Chapter 2

2

Once we arrived back in Chicago, Devin finally seemed to notice my battered appearance.

He looked at my twisted leg with sudden panic. “What happened to your leg?”

“Hey! Answer me!”

A cold smile tugged at my lips. “An earthquake hit. A collapsing beam crushed it.”

Devin’s jaw clenched tight. With a stony face, he made a phone call to have people clean me up, though the stylists looked at me with open disgust and contempt.

He turned to look at me, his gaze dark and unreadable. “Even if you degraded yourself, you should at least look decent when meeting Frank and Helen.”

I nodded silently, letting them dress me like a lifeless doll.

When we pulled up to the estate, I saw my parents standing by the entrance.

The very next second, Chloe took my mother’s arm, chatting warmly as they walked inside together. My mother wore a radiant smile, never once glancing at me standing beside them.

“Mom, Dad, why were you waiting outside? Let’s go in!”

My father glanced my way and barked, “What are you standing there for? Get inside and stop embarrassing us.”

At the dinner table, I sat far away by myself. I stared blankly as Chloe eagerly served food to my parents, making them burst into joyful laughter with every word.

Once upon a time, my parents treasured me above all else, moving heaven and earth to grant my every wish. Now, they poured all their love into the woman who had ruined my life.

Devin sat beside Chloe, pampering her by peeling shrimp and serving her favorite dishes.

I knew that tender expression all too well; it used to belong solely to me. Seeing it now made my stomach churn with disgust.

The lavish dinner was supposed to welcome me home, yet not a single dish on the table was something I liked.

Every single plate was filled with Chloe’s favorites.

My fingers twitched, and with a sharp clatter, I slammed my fork down onto the table.

I needed to see where my parents stood.

I needed to know their true attitude toward me versus Chloe.

“I finally came back after three years,” I said, my voice choking with emotion. “Aren’t you going to ask how I survived?”

“Why are you treating Chloe like she’s the only one who matters?”

My mother continued putting food onto Chloe’s plate, completely ignoring my words.

Only when Chloe gently nudged her did my mother finally deign to look at me. She wiped her hands with an elegant napkin, her eyes turning freezing cold. “What kind of attitude is that? How could you ever compare to Chloe?”

“Look at yourself right now. Where is your poise as a high-society lady? Haven’t you humiliated me enough already?”

Chloe spoke up with a timid voice, “Mom, please don’t be angry. Leah just got back. Let’s all try to get along.”

I closed my eyes. Humiliated her?

And Chloe, by what right was she calling her Mom?

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I asked again, “Then why didn’t you look for me after the earthquake? Why didn’t anyone check if I was still breathing?”

The tremors from that earthquake had been massive; even if they blocked my calls, it was impossible to miss the national news.

Yet two full years had passed since the disaster before they even bothered to come.

Silence fell over the dining room.

A suffocating chill washed over my entire body. I let out a bitter chuckle. Of course. I should have known.

Before I could say another word, two heavy slaps struck my face, sending me crashing onto the hardwood floor.

One blow came from my father. The other... came from Devin.

My ears rang violently, drowning out their voices in a dull roar.

“Leah, are you starting your tantrums the second you step through the door? It was just a minor tremor, and you clearly survived, so why are you acting so ungrateful?”

“Three years. I thought you would learn some humility and manners in the country, but you’re still as rotten as ever...”

My father’s voice dripped with deep disappointment.

I looked up at my mother, who stood silently beside him, offering her unspoken support.

She looked at me as if I were nothing more than a stranger.

A freezing sensation gripped my heart. Did they have any idea what kind of living hell I had endured? I had asked a simple, reasonable question, and they treated it like a crime.

If it hadn't been for Jesse protecting me with his life, my bones would already be buried beneath the dirt.

My mother gently patted Chloe’s shoulder before turning back to glare at me. “I thought we could let bygones be bygones regarding how you hurt Chloe in the past. But you’re still unrepentant, stooping so low as to fool around with filthy mountain men...”

“Stooping so low?!”

I lifted my head to meet Chloe’s smug, triumphant gaze, instantly realizing who had poisoned their minds.

Over the past three years, Chloe had clearly fed my parents an endless stream of venomous lies.

Yet they were the ones who dumped me in that lawless village under the guise of repentance, leaving me without a single penny or change of clothes.

In a predatory place like that, did they truly not know what happened to a penniless young woman? And for three entire years!

I began to laugh hysterically, but the tears streaming down my cheeks tasted like bitter poison.

I dragged my battered body up the stairs while the tense atmosphere in the dining room broke into frantic chatter.

All I could hear was my father, my mother, and Devin rushing to comfort Chloe, telling her to ignore my spiteful words.

They said my suffering was my own karma.

They openly declared that Chloe was their top priority.

Yet I remembered a time when I was their one and only.