Chapter 2: Stepmother's Hatred

The next Monday morning, Olima awoke in her room wearing a light blue nightgown and dashed out to clean the house. She knew it was the first day of school, and Mia would leave for school.

Olima quickly cleaned the whole house. She went into the kitchen and prepared her sister's breakfast as she anticipated asking her stepmother for help.

—

Meanwhile, Gina woke up in her bedroom. This was the first room given to her when she officially married the late Mr. Leo. Two months before, he had chased her out to the boys' quarters apartment. She stretched as she stared at the wall clock and saw that it was after 7 a.m.

Gina carefully sat up on her bed, feeling like the mistress of the house again. She said, "Hmm... how time flies." She dropped her legs down, adjusted her white nightgown properly, and stood up from the bed.

As a 39-year-old lady, Gina walked out of her room and made her way downstairs. She knew it was the first day of school, and her daughter Mia Adams was going back to school that early.

As she carefully walked downstairs to the living room, Gina paused and looked around. She could see that the living room was already mopped and cleaned, and this made her smile in satisfaction.

Just then, Olima Adams, a cute 17-year-old girl, stepped out from the kitchen behind Gina. She greeted her stepmother, "Good morning, mother."

Gina's blood boiled hot at the mention of the word "mother." Without warning, she turned to face Olima, who was dressed in a blue nightgown. She rushed up to Olima, grabbed her shoulders, and landed Olima a hot, resounding slap.

[SLAP!!]

"How many times have I warned you never to call me 'mother' again? Or do I resemble your late mother?" Gina questioned angrily, and this made Olima cry out loud.

Olima hastily apologized, "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Shut up! And keep your apology to yourself. Have you prepared breakfast yet?" Gina asked, and Olima stuttered in her reply, "Yes, ma'am."

"Hmm." Gina glared at Olima and then looked at her palms, which she had used to hold and slap Olima. She sniffed her palms first before walking into the kitchen to wash off Olima's scent, making Olima's brown eyes well up in hot tears.

—

However, Mia stepped downstairs into the living room. She was already dressed for school, as she was in senior class 1.

Mia knew well that her mother hated Olima with a passion. She also hated Olima, even though she never showed it to Olima, as she was a dark-skinned beauty and resembled their late father, while Olima resembled her own late mother and was an exact replica of the late Mrs. Zoe Adams.

Mia hated the fact that before her late father had passed away, he had never acknowledged her mother. He had always been more caring towards Olima and Zoe than he had ever cared for her mother, Gina.

Mia attended day school, while Olima was in boarding school, as Olima was the apple of her father's eyes, while her mother was seen as an outcast.

Furthermore, Mia frowned as she walked downstairs towards the dining table, wearing a blue school uniform, white stockings and black shoes. She was a 14-year-old girl, while Olima was a three years older than her.

After Leo and his wife, Zoe, had passed away, Mia knew that her mother had sent the two previous maid away with the excuse that there was no money to pay the maid's salary. She had then turned Olima into their full-time maid and withdrawn Olima from her tutorial classes. Her mother had even torn up the admission form to any university, stating that Olima was not going to any university but would remain as her lifetime maid.

Mia looked away from Olima, as she knew that Olima had enjoyed all the luxury of their late father's wealth before, while she and her mother had to live in the boys' quarters building, as her mother had already told her the whole story.

—

Olima's eyes flooded with tears as she sobbed from the hot slap.

Just then, Gina stepped out from the kitchen, having washed her hands off Olima's fruity scent, as Olima smelled like apples.

Gina questioned Olima coldly, "What do you stand there doing? Have you prepared breakfast yet, or do you want my precious daughter to be late for school?"

Olima shivered and replied, "I have prepared Mia's noodles, ma'am."

"Then serve it out. Or do you plan on starving my daughter to death? Do you want her to be late for school?" Gina asked again.

"No, ma'am," Olima replied, and Gina said, "Then get lost into the kitchen and serve her breakfast quickly, as it's almost 7:30 a.m."

"Okay, ma'am," Olima replied, and she left for the kitchen.

Gina's black eyes narrowed with coal as she hated Olima more because Olima looked so much like her late mother, and this reminded her of her past sins, as she had caused the late Mr. and Mrs. Adams' death.

"Mom, it's okay," Mia said with an adorable smile on her face.

Gina stared at her daughter and groaned, as Mia also resembled her father, but she was still her daughter. She sighed and walked to the dining room to take her seat.

"It can never be okay with that stupid witch being in this house with us. Ugh," Gina grimaced as she walked to the golden dining seat to sit. She subtly remembered how her late husband used to sit at the dining table, directly across from her, and he would feed Zoe to her lips. Gina's face twisted in irritation at the remembrance.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Mia asked her mother again as she sat on the left seat across from her mother at the dining table.

Gina replied, "Nothing, my dear. What is taking Olima so long to serve out the noodles, or does she want me to storm into that kitchen?"

Olima quickly walked out, carrying a tray of hot noodles in her hands, with fried eggs placed on top of the noodles.

The aroma made Mia smile as she sat up properly and collected the tray of noodles from Olima's hand.

Mia did not know how to cook, as Olima had been forced to learn how to cook by Gina shortly after Gina took over the mansion.

"Get out, or what do you still stand there staring at?" Gina questioned Olima angrily, glaring at her.

Olima shuddered away. She knew that her stepmother had hated her before, but the hatred had grown three times as much, making her feel more guilty for her late parents' absence.

Olima wished her parents had never driven in the same car to her school to witness her graduation from college as the best in her science department. Now, her stepmother had plainly refused to allow her to further her education, with the excuse that there was no money, while Mia was going back to school after the long term holiday. Mia was in the second term already, while Olima was still at home.

Olima walked back towards the dining room and stopped at the kitchen door, thinking to speak to her stepmother again about writing the university entrance examination and applying for a government institution instead of a private one.

Olima walked back towards the dining room, and Mia ate the delicious noodles and fried eggs.

Olima stopped with a trembling body and spoke, "Ma..."

Gina turned and glared at Olima as she met Olima's gaze. She questioned Olima, "What do you want? I thought I asked you to leave here?"

Gina shifted her dining seat backward and stood up, while Mia continued to eat her meal silently.

Olima spoke in a shaky voice, "Ma... it's about my university entrance examination, that I..."

"And I told you that you're not going to any university, Olima. Don't you understand simple English? How did you graduate as the best in your class when you don't understand simple English at home? Get out of my sight!" Gina yelled, and Olima ran away to the kitchen door and stopped.