Chapter 5

Jasiah didn't buy it, his anger flaring even hotter. "The kids at that school are either rich or from powerful families. They're all well-mannered and raised right, not like you, raised out in the countryside. If you didn't stir things up, who would bother you?"

Millie and Bailey both wore looks of agreement.

See, that was exactly it.

That was the kind of thinking that was burned into the Hopkins family.

To them, being poor was basically a crime.

I stayed quiet for a moment, pressing my hand to the wound and gave a bitter smile.

"They called me an orphan, said I was just born but never had a mom to care for me," I said. "I couldn't stand it..."

I sniffled, tears welling up and spilling over right on cue.

"Why do they get to say stuff like that about me? I do have a mom. She's always loved me, always cared about me!" I said.

Millie trembled, her motherly instincts kicking in stronger than ever.

She rushed to shield me, throwing herself in front of me. "If you want to hit her, you'll have to get through me first!

"She's just defending her parents. How is that a crime?"

Jasiah just sat there, silent, taking it all in.

He was way too proud to ever say sorry.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he sighed, and I caught a flash of guilt in his eyes. "If you ever need something, just ask the housekeeper."

Bailey came over and clapped me on the shoulder, pride written all over his face.

"Way to go," he said.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I woke up parched.

I got up to grab some water and noticed the kitchen light was still on.

To my surprise, Jasiah, Millie, and Bailey were all still up, talking in hushed voices.

"Are we really doing the right thing? Our own daughter is getting called an orphan at school. It feels like someone's stabbing me in the heart..." Millie's voice trembled with emotion.

Millie tried to hold back her sobs.

Jasiah just sat there, silent.

Bailey asked, sounding upset, "Mom, are you saying you want to send Alaya away?"

"Of course not!" Millie quickly replied, her voice trembling with worry. "How could I ever do that? Alaya is my daughter too!"

"Isn't this the best we could ask for?" Bailey said, his logic suddenly clear for once.

Bailey might not be the sharpest most days, but right now, he was actually making sense.

"Sophia gets to stay with the Hopkins family as someone we're sponsoring. You get to see her every day, and Alaya still gets to be with you. Nothing's really changed," he explained.

Millie was starting to come around, but she still looked uneasy. "But what if Sophia figures it all out?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Bailey said, sounding annoyed.

"She was the one who couldn't deal with Alaya in the first place. We turned our backs on her to teach her a lesson, didn't we? Worst comes to worst, I'll just say sorry to her later, alright?"

"Alright, we'll just do more for her from now on. It's late, let's all get some sleep," Jasiah said, putting an end to the discussion.

With that, Jasiah wrapped things up.

I waited until everyone had left and the coast was clear.

Then, I slowly walked into the kitchen.

On my way back to my room, I caught a glimpse of a shadow darting around the corner of the stairs.

From the looks of it, it seemed like Alaya.

Did she hear us too?

Whatever, no big deal.

I shook my head, couldn't care less, and shut my door.

The mock exams were just two weeks away.

That was the real thing I should be worrying about.

If I screw this up, how could I ever face Mom again?

After that day, the way the Hopkins family treated me shifted a bit.

Whenever Jasiah handed Alaya her allowance, he'd sometimes toss some my way too, and it was never a small sum.

Honestly, as just the kid they were sponsoring, who was I to deserve that?

I always took it, feeling kinda touched every time.

Then I'd quietly transfer it to another account. It was my secret stash, the seed money for when I finally left the Hopkins family.

Before I knew it, the nerve-wracking mock exams were finally over.

As I walked out of the school gate with the crowd, my phone buzzed with another message: [Sophia, you actually blocked me? Just you wait, I'm coming for you!]

It was a brand new number, but the attitude was unmistakable, same old troublemaker...

I scrunched up my nose.

Without a second thought, I blocked this number too.

When I got back to the Hopkins family, it was completely quiet.

I asked the housekeeper and found out everyone had gone out of town with Alaya for her art entrance exam retest.

"They might be gone for a few days," the housekeeper told me.

I just said "oh," grabbed something to eat, and went back to my room to study.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

*****

A week later, the mock exam results came out.

I scored a top grade.

Guess I didn't let Mom down, huh?

"No way!" Bailey shrieked, nearly making me jump.

Bailey's yell snapped me out of it.

I looked up to see the whole Hopkins family, fresh off their trip and still looking worn out, all staring at my report card like they'd seen a ghost.

Millie grabbed the report card and double-checked it over and over, her face lit up with excitement. "Mrs. Marsh's daughter only got pass and spent all morning showing off. Let's see her try to brag now!"

"Good, well done!" Jasiah said.

For the first time, there was real warmth in his eyes as he looked at me.

He was clearly proud, like I'd just made him look good in front of everyone.

Jasiah was all business, always sizing things up by what they were worth to him. If it didn't add to his bottom line, he barely gave it a second glance.

Alaya let out a shaky gasp, barely able to get the words out.

She looked like she was about to break down right then and there.

Failing her art exam had already put her in a terrible mood, and now, seeing my score, it was the last straw. She just couldn't take it anymore.