HER LIFE AS COMPENSATION..

Chapter # 02

Note: Kindly note that English is not my native language — it’s my third language.  

If there are any grammatical errors, I would really appreciate it if you could please ignore them.  

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

____

PAST…

"Dad... is that chocolate for me?"

Seven-year-old Ava's face lit up with excitement as she noticed the chocolate bar in Mr.Henry’s hand.

"Of course, princess," he replied warmly, stroking her hair. "I bought it especially for you."

From the kitchen, Olivia heard those words.

A hopeful smile bloomed across her tiny face as she hurried toward him.

"Dad!" she called happily, stretching out her little hands. "Did you bring something for me too?"

For a single heartbeat...

She dared to hope.

Mr.Henry looked at her with cold indifference.

"I didn't bring anything for you."

His voice turned harsh.

"Go bring me a glass of water. Every time I see you, you're begging for something. It's as if your father is some useless beggar."

The words pierced her little heart like knives.

Silently, she brought him the water before lowering her head and walking back into the kitchen.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

So...

He wasn't really her father.

That explained everything.

Why was she never hugged?

Why was she never loved?

Why was she never enough?

At only seven years old, while other children played with toys and dreamed carefree dreams, Olivia stood in front of a burning stove, helping her stepmother cook for the family.

"Stop crying, you cursed girl," her stepmother snapped impatiently. "Finish cooking. Your brother is hungry, and if he starts shouting again, it'll be your fault."

Olivia quietly wiped away her tears and continued stirring the pot with her tiny hands.

That day...

She finally understood the truth.

She wasn't treated differently because she had done something wrong.

She was treated differently because she wasn't their real daughter.

And from that moment on...

She buried every dream inside her fragile little heart.

The dream of hearing someone call her princess.

The dream of being held safely in her father's arms.

The dream of wearing beautiful dresses like other little girls.

The dream of being loved.

She silenced every wish...

Because she had learned that some children were simply born to survive, not to be cherished.

__

PRESENT

Mr.Henry returned home looking like a broken man.

His wife immediately rushed toward him.

“What happened? What did they say at the Elders's council?”

Mr.Henry dropped heavily onto the sofa and covered his face with his hands.

“This is all because of our son,” he muttered bitterly. “That boy has disappeared, and now they want Ava in compensation.”

His wife’s face drained of color.

“ No. Absolutely not. I will never allow them to do this to my daughter. What are we going to do?”

The two sat in silence, drowning in fear.

Then suddenly, Mr. Henry wife looked up.

A strange smile appeared on her face.

“We will give them our daughter.”

Mr.Henry stared at her in disbelief.

“What are you saying? Have you lost your mind? I will never make Ava pay for Cassian's crime.”

“Who said Ava will pay?”

Mr.Henry frowned.

“What do you mean?”

She leaned closer.

“My dear husband… we will make Olivia the sacrifice.”

Mr.Henry froze.

“We’ll send Olivia in Ava's place,” she continued. “We’ll introduce her as our daughter.”

For a moment, Mr.Henry could only stare at her.

Then realization dawned on him.

“How… how did that not occur to me?”

His wife smiled.

“Well, it has now. So stop worrying and start preparing.”

Neither of them noticed the girl standing silently against the wall outside.

Olivia had heard every word.

Her heart shattered inside her chest.

So this was what she meant to them.

A replacement.

A sacrifice.

Someone they could give away because she wasn't truly their daughter.

And now, when they finally called her their daughter, it was only because they needed something from her.

She pressed a trembling hand against her chest, trying to hold herself together.

They wanted to trade her life for their son’s sins.

And perhaps the cruelest part was that she had spent her entire life wishing they would love her like a real daughter.

____

PAST…

“Get out of my way, or I’ll kill everyone!”

Cassian staggered through the doorway of the house, one hand dragging along the wall for support. The smell of alcohol clung to him, and his eyes were glazed with drunken rage.

It had become part of his daily routine—drinking, causing trouble, and throwing filthy words at everyone around him.

Cassian was nothing more than a reckless young man who spent his days stealing and wasting whatever money he managed to get his hands on.

“Brother… you’ve been drinking again.”

Eighteen-year-old Olivia stepped out of her small room. Seeing him struggling to walk, she instinctively moved forward to support him.

But the moment she reached for his arm, Cassian shoved her away.

“Stay away from me!”

Olivia stumbled backward.

“You filthy woman! Don’t ever call yourself my sister. I will never accept you as my sister!”

His words slurred together with the bitterness in his voice.

“You’re nothing but a servant. You’re dirty blood… a piece of filth picked up from the streets. You don’t even know who your father is or who your mother is!”

Olivia froze.

Cassian barely glanced at her before dragging himself toward his room, leaving her standing there in the silence.

His words echoed inside her head.

Dirty blood.

Her fingers trembled.

“I… I’m dirty blood?”

Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

“Who is my mother…? Who is my father?”

The questions tore through her heart.

She had always known she was different. But tonight, for the first time, she realized just how little she seemed to mean to the people she called family.

To them, she wasn't a daughter.

She wasn't a sister.

Perhaps she was nothing more than a burden—a stain that had somehow found its way into their home.

Olivia quickly wiped away her tears and returned to her room.

She lay down on the old rope-woven cot, staring blankly at the ceiling.

She already knew she wouldn't sleep tonight.

The tears kept falling silently into her hair.

---

Years ago, Mr.Henry had found Olivia beside a heap of garbage.

At first, he hadn't wanted to take her.

But something had stopped him.

Perhaps pity.

Perhaps guilt.

Perhaps simply the thought that he could not leave an abandoned child to die.

He brought the little girl home.

His wife immediately refused to keep her.

“What are we supposed to do with someone else's child?”

Mr.Henry had quickly found an answer.

“She can work here. She'll help with the household chores and take care of the children.”

His wife had frowned, clearly displeased.

But eventually, she agreed.

That single decision became the beginning of Olivia's miserable life.

As the years passed, Olivia grew into a beautiful young girl. Her delicate features and innocent beauty became impossible to ignore.

And that beauty only fueled Ava's jealousy.

Ava never missed an opportunity to hurt her.

Olivia was given Ava's old clothes, her worn-out shoes, and whatever else Ava no longer wanted.

She received no mother's affection.

No father's love.

No childhood.

Whenever Olivia saw Ava sitting beside their father, laughing as he spoiled her with affection, something inside her ached.

She wondered what it felt like to be loved like that.

Sometimes, she would cry herself to sleep.

And every morning, before the sun had properly risen, she would wake up and begin working again.

There was no rest for her.

Not during the day.

Not at night.

The old bed in that house was practically the only thing she could call her own.

____