Chapter 2

My mom still had some cash, so I figured she'd be fine for a few days. Honestly, I had bigger things to worry about.

My dad had already started laying down the law for me.

"From today on, Emily is your new mom. You need to treat her like you would your own mom, got it?" he said.

Looking at Emily, who always wore that cold beauty mask but acted totally shameless with my dad in private, I put on my most flattering fake smile and gave her a ninety-degree bow. I said, "Hi, Emily."

My dad was surprised at how quickly I went along with it. He froze for a second, then broke into a big smile and patted my shoulder. "Good girl. That's my daughter."

Emily didn't even try to hide how unimpressed she was. She rolled her eyes and sneered, "There's no way I'd have a daughter this ugly. Seriously, you're hideous."

She was my dad's new favorite, so of course, he didn't blame her for anything. He waved me away and sent me back to my room.

As soon as I closed my door, my phone buzzed with a notification. My dad gave ten thousand dollars.

Even if he didn't love my mom anymore, I was still his blood, his only kid in this world. So, he wouldn't do anything to me because of Emily.

The main thing was, he had nothing but money. He didn't care how I spent it.

To keep things low-key, I went about my days like nothing had happened, school, home, same routine. No one would guess I was a middle schooler whose parents had gotten divorced.

Meanwhile, rumors started flying around school that I'd ditched my mom and decided to stick with my dad.

People started whispering and pointing at me, and even my teachers called me in for a talk.

That evening after school, I headed straight over to see my mom.

I knocked on the door of her rented place, and she stood there, clearly trying to keep her excitement in check.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Without a word, I pushed her inside, shut the door behind us, and hugged her, burying my face in her shoulder as I cried in silence.

My mom couldn't hold it in anymore either. She wrapped her arms around me and broke down, sobbing her heart out.

It was so pathetic. I had to sneak around to see my own mom, terrified someone might catch us, and I didn't even dare to cry out loud.

After we'd both cried ourselves out, I pulled out four stacks of cash from my backpack. "Dad gave me this for living expenses. Here, Mom, you take it."

My mom shot me down right away. "I don't want his money."

I forced the cash into her hands. "Why won't you take it? You need it."

"Come back and live with me, Stella," my mom pleaded.

"How are you going to support me? Forget it, Mom. There's no way I'm going with you," I said coldly.

My mom's tears started falling again. "It's true. I'm useless. I'm nothing but a burden."

I held her hand. "Mom, you're not a burden.

"Dad's got tons of money. If I went with you and he ended up having another kid, all that fortune would end up in someone else's lap. No way I'm letting that happen.

"Everything he's got is coming to me, no matter what. Emily? Judy? Whatever, unless she somehow pops out a kid, she's got nothing. That'd be a real miracle."

My mom's eyes were anxious as she looked at me. "Stella, what are you up to?"

I said, "Relax, Mom. I'm not going to do anything stupid.

"Mom, you need to stand on your own now. If Dad ever throws me out, at least you'll be strong enough to take me in."

That became her anchor. "Alright, just wait and see. I swear, I won't let anyone push you around."

That night, as soon as I walked through the door, my dad stormed over and slapped me so hard my head spun.

"You little brat. Did you hand over my cash to your mom?" my dad shouted.