All Chapters of I’ll Take The Love You Don’t Want: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Observing my fawning demeanor, Cassie Bailey curled her lip in disdain. “Selling your dignity for a little money and calling a stranger your mother? How avaricious.”As she spoke, the Bulgari bracelet on her slender wrist caught the sunlight and threw sharp flashes of light in every direction.[Why is this side character trying so hard to steal the spotlight? So desperate for attention. When will she be written off?][Relax. The moment she leaves the orphanage tomorrow, she’ll get hit by a car and torn apart in the crash.]Reading those words suspended in the air, I shuddered and clutched the hem of Ann Moore’s jacket even tighter.The orphanage had a rule. Upon turning eighteen, one must leave. It so happened that Cassie and I were the same age. If I wanted to live, there was no other way.Before me stood my only chance.At the very least, I had to get into Ann’s car and change the fate that was waiting for me at the end of the road. Many people had gathered on site, all hopi

Chapter 2

[Play the pitiful one. As long as she agrees to take you in, you will become her daughter and escape the fate of being killed in that accident.]The moment Ann finished speaking, I let myself fall to the ground and pretended to faint. I had gone hungry for years, so collapsing from low blood sugar was nothing unusual.When I opened my eyes again, I was in the infirmary.It was my first time inside this room since turning eighteen.The sharp scent of disinfectant filled the room, completely masking the foul smell of pig manure that had soaked into my clothes.The ward door opened. Cassie walked in. She handed me a stack of documents with an expression that suggested she was looking out for me.It was a voluntary waiver of inheritance rights. “To prove that your values remain noble, I swallowed my pride and asked that woman for this agreement. Sign it, and no one will ever accuse you of approaching her for money again.”“Did you sign one?”Instead of reaching for the pen, I tur

Chapter 3

Ann decided to adopt me.Upon hearing the news, Cassie rolled her eyes and took the hand of the man who was living on government assistance beside her. “Dad, even if you can’t give me great wealth, I believe you can give me a lot of love.”[Oh my God, our girl actually called him “Dad”! The fact that she values love over money makes her one of a kind. I’m obsessed!][Exactly. Our girl’s nothing like that gold-digging side character who only cares about wealth.]There was a lot of paperwork for the adoption process, so no one could leave just yet. To break the strange tension, Sophia suggested that everyone stay for dinner before leaving.The kitchen staff went off to prepare the meal, while those of us being adopted returned to our rooms to pack. Calling them rooms was generous. Mine was little more than a shelter thrown together from scrap metal on the empty patch of ground beside the pigpen.Other than Cassie, who had a proper bedroom, the rest of us lived like strays, curled

Chapter 4

Outside, Ann was on the phone, and she was locked in what sounded like a heated argument. “Cassie refuses to acknowledge me. Why should I bring her back? She’s not even—”The person on the other end cut her off. “You’re going to be followed by the press the entire way back! You’ve donated so much money to this orphanage over the years. What do you think the board members will say when you bring home a dark, scrawny little thing instead?”[The plot is finally kicking in! Our girl’s place was never something anyone could just take.][Exactly! That ugly-duckling side character is nothing more than a prop to make our girl shine. She actually thinks she can replace her and become the heiress? Dream on!]The call ended. Ann wearily pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it. Then, she leaned against a tree and took a long drag.I walked over and held out the chicken drumstick I had wrapped up for her. “Mom, it’s okay. If you really have to choose between the two of us, take her i

Chapter 5

The phone hit the asphalt and was crushed to pieces under the tires. “That phone was bought with Mom’s money too. Since you despise her money so much, you shouldn’t use it either.”The window rolled shut, sealing us off from the noise outside.Ann leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes. Her silence marked her stance.“You have so much money. What harm is there in letting me spend some of it? This SUV costs millions, but you suddenly draw the line over a phone? Money is all you care about. No wonder you turned forty and found yourself all alone!”Before she could continue, the driver had heard enough. He pulled the car over to the side of the road.“Miss Cassie, since you’re above all this filthy money, perhaps you shouldn’t ride a vehicle purchased with it. Feel free to walk yourself back to school.”Cassie’s face turned crimson. Seeing that no one spoke up to stop her, she climbed out of the car with visible reluctance.“You old, barren thing. Don’t come begging for

Chapter 6

Seeing how much I had changed, her eyes blazed with fury.Had the bodyguards not held her back, she might have lunged at me and torn the clothes from my body.“Ellie Moore, don’t you feel ashamed stealing someone else’s life?!”She was trembling with rage. Her hair was messy. The polished image she had always maintained was nowhere to be found.“My identity was granted by Mom. As for you, you were the one acting like you were above it all. You gave up your position as the heiress.”[This side character’s audacity is insane. She stole our girl’s place and still acts like she’s completely in the right.][Just a reminder, your girl was the one who turned it down. The side character simply took the opportunity. That’s not stealing.][Exactly. Our side character actually managed to get the billionaire mom to choose her. Your heroine couldn’t. That’s the fact. Just accept it.]“Fine! Maybe Mom refuses to acknowledge me now, but she never would have cut off my cards on her own. Did yo

Chapter 7

I had never sat for the full exams.It was all because Sophia said no one was allowed to outshine Cassie.No matter how gifted I might have been, missing one entire subject left my final score stuck at the undergraduate cutoff line, and I lost my chance at Orktan University.“A near miss doesn’t matter. I’ll donate a building to make up the difference.”Money could not buy everything, but without money, one could do nothing. At the very least, it could clean up a mess in an instant.On the day I went to register for classes, I saw Cassie again.She was wearing an outdated, ragged floral dress and an apron stained with grease. Beneath the apron, her hands were chapped, red, and swollen.She had clearly been doing intense manual labor, such as washing dishes, scrubbing, and cleaning.Through the floating comments, I learned what had happened.The loan sharks had tracked Cassie down using her information.Just before the debt collectors came knocking, Rob and Lisa had grabbed th

Chapter 8

Half an hour later, the car came to a stop.Reporters packed the venue, cameras raised high as flashes lit up the entrance.This time, however, they were not there for Cassie. They were there for me.When time came to announce the heiress, Ann held my hand tightly. The warmth of her palm seeped into mine. It was a feeling I had never experienced before. People said that this was what it felt like to be protected by a mother.Before I could linger in that feeling, someone burst into the room and shattered the moment.The giant screen behind the stage flickered to life. Footage from the orphanage began to play.“I’m the real Bailey heiress! She’s nothing but a scheming fake!”Cassie strode into the venue with her chin held high. The desperation from earlier had vanished. She thought that showing my shameful side to everyone would grant her heiress position back.Unfortunately for her, the staff answered to Ann. The USB drive had been swapped, and the video playing on the screen s

Chapter 9

Of course, there was another reason behind my little performance.Shamelessly taking the handout would have gotten me torn apart.However, if I borrowed just enough of Cassie’s whole “money wasn’t everything” act, I could win people over instead.Sure enough, the very next second, Ann appeared moved by my words. She slipped the ring that symbolized the heir’s identity onto my finger.The press conference ended on that perfect image.One of the loan sharks spotted Cassie in the crowd during the broadcast. Using the chaos after the press conference, they slipped into the crowd and grabbed her.Just before she was dragged away with a hand clamped over her mouth, she screamed my name. “Ellie! Everything you have now is thanks to me! You wouldn’t be standing where you are if it weren’t for me! You can’t just stand there and do nothing. You have to save me!”I suddenly recalled a question Ann had asked me a few days ago.“Do bad people know they’re bad?”No. They did not.Just li

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