Chapter 1
I was sent abroad for three years.
When I was beaten up, Michael Hart was back at home, sending a massive bouquet of Valentine's Day roses to the apple of his eye, Sophia Turner.
When I was sick and waiting to die in a damp, miserable rental room, Michael hosted a lavish birthday party for Sophia back home.
When I thought I was going to die in Blaston, one of Michael's assistants came to rescue me. "Ms. Lane, you can go home now."
On the plane, I wiped the mist off the window.
Michael's assistant walked over. "Ms. Lane, the plane is about to land."
He paused for a moment and went on, "Once you're back, let go of Mr. Hart. He and Ms. Turner are about to get engaged."
My hand froze against the glass.
After a long pause, I shook my head. "I guess I was so naive when I was young."
*****
I stood at the entrance of the Lane Residence, holding my pitifully small suitcase.
From the hall, I could hear my parents arguing. Their voices were filled with anger and despair.
A cup was hurled out of the hall.
My father said, "Look at the state she's in, and she still has the nerve to come back? Why didn't she die overseas?
"Since she was young, she's never been as good as Sophia from the Turner family.
"Look how Emily looks. Meanwhile, Sophia is already the brilliant heiress of the Turner family."
*****
It wasn't until nightfall that Mary, our maid, finally came out. She wiped away her tears as she pulled me inside.
As I passed my parents' bedroom on the way upstairs, I paused for a moment. "Dad, Mom, I'm home."
From inside, something hit the door with a loud thud.
Mary quickly pulled me away. "Ms. Lane, why are you still so foolish?"
The next day, I was sent off to work at a hotel.
My dad called out to me. "Hold on.
"When you get to the hotel, don't act like some pampered heiress. You're not the heiress of the Lane family. You're an ordinary person.
"If you let the staff find out who you really are, try it and see what kind of trouble you get yourself into."
I nodded and left.
It took me ages to finally get out of the rich zone and catch a bus.
But as we were driving through the city, the whole bus suddenly lurched.
"We crashed," someone shouted.
"What kind of car is that? It looks super expensive," another passenger said.
"The driver is totally screwed. He's gonna have to pay through the nose for this. We hit a Maybach," one replied.
I looked up from my resume and saw our bus had crashed into a Maybach worth millions of dollars.
When I spotted that prestigious license plate, I instinctively clenched my resume tighter.
It was Michael's car.
The bus couldn't take any passengers anymore.
As I was getting off, I caught sight of the chauffeur opening the door of the Maybach.
From the back seat emerged a picture-perfect couple: Michael, impeccably dressed, and Sophia, whose long hair cascaded down her shoulders.
The crowd was already buzzing with excitement.
"Who are they?" someone asked.
"That guy is so handsome. He looks like a celebrity," another person said.
"The girl is stunning too. Seriously, they're a total power couple. They are so easy on the eyes," someone else chimed in.
Standing at the back of the crowd, I reached up and touched my earlobe. The piercing I used to have was gone.
Three years ago, Michael admired a pair of pearl earrings at an auction.
I'd always been a wimp about pain, but I still went and got my ears pierced.
On his birthday, I wore those pearl earrings, hoping he'd like them.
But coincidentally, Sophia wore the same earrings that day, and she was really upset.
To stand up for Sophia, Michael yanked my earrings straight out of my ears. "You're a copycat," he sneered.
The snow-white pearls fell to the ground, and blood drops bloomed on them like red plum flowers.
Shaking off the memories, I clutched my file bag and hurried toward the bus stop up ahead.
Honestly, last night my phone blew up with all kinds of threats and hate messages.
Most of them went: [Emily, you idiot. How dare you show your face here again?]
[I'm telling you, the title of Mrs. Hart is Sophia's. Stop dreaming.]
[If you ever mess with Sophia again, we'll tear you apart.]
[You bitch. Your own parents say you're nothing but an ungrateful soul.]
I blocked every single one of those numbers.
They were making a big deal out of nothing.
Honestly, I didn't remember what it felt like to have a crush anymore.
As I was getting on the bus, I felt a gaze from the crash site fixed right on me. Maybe it was my imagination.
But I kept my head down and hurried onto the bus without looking back.