Chapter 2

I looked at Vanessa's hands. Pale and clean. Her clothes were neat and tidy.

She didn't look like someone who had suffered at all.

So I kicked her hard and turned to Elaine.

"Mom, since you don't want her here either, just send her away."

"I don't like her. I don't want to see her."

The moment the words left my mouth, Elaine and Vanessa both froze.

"Grace, I..."

Richard stood to the side, looking like he wanted to say something but held back.

None of them had expected me to answer so bluntly.

I looked up and put on my most innocent expression.

"Wait, do you actually want her to stay?"

"Mom, Dad, didn't you say I'm the one you love most? That I'm your only daughter?"

Seeing this, Vanessa looked to Elaine for help.

But Elaine was caught in a bind.

Left with no choice, they sent Vanessa to the staff cottage behind the main house.

Then they made a show of saying that technically counted as sending her away.

I nodded reluctantly and agreed to the arrangement for now.

After all, they couldn't really throw their biological daughter out on the street.

There was plenty of time. Vanessa and I could take this one step at a time.

Just like in my last life, Elaine and Richard still showered me with attention.

Anything good, I was the first to get it.

Even after Vanessa came back, they rarely so much as glanced toward the staff cottage.

I knew perfectly well it was all an act for my benefit.

They wanted me to believe they loved me more than their own flesh and blood.

I rested a hand over my heart and smiled bitterly.

Of course they loved me. They loved this heart beating inside me.

"Your room looks like a princess's!"

"And your clothes are so pretty!"

"I've never seen so many nice things before."

"Back in that little town, all I had were old, torn-up clothes, and my room was so tiny..."

Vanessa tugged at the hem of her shirt, her face full of longing.

She was always finding excuses to come near me, telling me sob stories and playing the victim.

She wanted to stir up my guilt and sympathy.

In my last life, that sad, helpless face had fooled me.

I gave her everything and willingly moved into a smaller room.

This time, I was not the one who would end up in the ocean, fed to the fish.