CHAPTER 6: EMMA FORCED TO TAKE SOPHIA’S PLACE

“You have two choices, Emma marry Damien Blackwood… or walk out of this house with nothing.”

Emma stared at Vivian in disbelief.

Her ears rang as if the world around her had suddenly fallen silent.

“…What?”

Vivian folded her arms, her expression as cold as stone.

“You heard me.”

Emma looked from her stepmother to Sophia, hoping one of them would laugh and admit it was a cruel joke.

Neither did.

Sophia sat comfortably on the sofa, scrolling through her phone as though they weren’t discussing another person’s future.

Emma’s heart sank.

“They… they asked for Sophia,” she whispered.

“They never asked for me.”

Vivian smirked.

“They asked for a daughter of the Hayes family.”

“You are legally one.”

Emma shook her head repeatedly.

“No… this is wrong.”

Vivian’s patience snapped.

“Wrong?” she barked. “Do you know what’s wrong? Raising an ungrateful girl for three years!”

Emma’s eyes widened.

“Raising me?”

“Yes!” Vivian shouted. “Who fed you after your father died? Who gave you a roof over your head?”

Emma bit her lip so hard it almost bled.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to tell Vivian that she had earned every meal by working from dawn until midnight.

She cleaned every room in the mansion.

Cooked every meal.

Washed every piece of laundry.

Ironed Sophia’s expensive dresses.

Polished Vivian’s shoes.

She wasn’t living there for free.

She was paying with her life.

But experience had taught her one painful lesson.

Arguing only made things worse.

⸻

Sophia finally looked up from her phone.

“Honestly, Emma,” she said casually, “I don’t know why you’re acting like this.”

Emma stared at her.

“I’m acting like what?”

“As if you’re the victim.”

Sophia stood and walked toward her.

“You should be grateful.”

Emma let out a bitter laugh.

“Grateful?”

“Yes.”

Sophia circled her slowly.

“Do you honestly think someone like you could ever marry into the Blackwood family on your own?”

Emma remained silent.

Sophia smiled triumphantly.

“You’ve spent years cleaning this house.”

“Now you’ll get to clean a bigger one.”

Vivian laughed.

Emma’s face burned with humiliation.

She had endured countless insults over the years.

But this…

This felt different.

They weren’t just insulting her.

They were deciding her future without even asking what she wanted.

⸻

Late that afternoon, Emma escaped to the garden.

It was the only place in the mansion where she could breathe.

She sat beneath the large oak tree her father had planted on her tenth birthday.

Tears finally slipped down her cheeks.

“Dad…” she whispered.

“I don’t know what to do anymore.”

The gentle breeze rustled the leaves above her.

For a moment, she closed her eyes.

She remembered sitting beneath this same tree years ago, laughing while her father promised that no one would ever hurt his little girl.

Life had proved otherwise.

“Emma.”

She quickly wiped her tears.

Vivian stood a few steps away.

“I’ve made my decision.”

Emma slowly stood.

“I can’t marry him.”

Vivian’s face hardened.

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“It is my life.”

Vivian stepped closer.

“And I’m the one keeping you alive.”

Emma stared at her.

“If you refuse…”

Vivian spoke each word slowly.

“…I’ll throw you out of this house tonight.”

Emma felt the blood drain from her face.

“You’ll leave with only the clothes on your back.”

“No money.”

“No inheritance.”

“No place to sleep.”

“You’ll never step inside this house again.”

Emma’s hands trembled.

“You can’t do that.”

“I can.”

“And I will.”

Vivian took one last step until they were almost face to face.

“So tell me…”

“Will you marry Damien Blackwood…”

“…or will you become homeless before sunrise?”

Emma’s vision blurred with tears.

She had nowhere to go.

No relatives willing to help.

No savings.

No job.

Her father had left her a home.

But after his death…

Everything had been placed under Vivian’s control.

She was trapped.

Completely trapped.

Sophia appeared at the garden entrance.

“So?” she asked impatiently.

“Has she agreed?”

Vivian never looked away from Emma.

“She will.”

Emma’s shoulders slumped.

The fight slowly left her eyes.

She hated herself for giving in.

But survival had always come before pride.

With trembling lips…

She whispered the words that would change her life forever.

“…I’ll do it.”

A satisfied smile spread across Vivian’s face.

Sophia let out a relieved sigh.

Neither woman noticed the silent tear that rolled down Emma’s cheek.

To them, they had solved a problem.

To Emma…

She had just surrendered her future.