Chapter 6
The door was flung open with a bang.
The next second, Mom slapped me hard across the face.
Mom shouted, "Chloe, how could you treat your sister like that?
"You're nothing but trouble."
Her words hit me hard.
I was so hurt that I couldn't stop trembling.
My Dad was fuming. He helped Isabel up from the floor.
He snapped, "Chloe, you've really gone too far this time.
"We know you're jealous that Isabel does better in school and gets more of our attention.
"But why can't you accept who you are?
"You're our adopted daughter, a nobody we picked up from a dumpster with no real background. Your background isn't even as clean as Isabel's.
"At least we know that her parents were our friends who passed away.
"What makes a bastard like you think you can even compare to Isabel?"
Dad's words cut through me like a blade, leaving me reeling.
The pain was so intense that I felt like I could barely stand.
Tristian glared at me like I was his worst enemy.
He sneered, "Looks like someone's been living too comfortably in this house.
"Get out of here. You're nothing but a bastard we picked up from a dumpster.
"If we don't teach you a lesson, you'll never learn to be grateful."
With that, Tristian shoved me out of the villa.
Then, my luggage was hurled out after me.
Mom, Dad, Tristian, and Isabel stood on the steps of the villa, looking down at ME.
To them, I was nothing but a stranger now.
My eyes stung. I no longer had any hope for them.
I would let it go.
I opened my mouth, and heard myself say, "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, for raising me all these years.
"Now that I know who I really am, it's not right for me to stay here anymore.
"Could you give me my birth certificate?
"I won't bother you again."
Mom covered her mouth, sobbing.
Dad was breathing hard, trying to keep his anger in check.
Tristian gave me a cold once-over, then suddenly smirked.
He said with a sneer, "Sure, take it if you want.
"It's not like we ever bothered to associate your name with our family anyway."
That was true.
On my legal documentation, I had always been in the countryside, living with my grandma.
After she passed away, I was the only one left on her family tree.
After that, I kept wishing that Mom and Dad would finally put me on their official records.
But every time they tried, something always got in the way.
Either Isabel got sick, or she wanted to go out and play, or there was a parent-teacher conference for her.
So it kept getting delayed.
I used to feel so disappointed about it.
But now, it ended up making things easier for me.
Tristian tossed my birth certificate at me like it was a piece of trash.
Clutching the document, I opened my mouth, wanting to say something.
But Tristian had already slammed the door in my face, cold and heartless.
His voice came through the heavy door, muffled and cold. "Mom, Dad, don't go soft on her. If you don't teach her a lesson, she'll never learn her place!"