Chapter 2

Five days later, I was discharged from the hospital. When I returned to the villa, I realized I was home alone.

The moment the butler saw me, his eyes were full of disdain. "Why are you back? Mr. Langston made it perfectly clear that from now on, you are never to appear in the same space as Ms. Melina again! Count yourself lucky.

"Ms. Melina and the rest of your family have gone on a vacation. You'd better watch your step from now on. You're strictly forbidden from setting foot on the second floor!"

Without saying a single word, I walked right past him and found my room.

Ever since I returned, Melina had constantly gone out of her way to make my life miserable. Consequently, my room had been downgraded from the second floor to the attic on the top floor.

Because Melina said she didn't want to see me, and she couldn't bear the thought of me "overlooking" her, no standard bedroom in the house was deemed acceptable. In the end, the Langstons relegated me to the attic.

It had originally been a storage room, but it had been cleared out and turned into my bedroom. Fortunately, it was quiet enough, and I was completely left to my own devices.

Even after being discharged from the hospital, my body was still incredibly weak. Yet, for the first time in memory, I felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

Melina wasn't here, so Elio wasn't around either. The housekeepers treated me as if I were invisible, which meant no one was around to berate or criticize me. I could finally eat and sleep in peace.

Looking out at the sea of lights flickering in the distance, a smile tugged at my lips. This kind of life didn't seem so bad, after all.

…

Regrettably, my brief respite came to an end when Melina and the Langstons returned five days later.

That day, I slept in, had some bread, and went downstairs to pour myself a drink. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard Melina's voice. "Mom, Dad, it's such a shame Mae wasn't there. If she were, we could've taken a proper family portrait together!"

Mom said coldly, "Why did you bring her up out of the blue? This is exactly why you can't trust a child you didn't raise yourself. That child is rotten to the core. No matter what we do, she'll never be one of us!"

Dad sighed. "Forget it. She didn't grow up with us, after all. In a couple of years, we'll just marry her off, and she won't be our problem anymore."

Elio scoffed. "Marry her off? Who would even want to marry someone like her? We only have one heiress in this household, and that's Melina. If you ask me, we should just give her a sum of money and ship her off as far away as possible!"

After hearing that, a quiet delight bloomed in my chest. Seriously? That would be wonderful!

Just then, Melina turned around. Catching the smile that hadn't yet faded from my face, she gasped, "Why didn't you say anything, Mae?"

Noticing me standing at the foot of the stairs, their faces instantly twisted in disgust. "Eavesdropping on our conversation? How uneducated."

Clutching the hem of my shirt, I murmured, "That's not it. I only came down to—"

"That's enough!" Elio cut me off. "Don't bother defending yourself. You're like a sewer rat, lurking in the shadows and spying on us all day long!"

I fell silent. He was right. I was spying on someone else's happiness because none of it had anything to do with me.

To be honest, I envied Melina. No matter what she did, the Langstons would always believe her and protect her.

Meanwhile, no one gave a damn about me. Even after they tracked me down and brought me back from the orphanage, I never got a taste of what a real family felt like.

Drinking in their hostile faces, I chose not to say a word. I simply poured my water and turned to head back upstairs.

Dad's weary voice sounded behind me, "I honestly have no idea what's wrong with her. She doesn't act like a member of our family at all.

"Forget it. Let's just leave her to her own devices. In a year or two, we'll find someone to marry her off to, and that'll be that."

My heart sank into a cold, heavy pit as their words echoed in my ears. None of it mattered to me anymore. All I wanted was for the day to come when I could sever ties with them once and for all.

…

That night, looking at the confirmation email in my inbox, I couldn't help but feel over the moon. I honestly thought it would take forever, but the opportunity had arrived so much sooner than expected. My application to study abroad had been approved.

Previously, this was just a pipe dream. Yet, when I first arrived at the Langston residence, they had given me roughly 45 thousand dollars. Combined with what I'd saved from my part-time jobs, it was just enough to fund my studies overseas.