Chapter 2

"It doesn't hurt that much," I said blankly.

That wasn't true. It hurt badly.

Once the anesthesia faded, the pain turned into a burning fire.

I wanted to tell Mom how much it hurt.

But she'd stopped loving me a long time ago.

After Uncle Matthew and Aunt Selena passed away, Mom and Dad brought Claire to live with us.

Every time Claire saw me, she cried.

And whenever she cried, Mom would think of Uncle Matthew.

Dad made me move into the school dorm.

I hadn't hugged or begged Mom for affection in so long.

Mom cried harder at my words.

I glanced around nervously, trying to spot Dad through my blurry vision. "Dad, please calm Mom down. I'm really okay."

Dad loved Mom more than anything. If I made her cry, he might send me away again.

Dad's voice came from another direction, trembling with emotion. "Go rest first, Ada. I'll handle things here."

I replied numbly. Sophie helped me upstairs. Behind me, I heard them arguing in low voices.

When I got to my room, everything went quiet.

Sophie said she'd be next door. I could ring the bell if I needed anything.

I wanted to ask her to stay with me.

But then I remembered how Claire ended up holding my arm instead of Sophie this morning.

Sophie was just a maid. She wouldn't take orders from only me.

I closed my mouth and sat stiffly on the bed, staring toward the brightest light, unsure what to do.

Suddenly, Michael's voice sounded,

I tensed up all over.

"I got the wrong idea about you this morning," he said, his tone stiff.

After he finished, he went silent.

Just as I thought he was leaving, he added coldly, "James is coming over for dinner tonight. He and Claire are serious. I don't want you coming downstairs and bothering them."

I nodded in his direction. "Okay."

For some reason, he explained, "There's something you never knew. James was supposed to be Claire's fiancé all along. And she deserves a share of everything you own."

He'd said this so many times.

I didn't understand it, but I'd learned not to ask.

The truth didn't change anything for me.

I was trapped in dirt. Even breathing felt exhausting.

Every night, I dreamed of running through the woods.

But every single time, I never escaped.

At home, my words never mattered.

Neither did my needs.

Every time I objected, they'd look at me with those disappointed eyes, as if saying, "Why are you being so unreasonable?"

I finally learned to give in.

I promised Michael obediently, "I won't fight Claire for anything ever again. I was being immature before. I should've known my place."

I shouldn't have thought my family still cared about me.

I guessed I had said something wrong, because Michael fell silent again.

His silence always meant he was angry. He must have thought I was lying.

I panicked and blurted out, "I swear, I wasn't lying."

He scoffed, "Better not be pretending."

With that, he hurried away.

Only when he was completely gone did I slowly relax.

*****

No one expected James to come early.

At the time, I was out for a walk.

I hadn't wanted to go down. Being led around by others made me uncomfortable.

But Mom had insisted I needed to move more for my stomach.

Plus, I'd always craved the warmth of the sun.

The spring sunshine eased the constant cold in my bones.

On the way back, Sophie suddenly warned me, "Someone's ahead. Slightly to the left."

I stopped for a second, then shuffled uncertainly to the side.

The guy in front of me suddenly asked, "What happened to your eyes?"

I lowered my head and kept walking in silence.

This time, Sophie didn't have a chance to warn me. I walked straight into the guy. A familiar smell hit me, and nausea surged.

I jerked away from his reaching hand, fell to the side of the path, and threw up violently.

Being touched by men made me sick, especially by James.