Chapter 2

Tending Towards Fear.

Vanessa gripped her umbrella, her voice trembling, "...I won't. The past was my fault. I caused you trouble, I'm sorry."

Standing in the wind and rain under the umbrella, her thin, malnourished body was hidden in oversized clothes. The wind blew through, and her pant legs were empty. She spoke with a hesitant tremor, not even a trace of the Voss family's young lady remained.

How had she become this ghastly state?

When Vanessa was a Voss, she was arrogant, brash, and spoiled. Relying on her family's doting, she even dared to insult her brother, Adrian. Julian also had to give her some leeway because of the Voss family and Adrian's connection. She was a notorious troublemaker in M City, and no one wasn't afraid or disgusted by her.

It had only been three years.

Having lost the protection and halo of the Voss family, she was living worse than a stray dog on the street, and had even learned to beg for mercy.

Julian stepped forward, his gaze level, brushing past Vanessa. His dismissive tone was more cutting than Adrian's bluntness, "Let's go, lest we be sullied by something unclean."

Adrian chuckled and urged Vanessa, "What are you standing there like an idiot for? Hurry inside."

"Oh, okay..." Vanessa snapped back to reality and hurriedly followed.

As she crossed the threshold, she seemed to trip over something, falling forward and slamming her chin on the ground. Her back molars throbbed fiercely.

Ahead, Adrian sneered, laughing at her pathetic clumsiness, her wretched disgrace.

Voss’s mother saw this scene.

She sat on the sofa directly in front, and although she felt a pang of pity, she restrained the urge to stand up and help Vanessa.

Vanessa patted her clothes and stood up, unbothered by Adrian's deliberate actions. She seemed not to feel the pain at all. Within three seconds, she had recovered as if nothing had happened and apologized, "...I'm sorry."

Adrian didn't expect her to react this way. The smile on his lips vanished, and his tone deepened, "A disgrace, come in already."

In M City, the only one who still remembered Vanessa, who still missed her, was Adrian's mother.

Walking to her side, Vanessa lowered her head, her eyelashes drooping, her tone having the same subtle distance as when she faced Julian, "Aunt Evelyn."

Her wrist was grasped by those broad, warm palms. Evelyn's tears fell drop by drop. Her kind and gentle face was covered in tear stains, as she brushed away the hair from Vanessa's temples, "Child, how have you become so thin?"

Adrian sat beside them, adding, "Putting on an act, to make you feel sorry for her."

"Adrian—" Evelyn Grant scolded him.

Vanessa was calm and detached, unable to cry. Her tears had dried up in those nights when she was beaten by her biological father, when she was starving and nearly freezing to death.

Evelyn wiped away her tears, "It's okay, it's good that you're back. Now that your father is gone, you can stay here. I'll still treat you like my own daughter, okay?"

"No..." Vanessa moved her fingers, withdrawing from her grasp, "I'm already grateful that you took me back. I don't dare to hope for anything else."

As soon as she spoke, Evelyn cried even harder.

This was nothing like her arrogant, wild little daughter. She would have gladly accepted her being happy or blaming them for their neglect over the past three years, but this weak and humble demeanor was too much to bear.

Evelyn pitied her, but Adrian wasn't buying it. He stood up, breaking the sentimental scene, "Mom, are you sure you want to recognize a murderer as a daughter?"

Having been arranged to live in the Voss family's house, Evelyn hadn't touched any of Vanessa's things. The furnishings and decorations remained the same as they were three years ago.

The room had a wide view, and the bedding was soft. Sinking into it should have been comfortable, but Vanessa had a nightmare. In the dream, a slap landed on her face, and a drunken man, staggering, walked to the wardrobe and dragged her out.

The bottle smashed against her body.

It hurt so much.

Shards of glass pierced her skin, the pain vividly waking her.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the darkness of the room was suffocating. She got out of bed, gasping for breath, and rushed outside, eager to breathe in some fresh air. Before she could go downstairs, she caught a glimpse of light and a mocking chuckle at the corner of the corridor.

"Now she can't even touch a single strand of your hair." Adrian sat at the bar on the third floor, holding a glass of wine in his hand, slowly swirling it, "The family has already arranged a place for her. You don't need to worry about her anymore."