Chapter 1

My mother, Robin Chapman, pulled me tight into her arms, her eyes full of shock and suspicion. She didn't say a word. Holding me close, she hurried back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

The six ungrateful brats were left outside, staring at each other in confusion.

Inside the room, Mom laid me gently on the soft bed and just stood there, staring at me. Her gaze made my skin crawl. I blinked my big, innocent eyes, let out a soft babble, and blew a bubble.

"Mom, don't look at me like that. I know I'm adorable, but you don't have to stare. Don't worry, though. This time, I'll protect you with everything I have. I won't let those beasts get their way again!"

Her expression turned even stranger. She reached out, touched my forehead, and then touched her own. She murmured, "No fever…"

I had no idea what she was talking about. I simply felt a little shy being stared at like this, so I spread my toothless mouth into a grin and smiled at her.

"Mom is the prettiest and most graceful lady in the whole world. I love you, Mom."

Her body stiffened for a moment. Then, her furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and a gentle smile spread across her face. She leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I love you, too, Meadow."

Outside the door, the six brats were still chattering away.

"What's up with Mom? She just blew up like that."

"Who knows? Maybe it's menopause."

"Probably just annoyed at the sight of us. Not like we're her real kids, anyway."

Listening to them made my blood boil. "Nonsense. You're not just adopted—you're the children of that mistress! Mom's the real victim here, looking after someone else's kids!"

Mom suddenly turned her head. Her gaze seemed to pass right through the door, landing on the figures outside. Her gaze hardened.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door. A gentle male voice drifted in, "Hey, Robin. What's wrong? Alex said you didn't seem too happy. If something's bothering you, talk to me. Don't scare the kids."

The door opened, and a tall, handsome man walked in. Behind him trailed the six brats, all with their heads lowered. They each put on their pitiful faces like they had been wronged.

That was my father, Joshua Finch—the same man who, in my previous life, caused Mom's death and took everything from Grandpa Philip's family. Just looking at that fake, polished face of his made my stomach churn.

"Here comes the biggest two-faced scumbag on earth, a useless live-in son-in-law who leeches off Mom's family and still keeps a mistress on the side.

"You had these six little brats with her and then brought them all home, making Mom their stepmother. Disgusting! Shameless! Not a single decent person in that whole lineage!"

Mom's arms tightened around me all of a sudden, squeezing hard enough that it hurt a little. Her sharp gaze settled on Joshua's face.

He shifted under her stare, his smile stiffening at the edges. "Robin, why are you looking at me like that?"

She didn't answer right away. Her voice, when it came, was calm and distant. "Nothing. I just thought you felt a little foreign to me."