Chapter 5: Back to Oliver’s Mansion

Chapter 5: Back to Oliver’s Mansion

Everything unfolded exactly as I had predicted. Right after I finished breakfast, the children ran over and hugged me, excitedly speaking with sparkling eyes.

“Big sis, there’s a really big and cool car in front of the gate. Is it a rich person coming to adopt someone?”

I smiled and patted their heads.

“I don’t know either. Maybe it’s just like you said.”

I was still wondering how to respond to them when a group of people walked up to me and bowed deeply in a respectful greeting.

The children clinging to my legs were startled by them and quickly hid behind my back. A middle-aged man in a suit stepped forward and began introducing himself.

“Greetings, miss. I am the butler of the Oliver family. Today, we have come to bring you back home, young lady.”

Everything was almost identical to my memories. This man was the first one who had planted the hope of a good family in my heart.

Although I already knew the story, I still pretended to be surprised and asked.

“Is there some kind of mistake? I’m just an orphan raised by the orphanage, not some noble young lady you’re looking for.”

The butler looked at me with a smile, but his eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, making me startled for a brief moment.

“Why didn’t I notice this expression before?”

I thought to myself.

Not making me wait long, the butler explained in a short and simple manner.

“This is the truth that has been confirmed by the head of the orphanage. The Oliver family lost their precious daughter and has never stopped searching. Now, all efforts have been rewarded upon learning that you are safe and have grown into such a fine young lady.”

At this point, the butler suddenly paused slightly. He looked at me with a strange expression, and for some reason, his words sounded reluctant to my ears.

“The master and madam, your biological parents, have always longed for the day they could meet you again. Please pack your belongings and return home with us.”

It was indeed a concise explanation, enough to answer questions and stir emotions.

Of course, that was in the past.

I remembered that time when the butler came to me with this same story. I had been so overjoyed that I cried and kept asking again and again.

“Is that true? It’s not a mistake, right? My parents have really been searching for me all this time?”

Thinking back, I had endured too many hardships during those years, working all kinds of jobs just to make ends meet. So when I learned that I was actually a wealthy young lady, I was incredibly happy.

But that was only a small part of the reason. The greatest reason that made me disregard everything and blindly believe was because I longed for a family too much.

I had always waited for the appearance of my parents, people whose faces I did not even know, yet dreamed of every night. Perhaps at that time, I lacked love too deeply, so when I found out that my family had never abandoned me, I felt that happiness and hope so strongly.

All of that hope was shattered after I arrived at the Oliver mansion and was used, then fell into a life like a nightmare.

Returning to reality, the butler saw me lost in thought and spoke to urge me.

“Please make your preparations quickly and come with us. Your parents are waiting for their daughter to return and reunite with the family.”

I shrugged and replied in a flat tone, no longer filled with happiness like before.

“Alright, then please wait for me for a moment.”

After that, I was taken to the Oliver mansion under the escort of an imposing group of bodyguards.

Sitting in the car, I began to notice things I had never seen before.

From the moment I stepped in, everyone treated me with proper courtesy and formality, but in truth, they had no real emotion toward a stranger like me.

The butler spoke politely and properly, yet looked at me with judgment in his eyes, his attitude nothing more than cold indifference.

He kept saying that my parents had never stopped searching for me and were eagerly waiting to reunite.

Then why didn’t they come to pick me up themselves, but instead sent servants?

Before, I had never paid attention to this. Now I realized that it had all been a lie. I frowned and let out a mocking smile.

“So there was no search, no expectation. From the very beginning, no one ever thought of bringing back a lost daughter to burden themselves.”

Perhaps that was why the bodyguards looked at me with such surprise.

Bringing me back was only because their precious adopted daughter had fallen into an unavoidable arranged marriage. With no other way to resolve it, they suddenly remembered their long-lost biological daughter, that is me.

I let out a long breath and leaned my head against the window, murmuring to myself.

“They’re just looking for a replacement, a disposable product. I’m nothing more than a tool they remembered when needed, only to discard afterward. How was I so foolish in my previous life to believe everything they said?”

Stepping out of the car, I stood still and looked at the luxurious gates of the mansion before me. I no longer remembered what I had felt the first time I saw it, because now, all I felt was disgust and deep aversion.

I knew that beyond those gates were people who shared my blood, yet treated me no differently than sworn enemies.

The butler stepped forward and reminded me when he saw that I had been standing there for too long.

“Please proceed inside. The master and madam are waiting.”

I did not want to respond to him, so I simply shrugged in agreement and walked forward. Just as I approached the door, a piercing scream came from inside, as if it could tear through my eardrums.