Chapter 1

After 99 failed attempts to complete the family quest, the system admitted it had chosen the wrong player.

It said it had picked the wrong person.

And as compensation, it gave me 30 million dollars.

With all that money, I didn't have to suck up to the Miller family just to get by anymore.

That night, I packed my things and left.

But I ran into my parents, my brother, and the so-called heiress just as they were coming home.

My brother shot a glance at my suitcase and frowned.

"So you're throwing a tantrum and running away just because we forgot you at the rest stop during the New Year?"

I ignored him.

I simply handed the disownment papers to my parents. "Just sign it."

*****

"You're really going to cut us off over something so minor?" Daniel Miller's voice was loud and full of frustration.

Mom was shocked.

But she still patiently took my hand.

"Amelia, we didn't mean to leave you at the rest stop," she said.

"We've always gone out as a family of four, so it just slipped our minds. It won't happen again," Mom said.

I dropped my gaze, a cold smile tugging at my lips.

I remembered the year I first came back to the family. One morning, I woke up to an empty house, and even the two dogs were gone.

It was only after asking the butler that I learned they'd all gone on vacation.

Mom told me the same thing back then.

But she must have forgotten that it's been almost three years since I came back.

Yet, they still unconsciously leave me out, just like always.

I didn't even bother arguing, I simply handed her the disownment papers.

"Sign it," I said.

Mom hesitated for a moment.

Eventually, she lost her patience and jerked her hand free from mine, her face flushed with anger.

"Why are you so impossible?" she snapped.

Suddenly, someone snatched the disownment papers right out of my hand.

Dad, furious, whipped out a pen and scrawled his signature across the page.

"You're causing trouble for the whole family over something so trivial," Dad snapped.

"Take it and get lost!" he barked.

He flung the disownment papers right in my face.

I stared down at the disownment papers at my feet, my nose stinging with unshed tears.

Honestly, when I was found and brought back at fifteen, I actually had hope for this family.

But then my parents told me that Ella's real parents were gone, and she was all alone, so they decided to let her stay with us.

But they forgot all about it.

It was Ella Miller's mom, who worked as a maid for the Miller family, who secretly swapped me and Ella, then sold me to some traffickers.

I suffered through a hellish childhood, and by the time I was six, I was an orphan, met with nothing but cold stares and constant bullying.

And now, they expected me to live under the same roof as the daughter of the woman who ruined my life.

That was the moment I realized, we could never truly be a family.

But I needed money for college, so I had no choice but to stay.

At first, I just wanted to keep my distance, live quietly, and move out once I started college.

But not long after, the system latched onto me out of nowhere, forcing me to win them over and collect a hundred affection points within three years.

I had no choice but to humble myself and bend over backwards just to please them.

But every time I failed, the system would erase me completely and reset everything, making me start all over again.

After 99 failed attempts, the system suddenly told me it had picked the wrong person.

The system suddenly told me it had picked the wrong person.

I was losing it.

"Do you even know how brutal the SAT is? I've had to take it 99 times! Ninety-nine! And every single time, because I failed your stupid quest, you reset me and I never even got to go to college!" I shouted.

"Damn it! Just how are you going to make up for all the college years you stole from me?" I yelled.

The system sounded downright groveling.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! How about I give you 30 million dollars as compensation? Will that make it up to you?"

Now that was money.

Guess I couldn't stay mad with that kind of cash.

I only stuck around for the money anyway.

Now that I'd got 30 million, there was no reason for me to stay.

I picked up the disownment papers.

Just a flimsy piece of paper, just like the so-called family ties between us.

Nothing worth holding onto.

I walked away without looking back.

Right then. I was finally free.

I spent the night at a hotel.

The next day, when school started, I went straight to my homeroom teacher to apply for a dorm room.

It was the last semester of senior year, and with the SAT just around the corner, living on campus would be way more convenient and safer.

When I finished the paperwork and stepped out, I was met with Daniel's gloomy expression.

I walked right past him without a second glance.

But he hurried after me and blocked my path.

"Are you serious?" Daniel asked.

I knew he was asking about my decision to move into the dorm.

My brows furrowed in confusion.

Ever since I was brought back home.

Daniel was always worried I'd pick on Ella, and he thought I was the one who messed up their happy family of four, he's always been hostile toward me.

If anyone should be celebrating my leaving, it should be him.

Why did Daniel look so furious and flustered?

I said with a helpless shrug, "What else do you expect? The disownment papers are already signed."

He glared at me, his jaw clenched so tight I thought he might crack a tooth.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when you regret it!" Daniel snapped.

I watched Daniel storm off, his back stiff with anger.