Chapter 1

When I was three, my parents cheated on each other over a petty misunderstanding. From that moment on, they became the most notoriously toxic couple in our social circle.

To get back at one another, they hurt me without hesitation, using my pain as a weapon to wound each other.

Over the next five years, my mother broke my bones three separate times. My father deliberately abandoned me in crowded streets five times, and once, during a screaming match, they even threw me into the ocean.

Eventually, they grew tired of the old routine and decided to torment each other in a new way.

They divorced, each adopting a new child and spoiling them rotten just to compete with one another.

I became nothing more than disposable trash. My only purpose was to serve as a punching bag whenever they remembered their mutual hatred.

The only thing keeping me alive was a silver baby locket they had given me when I was born. The words "Peace and Joy" engraved on the back were the only warmth left in my life.

Then, when I turned ten, someone came to take that last piece of hope away.

I fought back with everything I had, and the beating ruptured my spleen.

When my parents finally showed up and saw the pool of blood on the pavement, their faces twisted in pure disgust.

"Maisie, how did you turn into such a pathetic mess? You make me sick, just like your father!"

"Who are you calling sickening? Say it again! Look at her filthy clothes. She is loose and shameless, just like you!"

My desperate pleas for help were swallowed by their screaming match. My vision blurred, and my body grew heavy and cold.

Slowly, the world fell silent.

And finally, they stopped fighting.

1

My body trembled with agony, and blood kept spilling from the corner of my mouth.

Yet my parents were still busy screaming at each other, not caring about me in the slightest.

I crawled on the pavement, forcing my head up toward my mother to beg between ragged breaths.

"Mom... it hurts so bad. Can you please take me to the hospital?"

My mother frowned with intense disgust and kicked me away.

"Get away from me! You are filthy and repulsive!"

"Crying for a hospital over a tiny scrape? You are just as dramatic as those cheap women your father sleeps with!"

My father glared at her in fury. He marched forward, stepping directly on my palm with his heavy leather shoes as if I were invisible.

"Meredith, look at yourself, acting like a rabid shrew! Every woman out there is gentler than you. You are just drowning in jealousy!"

"If you weren't rotten to the core, Maisie wouldn't be such a pathological liar at her age!"

My mother let out a cold sneer. Though she was mocking my father, her hateful gaze swept over me.

"Ha! What does her lying have to do with me? Look at how short and ugly she is. She inherited every bit of that from you!"

Infuriated, my father grabbed my hair and yanked my chin upward.

"Inherited from me? Look at her face! Does she not look like you? You are her biological mother!"

My mother shook with rage and hurled her designer handbag straight at him.

"Shut up! Who is her mother? That wretched brat has nothing to do with me!"

"Her last name is Hayes, so your family can deal with her. Whether she lives or dies, keep her away from me!"

Seeing her turn to leave, my father grabbed her wrist tightly.

"Stop right there! Why are you dumping your mess on me? You pushed her out of your own body!"

Watching them kick me back and forth like an unwanted ball, the last spark of light in my eyes faded.

I endured the tearing pain and forced myself up from the ground, offering them a desperate, pleasing smile.

"Look, Daddy, Mommy, I can be good. I don't need to go to the hospital. Please don't throw me away."

Seeing the raw plea in my eyes, my father showed a fleeting trace of hesitation. He patted my head dismissively.

"Be a good girl, Maisie. Your sister Whitney is sick, and I have to go to the clinic to care for her. Go home for now, and I will visit when I have time, okay?"

My mother scoffed, tearing down his lie without mercy.

"When you have time? You won't have time for the rest of your pathetic life!"

"You just want to dump this little parasite on me so you can run off and fool around! Not a chance in hell!"

"She might as well drop dead right here today. That way, neither of us has to deal with her ever again!"

Her venomous words pierced my chest like a jagged blade.

The shouting continued, but my mind had gone completely blank, and all sound faded away.

Using the last ounce of my strength, I stumbled into the dark and dragged myself back toward the house.

I climbed onto the small twin bed they had bought for me when I was a toddler, and I quietly closed my eyes.

Tears soaked through the pillow. Curled in a tight ball from the excruciating pain, I softly whispered to myself, mimicking the gentle tone my mother used to have.

Go to sleep, Maisie. Once you fall asleep, it won't hurt anymore.