heartless, never give
your heart completely.
But in the end, I fell, and lost everything.
Grace’s face grew red, she almost screamed.
“What does it matter that you were good to
me! You did it for the money!”
“If you really cared for me, you wouldn’t have
gotten pregnant!”
く
“You never really cared about me, and I’ll
never consider you my mother. I hate you!”
She ran out of the room.
At the stairs, she bumped into a woman.
She raised her head angrily, ready to yell, but
froze.
“Mother?!”
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“realnovel“.
Chapter 2
4
I stared at the woman whose face was almost
identical to Lin Ke’s, stunned.
If I was seven–tenths similar to Lin Ke, this
woman was her reincarnation.
Not only her face, but her figure, demeanor,
and even her expressions were exactly the
same.
She stood beside Mr. Thompson’s mother,
calm and elegant.
Before I could react, I was slapped hard
Mrs. Thompson held Grace close, frowning at
- me.
“I gave you so much money, and this is how
you take care of my granddaughter?!”
“If it weren’t for your resemblance to Lin Ke,
do you think a beggar like you could even
enter my house?”
A burning pain shot through my cheek, and
the taste of blood filled my mouth.
I touched my swollen face, suppressing my
anger, my expression calm.
