Jangan Mengejar, Suamiku! Aku Tidak Akan Pernah Kembali

We walked to the orphanage gates. When my sister, Nancy Walker—or perhaps she should now be called Nancy Quill—saw the Maybach parked out front, her eyes lit up.

Her adoptive mother, Helen Bronson, took her hand and said, "Nancy, our family isn't actually poor. We were just testing you earlier. We didn't expect you to be such a good kid who doesn't chase after money. From now on, you'll be our little princess."

Nancy put on a pleasantly surprised expression. "So that's how it is. Mom, Dad, I'll definitely be good to you and take care of you."

Then, she deliberately glanced at me and asked, "Nadia, where's your family's car?"

Stephen Colson and Linda Wells, my adoptive parents, fidgeted with their clothes, too embarrassed to say anything.

I took the initiative to reach out and hold both their hands, smiling sweetly. "I don't need a car or a big house. I just want Mom and Dad to be with me forever. That's enough."

[Damn, the villainess makes me laugh. I bet Nadia is dying of regret right now. Look at how pretentious she's being!]

[The princess life only belongs to Nancy, the female lead. The villainess should just stay in her lane.]

Stephen and Linda were so moved by my words that they teared up. Meanwhile, Nancy just snorted. "You're still so fake."

I watched Nancy and the Quills drive off in the Maybach, a faint, cold smile tugging at my lips.

In my last life, at this exact moment, when Nancy found out the Quills were actually the real rich ones, she'd cried and thrown a tantrum. She'd begged to switch places with me, but no one had paid her any attention.

So, she'd taken all her resentment out on Stephen and Linda. They'd already been poor to begin with, and she squandered every last cent they had. They'd been so angry and heartbroken that they both collapsed and died.

And on the day I graduated from college, Nancy had stabbed me 99 times, killing me on the spot.

This time, she was the one going to that man-eating, soul-crushing place, while I could finally live a quiet, ordinary life.

I looked at Stephen's and Linda's honest, weathered faces. "Mom, Dad, let's go home. I'm not afraid of hardship—we can walk back."

Their pockets were painfully empty, but they couldn't bear to make me suffer. In the end, they still called a cab home.

The moment we stepped through the door, the first thing I saw was a memorial photo. Stephen and Linda immediately stepped in front of me to shield my view, gently comforting me. "Nadia, don't be scared. This is your older brother. He passed away many years ago."

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not scared."

I knew they'd lost their son in middle age and had only then decided to adopt a daughter.

They patted my head, deeply moved. "You're a wonderful child. Don't worry. Even if we're poor, we'll never let you go without."

[She'll never make anything of herself, not when she's living in a dump like this!]

[Nancy's bedroom and bathroom are both bigger than this whole crappy rental. The gap between them is insane!]

I took the place in with one sweeping glance. It was just a run-down rental apartment, but compared to the cold, beautiful prison that was the Quill residence, this place felt much cozier.

At dinner, Stephen and Linda kept piling meat onto my plate. They couldn't bear to take any for themselves.

[At least someone's getting fed. Poor little Nancy isn't allowed to eat tonight because she didn't get her etiquette lesson right.]

[Uh-oh. She nodded off in class and got caught. Now, she's gonna lose breakfast too!]