Chapter 2

Mrs. Gina Adams woke up in her exquisite bedroom, the first room given to her when she officially married the late Mr. Leo Adams, two months before he chased her out to the boys' quarters apartment.

She stretched and stared at the wall clock, seeing that it was already 7 a.m.

She carefully sat up in bed, feeling like the madam of the house again.

"Hmm... how time flies," she said, dropping her legs down and adjusting her nightgown properly while still sitting on the bed.

Mrs. Gina was a 39-year-old lady, and she hummed as she stood up and made her way out of her room, knowing it was school resumption day and her daughter, Mia Adams, was going back to school early.

Mrs. Gina carefully walked out of her room upstairs and made her way downstairs to the living room. She stared around and saw that the living room had already been mopped clean, making her smile with satisfaction.

Just then, Olima stepped out of the kitchen and greeted her, "Good morning, Mother."

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

*[SLAP!]*

"How many times have I warned you never to call me 'mother' again? Do I resemble your mother?" Mrs. Gina questioned angrily, making Olima cry. Olima immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, ma."

"Keep your stupid sorry to yourself. Have you prepared breakfast yet?" Mrs. Gina asked.

"Yes, ma..." Olima stuttered. Mrs. Gina glared at Olima as she stared at her palms, which she had used to hold Olima. She sniffed her palms before walking into the kitchen to wash off Olima's scent, making Olima's brown eyes well up with hot tears.

Mia stepped downstairs, already dressed for school. As she was in her senior year, she knew very well that her mother hated Olima with a passion.

Mia also hated Olima, even though she never showed it. Mia was a black-skinned beauty and resembled their late father, while Olima was an exact replica of the late Mrs. Zoe Adams.

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

Mia even had to attend day school, while Olima was in boarding school, as Olima was the apple of her father's eye, while her mother was seen as an outcast.

Mia frowned and walked up to the dining table, dressed in her blue school uniform. She was a 14-year-old, while Olima was 17.

After Mr. Leo and his admirable wife, Mrs. Zoe, passed away, Mia knew that her mother had sent the previous maid away with the excuse that there was no money to pay her and turned Olima into their full-time maid. Olima was withdrawn from her tutorial classes, and her mother even tore up the admission form for any university, stating that Olima wasn't going to any university but would remain her lifetime maid.

Mia stared away from Olima, knowing that Olima had enjoyed all the luxury of their parents' wealth before, while she and her mother had to live in the boys' quarters, 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, Mrs. Gina stepped out of the kitchen, having washed her hands of Olima's fruity scent, as Olima smelled like fruit, apples in particular.

"What are you standing there doing?! Have you prepared breakfast, or do you want my precious daughter to be late for school?" Mrs. Gina questioned Olima, who shivered and replied, "I have prepared her noodles."

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

"No, ma," Olima shivered and replied.

"Then get lost into the kitchen and serve her breakfast quickly, as it's almost 7:30 a.m.," Mrs. Gina said, her black eyes burning coals at Olima.

Mrs. Gina hated Olima even more because Olima looked so much like her late mother, Mrs. Zoe, and also reminded Mrs. Gina of her sins as the cause of the late Mrs. Zoe and Mr. Leo Adams' death.

"Mom... it's okay," Mia said with an adorable smile on her pretty dark face. Mrs. Gina stared at her daughter and groaned, as Mia also resembled her father. But Mia was still her daughter, and 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," Mrs. Gina grimaced as she walked to the golden dining seat and sat down.

Mrs. Gina subtly remembered how her late husband used to sit at the dining table right next to her and feed Mrs. Zoe, his admirable wife, in her view, and her face twisted in irritation.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Mia asked as she sat on the left seat of the dining table, across from her mother. Mrs. Gina replied, "Nothing. What's taking Olima so long to serve the noodles? Or does she want me to storm into that kitchen?"

Olima quickly came out carrying a tray of hot noodles in a smaller plate, with fried eggs placed on top. The aroma made Mia smile as she sat properly and collected the tray of noodles from Olima's hand.

Mia didn't know how to cook, and Olima was forced to learn by Mrs. Gina after Mrs. Gina took over the mansion.

"Get out! What are you standing there staring at?" Mrs. Gina questioned Olima, glaring at her. Olima shuddered away.

Olima knew that her stepmother hated her before, but the hatred grew three times as much, making her feel more guilty for her parents' demise. Olima wished they had never driven in the same car to her school to witness her graduation from college as the best in her science department. And now her stepmother had plainly refused her from furthering her education with the excuse that there was no money, but Mia was going back to school after the school had resumed from its long-term holiday. Mia was already in the second term, while Olima was still at home.

Olima walked a bit to the kitchen door and stopped at the door. She thought to speak to her stepmother again about needing to write the university entrance examination and that she would apply for a government institution instead of a state or private one.

She walked back to the dining room while Mia ate the delicious noodles and fried eggs. Olima stopped, her body trembling, and spoke, "Ma..."

Mrs. Gina turned and glared at Olima.

"What do you want? I thought I asked you to leave?" Mrs. Gina questioned, shifting her dining seat backward and standing up. She had previously sat on the first seat across from Mia, who was eating silently.

"Ma... it's about my university entrance examination..." Olima tried to speak.

"And I told you that you're not going to any stupid school. 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!" Mrs. Gina glared at Olima.