Chapter 3

Darryl was still standing nearby, watching her. Amelie felt so embarrassed, her eyes red from crying.

I was scared out of my mind.

I was afraid that if Amelie was in a bad mood, she could easily keep me out of my dream school, no matter how well I did on the SATs.

She could switch up my college choices, ruin my academic record, or even report me for cheating.

If Amelie wanted, Darryl Perry could come up with a million ways to mess with me.

Amelie cried for ages, and the Norris family didn't seem to notice that I'd taken the SATs too, or that I'd already checked my own results.

After Amelie finally calmed down, she turned to me and asked about my scores.

That was when the Norris family finally glanced at me, their eyes uncertain and hesitant.

My palms were slick with sweat.

My eyes went red in an instant. I bit my lip, clammed up, and just stood there, crying quietly like a coward, refusing to say anything about my scores.

The Norris family got so fed up seeing me like that, they grew impatient—pushing and shouting at me.

But I still wouldn't say a word.

In the end, Amelie, ever the sensible one, spoke up to calm everyone down.

"Dad, Mom, Harry, don't stress. Maybe Jaelyn didn't do so well on the SATs. Just give her a break..."

In the end, I never revealed my scores, and the Norris family stopped caring altogether.

They said, "Alright, stop crying. If you want to repeat the year, go ahead. If not, you can go abroad with Amelie, but you can't make it this year. You'll have to wait until next year..."

Only Darryl kept staring at me, his gaze intense and contemplative.

That look made me break out in a cold sweat.

Everything, like college applications, acceptance letters, and even prize money, was handled by my homeroom teacher.

Even the prize money was taken care of by my teacher.

I ranked first in the city for STEM, and with all the prizes and scholarships, I ended up with nearly 150 thousand dollars.

When I got back to the Norris house, they only gave me 7 thousand dollars a month, while Amelie got 150 thousand dollars in pocket money every month.

It was not like I ever wanted anything from them, but the way they handled things was honestly kind of shady.

Since they were always watching me, I watched my back around them too.

It wasn't until my homeroom teacher told me I'd finally received my acceptance letter that I truly felt like I could breathe again.

Now, the next step was figuring out how to leave the Norris family and start distancing myself from them for good.

Everyone could tell the Norris family was proud to the point of arrogance. If I'd confronted them directly or just refused to acknowledge them from the start, it might've only made them more curious about me.

But since I was nothing but a hopeless case in their eyes, they just ended up writing me off without a second thought.

I awkwardly mumbled to Philip and Caitlin that I didn't want to repeat the year or go abroad. My grades weren't anything special, but I'd be fine settling for some mediocre college.

Caitlin started off calling me a disappointment, but when I began sniffling and tearing up like a loser again, she just couldn't stand it anymore.

She said, "Whatever, do what you want. Your dad and I will make sure you have enough money so you don't starve. Just don't cry in front of me. Go bawl in your own room..."

As I was heading upstairs, I almost ran smack into Darryl Perry at the corner. My heart nearly stopped right then and there.

I blurted out an apology, totally flustered and panicked.

Once I got back to my room, I stared at my pale, bloodless face in the mirror, clutching my chest and trying to catch my breath.

Honestly, running into Darryl was way scarier than bumping into the Grim Reaper.

Seriously, that was next level.

Just as I was trying to figure out a way to leave the Norris family without causing drama, Amelie's accident dropped the perfect chance right in my lap.

She said I'd "pushed" her, and her leg broke, the bone pierced through the skin, and blood everywhere. She was sweating bullets from the pain, bawling her eyes out.

Harry came home and walked right into the scene.

Harry burst in, his face twisted with fury. He marched right up to me and smacked me so hard my head spun, shouting, "How could you be so heartless? I should've never brought you back into this house!"

After slapping me, Harry didn't even look back. He just picked Amelie up in his arms and walked out, while she kept crying and making it sound even worse.

She said, "Jaelyn didn't mean it. It's all my fault; I shouldn't have said what I did and made her upset. I've taken her place for so many years. It's only natural she'd hate me..."

Right then, I was thinking that I would never forget that slap from Harry.

One day, I would let him pay back—ten times, a hundred times, whatever it took.

That idiot couldn't see a damn thing.

Once Harry was out of sight, I just turned around and went straight to my room to crash.

With Philip, Caitlin, and Darryl all gone, there was no one left to put on a show for. No point wasting my precious tears on an empty audience.

But that night, when Philip and Caitlin found out what I'd done, they were livid. They dropped everything from abroad and flew back overnight just to confront me.

Darryl was there too, watching me with an icy, chilling stare.

Even with Darryl around, the Norris family still had to make things right for Amelie.

As usual, I just stood there, crying my eyes out like a pathetic mess, my mouth clamped shut tighter than a clam. But in my head, I was ranting nonstop.

Seriously, every time Amelie set me up, they didn't even bother to ask questions or check the facts. They just came after me right away.

Did they really not know what kind of daughter they had raised? Why was I always their punching bag?