Chapter 4

In that instant, my tears started flowing before I even fully registered what was happening, and I spoke, my voice full of hurt.

"Eleanor, you didn't really abandon me, did you?"

But Eleanor's face was expressionless. After she finished applying the medicine, she sighed.

"Don't pull these self-pitying acts again. This is the last time."

"Next time you do this, you'll suffer by yourself."

Only then did I see the line between us, so thin it was barely visible.

My eyes widened in panic, my tears stopped.

"Eleanor, I didn't! I fainted, that's all..."

Eleanor stood up, cutting me off.

"Don't try to justify yourself."

Not far away, Chloe, wearing a trendy dress, shyly asked Richard and Ethan:

"Does it look good?"

Their eyes were full of tenderness.

Richard said:

"My daughter looks good in anything."

Ethan also said:

"My sister looks good in anything."

Eleanor took a Tiffany necklace from a bag and put it around Chloe's neck.

"They're right. It looks even better with this."

As I watched, my eyes started to sting.

Not long ago, Chloe had secretly worn one of my dresses.

When I found out, before I could even say anything, she quickly took it off, pleading:

"Please don't be angry. I've never worn such a beautiful dress, I just couldn't help but try it on."

Richard and Eleanor saw this and immediately intervened, saying right in front of me:

"You look better in this than Mia. Keep it. Mia has plenty of clothes anyway."

I used to think those compliments belonged to me.

Now I understood, they belonged to Richard and Eleanor's biological daughter, Ethan's biological sister.

The current me, was no longer that.

I looked away, down at the bandage on my knee.

A little red had seeped through, like a small, unnoticed period at the end of a sentence.

After two days of rest, I could finally walk again.

The first thing I did once I could walk was to go see Chloe's adoptive parents,

Who were also my biological parents.

As soon as I met them, I saw the thick, red lines connecting us.

And their humble, honest appearance was a stark contrast to Chloe's descriptions.

My heart settled completely, and I told them the purpose of my visit.