Chapter 2

Nobody cared about what I said, and nobody ever invited me to eat with them.

I quietly took a seat at the dining table. The maid had to get approval from my adoptive mother before she could serve me any food.

Every time I walked into a room, all the laughter and chatter would instantly die out.

Back then, I was totally lost. I didn't know what was happening or how to feel.

'During the day, I drifted through everything in a fog, and at night, I was crying so much my pillow was soaked.

It was only when I was with Marlon, my childhood friend, that I could finally breathe for a moment.

He always listened to me carefully, gently wiping away the tears on my face.

With unwavering certainty, he'd tell me, "Madison, none of this is your fault.

"You're a victim too."

Whenever I broke down, Marlon would hold me tight in his arms and comfort me.

He'd say gently, "Madison, promise me you won't do anything stupid.

"Remember, I'm always here for you."

He was like light seeping in through the cracks, shining into my darkness.

In that house, life felt unbearable. Every day, I just wanted it all to end.

Thinking about him was the only thing that gave me the courage to carry on.

Those days felt like living in endless darkness.

Marlon was my only salvation. He was the light that kept me going.

I never imagined Roxanne would take him away from me, too.

Roxanne hated me.

She hated me for stealing the life of luxury that should've been hers.

She hated me for making her suffer sixteen years of abuse.

Roxanne was always setting me up and making my life hell at home.

My parents never bothered to ask what really happened, and they never listened to my side of the story. It was like my voice didn't even matter.

Whenever things got too hard, I'd remind myself that as long as I had Marlon, that would be enough.

He got me. He always believed in me, no questions asked.

Somewhere along the line, things started to shift without me even realizing it.

The way Marlon looked at Roxanne grew more tender with every passing day.

Whenever I tried to tell Marlon about how Roxanne was always making my life miserable, my eyes red from crying, he'd just frown and cut me off, clearly annoyed.

He'd frown and interrupt me, impatience written all over his face.

"What you've been through is nothing compared to what Roxanne has suffered," he'd say.

I stared at him in disbelief, my mind going completely blank, as if thunder was crashing inside my head.

It was like I was drowning, and the lifeline I'd been clinging to had vanished.

Marlon started calling Roxanne affectionately.

I never realized when they became so close.

All I could do was watch as Marlon and Roxanne grew closer right before my eyes.

I watched as the boy who used to wait for me at the school gate now stood there, waiting for someone else.

He'd smile as he watched Roxanne run toward him, her face glowing with excitement.

Sometimes, Roxanne would pull at his sleeve, asking in a tentative whisper, "Aren't we waiting for Madison?"

Marlon would look past the crowd at me, his gaze indifferent.

He'd say, "Not until she learns to behave.

"I don't like how she's always stirring up drama."

Roxanne looked at Marlon with those soft, pitiful eyes, speaking up for me. "Madison resents me for taking our parents' love. I know she feels hurt.

"I get why she says bad things about me. I understand.

"Even though I was abused, I don't blame her.

"And honestly, my scars don't hurt anymore."

She kept acting all cute and helpless in front of Marlon, and it just made him dote on her even more.

I felt that guys just couldn't help but play the hero.

The more helpless and pitiful one looked, the more they wanted to protect them.

Marlon said to me, all serious and righteous, "Roxanne was abused by your birth mother for years.

"Even if she holds a grudge against you, I get it.

"She's already compromising and trying to accept you.

"Can't you just be the bigger person and cut her some slack for once?"

I was terrified I'd lose Marlon, just like I lost my parents before.

I was scared Roxanne would take him away from me too.

He was the only one I had left.

So I forced myself to tag along with them, even though every second felt unbearable.

I could see Marlon treating Roxanne so well.

Watching the two of them joke and laugh together, leaving me out, felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

But all I could do was pretend to be oblivious, acting like I didn't notice a thing.

I kept up the act, as if I couldn't see that Marlon's heart had already turned to Roxanne.

The year I turned sixteen, my world flipped upside down overnight.

It felt like everything I cared about was slipping right through my fingers.

I did everything I could to cling to any love I could feel.

Even though I'd always had a bias against my birth mother, I couldn't shake it.

I heard she wanted to meet me.

Even though she was dying, I still went to see her one last time.

She lay there with a ventilator, so weak she could hardly even open her eyes.

But when she saw me, she still managed to curve her lips into a gentle smile.

She reached out, weakly squeezing my hand, and gestured for me to remove her ventilator.

There was so much she wanted to tell me.

With tears streaming down my face, I did as she asked, bending down so I could hear her every word.

She whispered, "Madison, I am sorry...

"It was my hatred... that kept us apart for so many years."

She was barely breathing, but even then, she stubbornly wouldn't let me put the ventilator back on.

I looked at her frail face, and all I could see in her gaze was gentle, unconditional love.

It had been ages since anyone looked at me with that kind of warmth.

I wanted to smile at her, but my tears fell before I could.

She reached up, wanting so badly to wipe away my tears.

But before her fingers could even touch me, her hand dropped, too weak to reach.

As she lay dying, her gaze grew distant, her pupils dull, and she started to mumble incoherently, lost in a haze.