Chapter 2
Mary took my hand and led me into an old apartment building.
The air was filled with the delicious aroma of home-cooked meals, and the walls were plastered with all kinds of small ads. But somehow, it made me feel right at home.
"This is our place," Mary said, pulling out her keys. She looked a little embarrassed as she went on, "It's not much, but I hope you don't mind."
When the door opened, a man in his forties peeked out from the kitchen, his apron dusted with flour.
"David, this is Stella," Mary said, giving me a little nudge. "Stella, this is David."
I bowed deeply. "Hi, Dad."
David's spatula clattered to the floor. His eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"Oh, good girl." He wiped his hands nervously on his apron. "Dinner's almost ready. You two go ahead and rest."
The apartment was tiny, barely 600 square feet. The floors were a little worn and yellowed, and the furniture was old, but everything was neat and tidy. There were a few potted plants on the balcony.
My little "room" was just a space partitioned off by a curtain, but the bed was made up with a fresh floral sheet, and a hand-sewn doll sat propped against the pillow.
"I didn't know what you'd like, so I made one myself," Mary said, fidgeting with her hands. "The stitches are a little crooked..."
I hugged the slightly rough doll tightly, and my tears finally spilled over.
"Thank you, Mom. I really love it," I whispered.
This was a warmth I'd never felt in my previous life, not once during all those years with the Carter family.
Dinner was just three simple dishes and a soup. David kept helping me to more, giving me far more than I could ever eat.
"Eat up. You're still growing," he said with a big smile.
After dinner, I went to grab the dishes, but Mary quickly stopped me. "Really, you don't have to. Just go relax."
"I want to help," I insisted. "I did this all the time at the orphanage."
As I finished washing the dishes and wiped down the stove, I saw Mary secretly dabbing at her eyes.
"We're so lucky she's joining our family," she said softly.
Late at night, when everything was quiet, I lay in my little bed, listening to David's snoring from the next room. For the first time in ages, I felt completely at peace.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Lily.
[The Carter family sent a Mercedes to pick me up. I'm going shopping for new clothes tomorrow. Bet you're jealous.]
I could practically see her smug face.
I didn't bother replying. I just deleted the message.
*****
The next morning, I was woken up by the delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen.
Mary had already made breakfast, and David was awkwardly trying to fry a heart-shaped egg.
"Morning, Dad, Mom," I mumbled, shuffling into the kitchen while rubbing my eyes.
They both turned around at the same time, identical warm smiles lighting up their faces.
"Look who's awake! Come taste your dad's 'masterpiece,'" Mary teased.
David blushed as he set the slightly lopsided heart-shaped egg in front of me.
In that moment, I knew I was truly home.
Later that afternoon, I was helping Mary with the beans when the doorbell rang.
There stood Lily, looking all high and mighty, with a black Mercedes parked right behind her.
She was dressed in a brand-new dress, her shiny leather shoes gleaming, and a delicate pendant hanging from her neck.
"Stella!" Lily called out, dramatically spreading her arms. "I just came to check on you."
Mary greeted her warmly and invited her inside, but Lily just turned up her nose.
"No, thanks. I'm just here to drop off an invitation," she said, handing me a fancy gold card. "Next week is my welcome party. You have to be there."
I took the invitation and noticed a red mark on her wrist.
"Did you hurt your wrist?" I asked.
Lily quickly tugged her sleeve down, her voice casual. "Oh, it's nothing. I just bumped it while practicing piano."
Her eyes darted away for a moment, but then she tilted her chin up, putting on that smug look again.
"My dad totally spoils me. He even hired the best piano teacher for me," Lily boasted, shaking her sparkly bracelet. "Just got this with today's pocket money."
Mary brought out a plate of freshly baked cookies. "Lily, why don't you take some home?"
Lily wrinkled her nose at the cookies. "No, thanks. The pastries made by my family chef are way better."
She turned to leave, and then looked back and winked at me. "Don't forget the party. I'll show you what real high-society living looks like."
As the Mercedes drove off, Mary watched me, a little worried. "Stella, does it bother you?"
I shook my head and bit into the cookie. It filled my mouth with sweetness.
"Mom, these are the best cookies ever," I said, smiling.
Mary's eyes welled up with tears again.
That night, as I lay in bed, my mind kept drifting back to the red mark on Lily's wrist.
That wasn't from playing piano. I knew that kind of mark way too well. It was the kind left by a belt.
In my previous life, the first time I got a mark like that was on my third day living with the Carters. They hit me just because I spilled some milk on my dress at breakfast.
"How could the Carter heiress be so clumsy?" Emily Carter, Richard's wife, said coldly. Then she snapped the belt across my hand three times.
But Lily had only been with the Carters for one day, and she'd already gotten hit.
My phone buzzed again. It was a photo from Lily.
She was posing in a luxury walk-in closet, surrounded by racks of designer clothes. Her message said: [This is the life I want.]
I never told her that the walk-in closet was just the Carter family's fancy display room.
Whenever guests came over, adopted girls would get paraded in there to pose for pictures. Once the photos were done, all those clothes went right back on the rack.
The real Carter heiress never needed to flaunt any of this.
It was late at night, and I curled up under my covers, crying quietly. But this time, these were tears of relief.
I was glad that I really made it out of that hell.