Chapter 3
I was wearing a dress.
Amelia bought it for me on the day of the SAT, after she saw me drenched and insisted I change into something dry.
It was just a plain, long white dress, nothing special at all.
But the way Luna asked, with that suspicious tone, made it feel like there was something off about the dress I had on.
Like I'd gone to some extreme lengths just for a bit of money, trading my dignity for a simple dress.
My dad, always so stern, heard Luna's words, and his eyes shot open.
"Stella, tell me the truth. Where did you get that dress?" he asked sharply.
"Have you done anything that would embarrass the Summers family?" he pressed.
My mom pounded her chest in agony, looking truly distraught.
"Oh, what have I done to deserve this? How could I have a daughter who doesn't even know how to respect herself?" she cried out.
Seeing her scheme working, Luna kept pretending to be all sweet and innocent.
"Mom, Dad, why are you saying that about Stella?" she said, acting all worried. "Stella's super good at looking after herself. At school, guys are always flocking around her.
"She only ever takes their gifts and cash, but never actually gets into a relationship with any of them.
"So don't worry, Mom and Dad. It's just a dress. Loads of guys would line up to buy her stuff."
Back then, I'd do anything just so my parents wouldn't lose faith in me.
I'd be desperate to prove I was innocent.
But now, I just found myself zoning out, my eyes fixed on Luna as her face practically glowed with smug satisfaction.
Ever since I came back, Luna had been scheming nonstop to kick me out of this family for good.
She'd tried every trick in the book.
She even framed me for poisoning her food.
She stole the birthday present I worked so hard on for our mom and pretended it was hers.
At school, she was always the ringleader, bullying me and spreading dirty gossip everywhere.
But just to hold onto a shred of family warmth, I went out of my way to keep her happy, too.
I even tried to please her, hoping things would get better.
I never once spoke up about what she did in front of Mom and Dad.
It was honestly kind of pathetic.
Samuel saw me keeping quiet and immediately figured I must be guilty.
He jumped to the conclusion that I was hiding something.
He marched over to me, grabbed my collar, and snapped, "Have you no shame? Wearing something so dirty right in front of us?"
Right after he said that, he didn't care about any boundaries.
He didn't care about the fact that I was a girl.
He didn't care that the maids were right there, watching everything.
He lunged at me and started tearing at the flimsy fabric of my dress.
Rip. The zipper on the back of my dress popped open, and I was about to be completely exposed in front of everyone.
Acting on instinct, I spun around and landed a backhanded slap right across Samuel's face.
In that instant, the whole room went dead silent.
Samuel clutched his face, staring at me in utter disbelief. "Stella, did you just hit me?"
"Stella, are you out of your mind?" Samuel yelled.
I glared at him, my eyes burning red with anger.
I stared at my brother, the same guy who was about to humiliate me in front of everyone.
I finally understood.
He wasn't the same brother who used to carry me on his shoulders when I was a kid.
He wasn't the guy who once swore I'd always be his little princess.
So my dress wouldn't fall off, I wrapped my arms around my chest, trembling all over.
The humiliation was so intense that I could barely breathe.
I bit my lip, fighting back tears with everything I had.
"So, you finally get how tough it is to have nothing," I said, my voice shaking with anger.
"But you've got it all wrong. Just because I grew up in a slum doesn't mean I'm as pathetic as you make me out to be," I added. "I just don't get it. Why do you always see me in the worst light?"