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Chapter 11
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
Mom didn’t understand at first. After a moment, she hesitated, then nodded.
I let out a cold, mocking laugh. “When you told me to go die, my whole body hurt like this. My heart hurt a thousand times more.”
Their faces turned ashen in an instant.
+25 BONUS
They were detained for a few days. The absurdity of it all made our family scandal spread like wildfire.
Fiona, once the beloved darling of the school, fell from grace overnight. The little princess became nothing more than the illegitimate daughter of a mistress. People stopped looking up to her. Instead, they looked down on her.
Mom started waiting for me at the school gate. One day, she shoved her phone in front of me, smiling nervously. Jolene, look, I’ve deleted that little brat from everything. I even removed her from the family group chat. In a few days, we’ll send her back to that gambling addict father of hers. Jolene, can you add me back now? Please?”
She was practically begging.
I had blocked them long ago. Looking at her, I spoke calmly. “Seeing any trace of you in my social circle makes me sick.”
She stood there, stunned, as if struck by lightning.
Dad tried a different approach. He had someone send over an expensive box of chocolates–the kind I never had as) a child. He presented them to me like a treasure.
I threw the whole box into the trash in front of him.
His expectant face went pale, then gray.
“I know you want to make up for it,” I said, expressionless “But some things, once missed, never taste the same again. My childhood won’t suddenly become bright because of this. Some mistakes can never be undone.”
Still, they refused to give up. Overwhelmed by guilt, they kept trying to compensate, forcing their so–called love
on me.
But love that arrives too late is nothing more than rotting garbage. It disgusted me.
The long–delayed divorce was finally back on the table. This time, instead of fighting over property, they fought
over me.
The same courtroom. But now, I was the prize.
The judge asked me who I wanted to go with.
My answer was the same. “Neither.”
I was an adult now. They couldn’t force me,
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It was raining when school let out. As soon as I stepped outside, I saw two cars waiting at the gate. Dad and Mom spotted me at the same time, both rushing over.
+25 BONU
Chapter 11
“Jolene, it’s pouring. Let me take you home,” Dad said.
“Jolene, come with me,” Mom said.
