Chapter 3

Ann decided to adopt me.

Upon hearing the news, Cassie rolled her eyes and took the hand of the man who was living on government assistance beside her.

“Dad, even if you can’t give me great wealth, I believe you can give me a lot of love.”

[Oh my God, our girl actually called him “Dad”! The fact that she values love over money makes her one of a kind. I’m obsessed!]

[Exactly. Our girl’s nothing like that gold-digging side character who only cares about wealth.]

There was a lot of paperwork for the adoption process, so no one could leave just yet. To break the strange tension, Sophia suggested that everyone stay for dinner before leaving.

The kitchen staff went off to prepare the meal, while those of us being adopted returned to our rooms to pack. Calling them rooms was generous. Mine was little more than a shelter thrown together from scrap metal on the empty patch of ground beside the pigpen.

Other than Cassie, who had a proper bedroom, the rest of us lived like strays, curled up on the floor with nothing but a woven mat beneath us.

I had once asked Sophia why Cassie, though also an orphan, received special treatment, and she had replied that Cassie was not really an orphan because she still had a mother.

Her mother donated millions to the orphanage every year. Cassie was the orphanage’s golden ticket, so of course she was treated better.

That was why Cassie had steak while the rest of us ate stale bread with cold water.

While we were sent up the mountain to chop firewood and herd cattle, Cassie had private tutors teaching her one-on-one. She had always been different from the rest of us, protected by an invisible barrier. Since she claimed that she no longer wanted that barrier, there was no way I was going to let those advantages go to waste.

I gathered a few donated old clothes and stepped out of the shelter. The bodyguard took the ragged garments from my hands and threw them directly into the fire.

The flames crackled as they burned.

“I had originally prepared an entire bedroom full of designer dresses for Cassie. Though the chosen child has now changed, the treatment should not be any worse.”

Cassie, who had been riding an electric suitcase out from the side, curled her lip. Her expression soured.

Ann continued, “By the way, since Cassie has refused to be my daughter, my supplementary credit card should go to you instead.” Having said this, she finally seemed to notice Cassie. She turned to her and kindly added, “Since you don’t want to be my daughter, you should probably stop using the things I paid for as well.”

Ann stared pointedly at the three-thousand-dollar suitcase Cassie was riding.

“Fine! I don’t want any of it anyway!”

Cassie kicked the suitcase toward Ann and began to pull off her Dior suit.

Fortunately, Sophia stepped in before the situation could turn into a public nudity incident.

As for the credit card, it only stayed in Cassie’s possession because her adoptive father, Rob Price, desperately talked her out of throwing it back at Ann.

Dinner was ready soon after.

Everyone gathered in the dining room to eat.

The moment the meat dishes were brought out, Rob snatched the plate and wolfed everything down in a few messy bites.

The others barely had a single mouthful.

Sophia’s face paled. She tugged at Cassie’s sleeve.

“Cassie, please say something. This meal was made with ingredients donated by Ms. Moore. Ellie only just recovered from passing out because of low blood sugar. The least you can do is let her have something to eat.”

“It’s not like she cooked it herself. What’s wrong with my dad having a little extra food? Just because she found herself a rich mommy doesn’t mean everyone has to cater to her. If she wants to eat so badly, she can cook for herself!”

With that, Cassie snatched my untouched plate of food and handed it to Rob.

[That’s our girl! Someone finally put that scheming little manipulator in her place!]

[Am I the only one who thinks this is incredibly rude?]

[What’s rude about it? The side character stole our girl’s mom. Making her cook her own dinner is getting off easy.]

I set down my spoon and walked toward the door. As I passed Cassie, I saw her foot extend into my path. I did not step around it. Instead, I lifted my own foot high and brought it down hard.

A pained howl rose behind me, but I did not stop.