Chapter 2

After returning home, Lila finally made it up the front steps. Before she could even take out her key, a sweet metallic taste rushed into her mouth.

She covered her lips, but blood immediately flowed through her fingers.

Her condition was getting worse.

She used every bit of strength she had to unlock the door. But her body gave out.

She collapsed down the steps and blacked out.

When she woke up again, it was already morning. She had been lying unconscious on the front steps all night.

No one had found her. She struggled to her feet, unlocked the door herself, and walked inside.

While preparing the food, Lila picked up her phone. She opened her social media and saw that Sienna had posted several new posts.

The pictures showed gifts from Harvey, Mabel, Julian, and Miles. She looked like a princess surrounded by everyone who loved her. Her face was filled with happiness.

Lila's hands trembled slightly. She locked her phone, packed up the food, cleaned the bloodstains outside the door, and then left.

When she arrived at the hospital, Sienna was the only person in the room.

The moment she saw Lila, she smiled smugly.

"You came at the perfect time. Mom and Dad went to buy me food. Julian heard I couldn't sleep because the hospital was too noisy, so he went to arrange a private VIP floor just for me. And Miles is warming up my milk."

Lila looked at her quietly. "This is your seventh suicide attempt this month. You don't even have depression. Is framing me really that much fun?"

Sienna curled her lips into a smile. "Of course it is. I love watching you suffer. Lila, don't tell me you actually think being Mom and Dad's biological daughter means you can steal their love from me. You can't compete with me. I have plenty of ways to deal with you. If I want to, I can make every single one of them abandon you."

Lila calmly watched Sienna provoke her. She didn't even want to argue.

She had known what kind of person Sienna was since they were children. She just never expected her to become this cruel.

Besides, she had already lost them all.

Just as Lila turned to leave without another word, Sienna suddenly grabbed the hot meal from the table and dumped it all over herself. Then she burst into tears.

"Lila, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have made Mom and Dad stay with me all the time. I shouldn't have let Julian and Miles treat me so well. I know you hate me, so you can do anything you want to me."

The hospital room door was suddenly kicked open. Everyone rushed inside. Miles shoved Lila aside before standing in front of Sienna with the others to protect her.

He pushed so hard that Lila had no chance to react. She crashed onto the floor, which was covered with broken pieces of the food container.

Her head slammed into the edge of a table. Sharp pieces cut deep into her hand. When Lila opened her eyes, warm blood ran down from her forehead and along the corner of her eye.

Before she could even get up, she heard them yelling.

"Lila, are you crazy?"

"How could you pour burning hot food all over Sienna? You've gone too far!"

Lila said nothing. She struggled to her feet and pressed the nurse call button.

The doctor and nurses hurried into the room.

Seeing how badly Lila was hurt, they planned to treat her first. But everyone spoke at once, "Treat Sienna first!"

The doctor glanced at the faint burn on Sienna's neck and shook his head.

"Ms. Clarke's burn isn't serious. Some burn cream will be enough. But this young lady has lost a lot of blood. We should treat her first."

But the group, who only cared about Sienna, immediately insisted again. "You have to treat Sienna first. Ignore everyone else."

Lila's heart ached when she heard those words.

She stopped waiting. Instead, she covered her wound and walked alone to the emergency room to get stitches.

After her treatment, Lila went by herself to pay the medical bill.

When it was finally her turn, she searched through her pockets for a long time before pulling out a handful of wrinkled bills and loose coins. She counted every dollar until she had just enough to pay.

The cashier stared at the pile of small bills and coins in surprise.

"You don't have a bank card or PayPal or anything?"

Lila shook her head. "I haven't graduated from college yet. My family doesn't give me any money. I earned all of this from my part-time jobs."

After saying that, she ignored the nurse's shocked expression, took her receipt, and walked away.

When she stepped out of the hospital, Julian and Miles were both waiting for her.

Julian's handsome face was cold with anger. He stared at her and asked, "You've already gotten your real identity back. Why do you keep causing trouble for Sienna? She isn't taking anything away from you."

Miles spoke up as well, "You changed after you found your real family. You weren't like this before."

Before?

They weren't like this before either.

Julian had always been the golden boy of high society. He was warm as sunshine and kind to everyone. He never looked down on Lila for being the housekeeper's daughter. Whenever she got into trouble, he was always there to help her.

He saved the chocolates he brought back from overseas just for her. He practiced Aurelan conversations with her. When she cried alone in a corner, he quietly handed her a warm handkerchief.

That was why she had secretly fallen in love with someone so wonderful.

He would never know how happy she had been when she learned he was actually her fiancé.

As for Miles, he had survived countless lonely and miserable years with her. They had depended on each other just to keep going.

He walked her to and from school every day. Whenever Sienna bullied her, he held her tightly with tears in his eyes. He even spent two months handing out flyers under the blazing summer sun just to save enough money to buy her the necklace she wanted.

He once told her, "Sienna may be the Clarke family's princess, but you're the only princess I'll ever have."

He promised that no matter what happened, he would always stand by her side. Not blame her like he was doing now.

Lila looked at both of them. Her voice was calm, distant, and without emotion.

"I wish they'd never found me."