Chapter 2

My mother was a gold-digging maid in a wealthy household.

She seized her chance when the master of the house was dead drunk, got herself pregnant, and ran away.

A year later, she crashed a high-society charity gala, holding me—a drooling baby who couldn't even control her bladder.

"This is Mr. Vance's child! That night, he was red-faced, dragged me into his bed, and made love to me!"

"I've only had one man! This baby is his! If you don't take us in, I'll leak this to the tabloids tomorrow!"

Mrs. Vance despised her vulgarity and ignorance. She wrote a fat check to get rid of her.

My mother got what she wanted—enough money to secure a life of luxury.

Mrs. Vance looked down at me, abandoned on the cold floor, her voice icy.

"Take the child."

My mother didn't want a useless tagalong. She only cared about the cash.

"Since she's a Vance, she's your responsibility now. Do whatever you want with her."

As if afraid they would take the money back, she grabbed the check and bolted.

Mrs. Vance wanted to throw me into the slums to let me rot, but Mr. Vance stopped her.

"Let’s keep her for now. If she grows up ugly, we throw her out then."

"If the family runs into financial trouble later, we can always marry her off for an alliance."

And so, I stayed in the Vance mansion.

My birth was nothing but a tool.

A tool for my biological mother to get rich, and a backup plan for the Vance family to secure their long-term interests.

In that entire mansion, my existence was the dirtiest, most shameful secret.

Mrs. Vance hated the sight of me, and Julian, the young heir of my age, never gave me a decent look.

For over a decade, I was a ghost. An outsider. Anyone could mock me, and anyone could step on me.

Even the maids complained about having to feed a nameless stray like me.

"You're not even pretty, and you don't even know how to kiss up to Mr. and Mrs. Vance. Just wait until they dump you!"

"Who are you crying for? Remember, when you see them, you smile."

So, I learned to smile.

When they cursed at me, I smiled. When they slapped me, I smiled. When they kicked me, I smiled.

Until one day, Julian and his friends ripped my textbooks to shreds and threw them into the frozen pond. I couldn't smile anymore.

"Look at you, a born beggar who only knows how to wag her tail. A stupid bitch with no mother to love her. Just a piece of trash."

I stood there, frozen.

I opened my mouth to fight back, but I couldn't find the words.

Should I cry? That would only make them happier.

They all said my mother was a whore, and I was just a little whore she spat out.

So, I chose to smile again.

Seeing my blank smile, they lost interest.

"Forget it, she’s literally brain-dead. No fun at all."

I had no friends. Books were my only company.

Julian crossed his arms, looking at me with a smirk.

"Well, the pond is frozen anyway. Go get your trash yourself!"

They watched me. They wanted to see what I would do. Without a word or a tear, I took a step onto the ice.

But within three feet, the ice cracked. I plunged straight into the freezing, dark water.

As the icy water rushed into my nose and throat, my survival instinct kicked in. I thrashed wildly, screaming for help.

On the bank, Julian realized he had gone too far. He panicked.

"Oh my god, she fell in!"

"What do we do? I can't swim!"

"If something happens to her, my parents will kill me!"

"Let’s just run! She walked out there herself. If anyone asks, we know nothing!"

Their voices faded as they argued, but not one of them reached out a hand.

Their muffled voices drifted away. I opened my eyes under the water. The sky above was blindingly bright.

At that moment, I became strangely calm.

I had spent my whole life living like a rat in dark, damp corners. Standing, sitting, lying down.

I was terrified of eye contact. Terrified of attention. I thought if I kept my head down, I would be safe from harm.

But I had already crawled so low. Why wasn't it enough?

I didn't understand. What else did I have to do for them to love me?

I didn't want to try anymore. It was pointless.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out above the ice.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Someone's in the water! Save her!"

Ten-year-old Ethan Sinclair ordered his bodyguard to pull my shivering body out of the depths.

He stood there with a cold face, lecturing Julian.

"She is your sister, Julian. No one chooses their birth. How can you blame an innocent girl for things she can't control?"

I lay on the frozen ground, gasping, greedily inhaling the freezing air.

The midday sun beat down on me. Through my numb, stiff body, I felt a piercing warmth seep into my chest.

He said no one chooses their birth.

He said I was innocent.

Julian stamped his foot in anger.

"Her mother ruined my family's reputation! Do you know how it feels to have everyone laugh at me for having a rat for a sister?"

Ethan let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Then stop listening."

"Choosing to join the bullies is your own choice."

After that day, I became Ethan’s shadow.

Julian was terrified of Ethan, who was three years older. Every time they tried to corner me, I would hide behind Ethan.

He would always stand in front of me, his face stern.

"If anyone bullies you again, tell me. I’ll protect you."

He was wonderful, but he was always distant and aloof. He was always busy, studying every single day, never taking a breath.

But when Julian hung my skirt on a high branch to humiliate me, Ethan put down his books and climbed the tree to get it back. When they put dead bugs in my locker, he silently bought me new school supplies...

It didn't matter if everyone else hated me.

As long as Ethan didn't.