001

More days… more problems.

“When will I be free and find peace?”

A day barely passed without the beautiful girl, whose beauty was at the verge of fading away, asking herself, and in her entire years of living in hell, other members referred to as sweet home, she had only repeatedly got a single response—from Olivia, her uncle’s wife, her biggest enemy.

“Unless you vacate this house, you’ll never know what peace feels like.”

“Julia! Julia!”

Olivia’s voice echoed in Julia’s ears, piercing through her sleep. Julia had been hearing it for a while, but she couldn’t bring herself to wake up yet.

“Julia!” The voice came again, louder this time, and her senses jolted her awake. Her eyes flew open, but before she could lift her head from the cold floor, a bucket of water splashed down on her.

“Ouch!” Her lips escaped the cry as the icy water stung her skin. Water from her eyelids seeped into her eyes, causing a brief, sharp pain that forced her to shut them again. She rubbed her face, wincing.

“How dare you!” Olivia yelled, dumping the remaining water on Julia’s body.

Julia knew it—she didn’t need a fortune teller to predict how the day would unfold. It was going to be a long, bad day, starting with the fact that the sun was already up and she was still lying there, when she should’ve been awake hours ago.

It wasn’t like she had the privilege to wake up late any day—she must be up at 6 am to clean the house, do laundry for the entire family, and cook breakfast—all before 7:30 am.

Failure would earn her a brutal beating from Olivia and Mia, her eldest daughter—Julia’s second tormentor, who had been groomed by her mother to view Julia as a target—a prey to be taken down for her happiness.

However, it was the last Saturday of the month that Mia would hang out with her friend, and Julia’s duties required her to rise earlier than usual to get everything ready. Despite being age-mates, with Julia being just a month older, the responsibility fell squarely on Julia’s shoulders.

“You want my daughter to be left out, don’t you?” Olivia accused, her voice escalating with each word. “You know exactly what you’re supposed to do, but deliberately slack off to get me riled up. You enjoy it when I yell, don’t you?”

Julia gritted her teeth, straining to lift her weak body from the cold floor, where she’d lain alone for years, surrounded by garbage. It had been that way since Mia had complained about nightmares caused by sleeping under the same roof with her.

As she struggled to her knees, Olivia slammed the bucket down on her forehead, sending her crashing back to the ground. “Oh!” She screamed, pain shooting down her spine and a throbbing headache blossoming at the impact site, which instantly began to swell.

“You want me to shout myself into a hypertensive crisis so I’ll die miserably, just like your parents?”

Olivia flung her usual jab, a cruel reminder of Julia’s parents’ accident. It was her way of twisting the knife, trying to make Julia hate herself. “You want to kill me like you killed your parents?”

Julia struggled to her knees, careful not to meet Olivia’s gaze. She’d been forbidden from looking at Olivia or Mia’s faces during conversations—a rule enforced by a scar on her back.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she trapped them beneath her eyelids. Crying wouldn’t ease her pain or reduce her punishment—instead add to Olivia’s annoyance, which would lead to more time spent on her knees, arms stretched above her head, facing the wall, until anyone needed her for another chore.

She clasped her hands together, rubbing her palms nervously. “I’m... sorry…” she pleaded, her voice cracking. She wasn’t sure what she was begging for—mercy, perhaps, or for Olivia to stop taunting her about her parents’ death.

Olivia chuckled softly, her eyes broadening as she kicked Julia’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t be begging me. Beg yourself, you demon. You're an unfortunate child, cursed by your own doing… You killed your parents. I know I’m your next target, but you'll never succeed.”

Yes, Olivia was right—mostly. Julia’s parents died because she insisted they visit for her 16th birthday. But it wasn’t intentional. Why’d she set them for the fatal accident, only to face a far worse fate herself?

“Please…” Julia muttered.

Olivia’s scowl deepened as she let out a heavy sigh. She stepped forward, crouching beside Julia. “Julia…” she said softly, her voice a contrast to her usual venom.

She cupped Julia’s chin, her touch surprisingly gentle as she tilted her head up. “You know… all these are your fault. I’m not exactly happy about being so hard on you, but…”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, each word laced with a soft, persuasive tone. “You used to be such a sweet girl. But you’ve gotten stubborn as you grow old… and it’s only getting worse,”

“If you want me to treat you better, all you have to do is one thing. Just one simple thing… Will you?”

Julia met Olivia’s gaze, her expression steady. She knew what was coming next, and didn’t bother responding—same script, different day.

“Leave. This. House. And. Go. Away…” Olivia enunciated each word slowly, her grip on Julia’s chin still firm as she made Julia stare at her lips.

She released Julia’s chin and locked eyes with her. “The thing is… I just can’t stand having you around. You get under my skin, and staying here would only make me angrier. I hate looking at you,”

“Sometimes, when I’m lying in bed, just knowing I’ll have to see your face the next day gives me insomnia. And I end up spending the night thinking up new ways to punish you…”

Mia had once said almost the same thing. It was eerily familiar. Mia was her mother’s daughter, through and through. The urge to always hurt Julia ran too deep, like a reflex. Maybe she couldn’t resist it, or maybe she never tried.

To Olivia, Julia was an obstacle to claiming what wasn’t hers, and never meant to be, but wanted to forcefully attain it. After Julia’s parents died, her father’s lawyers entrusted her and her inheritance to Cedric, her uncle, who became her legal guardian.

He was supposed to hand over Julia’s inheritance when she turned 18. But everything got twisted when the lawyer left the country—Olivia took control, and Cedric became a puppet—a legal front against Julia.

Olivia manipulated Cedric into seeing Julia as a roadblock, and they planned to claim the inheritance for themselves. They started by making her skip classes for a semester, eventually forcing her to drop out of high school with a financial status as an excuse.

Meanwhile, they enrolled their kids in a pricey school. The plan was to break Julia's spirit, making her flee the house, but ten years had passed, and that dream seemed further away than ever.

The initial plan had always been keeping Julia on a tight financial leash, ensuring she couldn’t afford to getting a revenge on them, but that plan seemed futile, so she had thought of something enticing to lure her.

“If you need money, just say so. Or maybe you want to travel somewhere? Talk to me, and I’ll prepare all the necessary documents,”

She forced a sugary smile as she patted Julia’s shoulder. “That’s a great offer, isn’t it?” She expected Julia to jump at the chance, maybe even bounce up with excitement, but Julia's expression remained blank.

Julia didn’t say a word, didn’t flinch.

“You’d leave…” Olivia started to ask again, but Julia cut her off with a faint shake of her head.

“No... ma.” She murmured, her voice almost inaudible.

For Julia, the devil she knew was preferable to the angel she might be meeting, so she’d resigned herself to staying, no matter how bad things got. She’d endure eating once a day or going hungry, wearing hand-me-downs from Mia, until she had a plan.

Olivia’s eyes blazed with anger as she ground her teeth, her hand flying out in a swift slap that landed on Julia’s cheek. “I knew it!” She shouted, striking Julia again before she could even react to the first blow.

Julia winced, rubbing her stinging cheeks as she moaned, “oh!”

“You’re so stubborn. An animal, and I’ll always treat you like one!” Olivia’s voice echoed as she leapt to her feet, her hands clenched into fists. “If you refuse to leave, I’ll never stop torturing you!”

“I’m sorry, ma.” Julia begged, her voice a barely audible whisper. Tears streamed down her face, tracing the contours of her cheeks to lips, wetting them.

Her voice cracked as she repeated, “I’m sorry…”

Olivia lifted her foot and kicked Julia in the abdomen. “Stop begging me! Your only offense is staying in this house! Your stubbornness is the only crime you commit. Once you leave, all this will be over!”

“Leave!” She shouted, kicking relentlessly until her legs trembled with rage. “Leave! Just leave! Is that too much to ask?!”

“Oh…” Julia groaned helplessly.

Olivia’s anger was like a living thing—she couldn’t speak to Julia without striking her. She dropped down, fists flying, pummeling Julia’s body with wild blows. “Is that too hard for you?!”

Julia lay face down, her cheek pressed into the ground as she shielded her face and head with her arms. “Ahn! Yeh! Ah!” She cried, knowing no one’d come to her aid. Not even her uncle, who’d long stopped caring—since the time Olivia slapped him for secretly feeding her.

“Get out of my house! Leave! Just leave!” Olivia proceeded.

“I’m sorry! Please!”

Julia couldn’t help but absorb the blows—it was more like a norm—a price she had to pay for staying where she wasn’t loved. Her only defense was to protect her face, trying to minimize the damage, though every part of her body, including the most sensitive areas, bore its scars—rough reminders of past beatings—ones that healed on their own, without care.

Olivia didn’t stop until exhaustion caught up with her, as it usually did. She stood straight, her hands curled over her waist, panting heavily for a few moments.

“Ahm.” Julia writhed on the floor, gasping for breath.

“What are you still waiting for?!” Olivia yelled.

Anticipating Olivia’s next move. Julia struggled and lifted her body from the ground. She got on her knees first, wincing in pain, then clutched her lower abdomen for support, forcing herself upright.

Olivia raised her foot, aiming for Julia’s abdomen again, but Julia dodged it, causing her to stumble. She caught herself against the wall, her eyes locking onto Julia’s with a menacing glare.

Julia’s eyes widened in fear—escape impossible. “Uhm?”

Olivia’s gaze slowly rose to meet Julia’s. “What just happened, Julia?” She asked and took a step forward, and Julia mirrored her movement, taking a step back.

Olivia moved forward again, and Julia retreated, her back hitting the wall. “You want me to fall and die…”

Julia slowly sank to her knees, her hands dropping from her abdomen as she instinctively raised them to shield her face, anticipating the blow since Olivia’s arms were already rising, ready to strike—and harder than before.

Olivia raised her hands above her head, her voice a menacing whisper. “You’ll regret…”

Julia’s eyes clamped shut, her face downturned, as she braced for impact, screaming, “ahhhh!”

Just as Olivia’s arms came crashing down, a voice cut through.

“Dear… I think there’s a problem…”

The trembling voice was like a divine intervention, halting her punishment—or perhaps merely delaying it. Olivia’s arms dropped to her sides, and she turned to glance over her shoulder, her face twisted in a scowl.

“What’s it?” She snapped, her voice aggressive.

Cedric swallowed hard, his body began to tremble slowly, fearing the consequences of speaking the truth. “We... we…” he stutted and paused for a moment, mustering the courage he struggled to find before coming—but vanished the instant Olivia’s gaze fell on him.

“We’re in trouble.”

Olivia’s forehead creased. “We?”

Cedric swallowed hard and hastily rephrased, “I’m in trouble,” his voice trembling, shivering. “There’s a fire on the mountain.”

“Then find a way to put it out,” Olivia sneered, her tone dripping with disdain. “Or better yet, call the firefighters. Do I look like one to you?”