Chapter 2
Since Emily came back, William has been chilly to me to the extreme.
Tonight, he openly brought Emily to the event, leaving me completely ignored.
“Emma, your outfit looks so tacky. It’s completely unfit for an occasion like this.”
Emily approached with a wine glass, offering a sweet yet mocking smile.
I smiled politely: “Everyone has their own style.”
“Oh dear, sorry!”
She suddenly exclaimed, spilling the red wine on my dress, the crimson liquid instantly soaking the fabric.
The people around snickered, their gazes turning to me with mockery and contempt.
Emily pretended to be flustered: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to!”
I knew she did it on purpose, but I just silently took out a tissue and wiped it.
William came over from the crowd, his face gloomy: “What happened?”
“William, I accidentally spilled the wine on Emma,” Emily said pitifully, but a gleam of triumph flashed in her eyes.
William glanced at me, no concern in his eyes: “Since your dress is dirty, you should go back first.”
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He didn’t even ask if I needed help, just resented me for possibly tarnishing the Johnson family’s image.
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I bit my lip, suppressing humiliation, and turned to leave the banquet hall.
Behind me came Emily’s sweet laughter and William’s whispers, piercing my heart with waves of pain.
Back at the Johnson family, I discovered my card had been suspended, my card had been suspended, and even opening the door required the help of a servant.
‘Madam, Margaret said that starting today, household affairs will be handled by Miss Emily,” the butler informed me respectfully but distantly.
In just half a month, my role was completely sidelined, even my right to
even care for William was stripped away.
The next morning, I habitually got up to prepare William’s herbal tonic, only to find someone already in the kitchen.
Emily in home clothes, busy in the kitchen, with Margaret guiding her from the side, the two chatting and laughing like a close mother- and daughter–in–law pair.
“Ah, Sophia, you’re up early.” Emily pretended to be surprised. “But I’ve already prepared William’s herbal tonic, no need to trouble yourself.”
My mother–in–law shot me an icy look. “Just stay out of Emily’s way while she cares for William.”
I turned away silently and returned to my room.
What hurt most was how quickly Emily had won over Sophia, making my own daughter distant toward me.
“Sophia, how about Mommy takes you to the amusement park today?” I
Chapter 2
crouched down, asking softly.
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Sophia pouted. “I don’t want to. Aunt Emily promised to take me to the new movie.”
Emily appeared behind Sophia, wearing a smug expression. “Sophia’s such a sensible girl.”
She bent close to whisper in Sophia’s ear. Sophia nodded and ran off.
“Emma, you’re no longer the lady of the Johnson family. Sophia doesn’t need a mother like you.” Emily shed her disguise, revealing her true colors.
That evening, I discovered my treasured photo album torn apart, its pages scattered across the floor.
It held every important moment from my eight years caring for William my most precious memories.
Sophia stood at the doorway, her gaze conflicted: “Aunt Emily says these photos are fake. That you kept them to trick Dad.”
My heart shattered as I tried to explain:
“Sophia, Mom isn’t lying. These are real memories we shared.”
Just then, William pushed the door open. Seeing the mess of, torn photos, his expression darkened instantly.
“What are you doing? Why are you scolding Sophia?” William questioned sharply, completely siding with his daughter.
I was stunned and explained, “I wasn’t scolding her, I just her the truth.”
William sneered, “The truth? What right do you have to talk
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anted to tell
about the
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truth? Back then, you used the despicable method of drugging to marry into the Johnson family. Now you want to keep deceiving me and Sophia with these photos?”
His words were like a sharp blade, slicing my heart apart inch by inch.
Emily appeared out of nowhere, pretending to dissuade him, “William, don’t be angry. Emma might have her own difficulties.
She turned to me, malice flashing in her eyes, “Sister, William has recovered and doesn’t need your care anymore. Why keep clinging on?”
“You…
“}
I fought back tears, looking at the man I once considered my life, who now treated me as an enemy.
| | | કેરલા
On the weekend, I heard Sophia’s excited voice in the living room and curiously peeked out.
Emily was handing her an exquisite gift box:
“This is a limited edition doll Auntie brought from abroad. Only a hundred exist worldwide.”
Sophia eagerly unwrapped it and hugged Emily: “Thank you, Mom! I love you the most!”
The word “Mom” stabbed my heart like a knife.
I silently retreated to my room, tears blurring my vision.
The daughter I carried in my womb and raised since infancy now called another woman “Mom.”
When the school organized a parent–child sports day, I took special leave to attend. Yet at the entrance, I saw Emily already holding Sophia’s hand.
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Chapter 2
“Mom, let’s go. The competition is starting,” Sophia nestled affectionately against Emily, completely ignoring me standing nearby.
When the teacher asked about the parent, Sophia pointed at Emily without hesitation: “This is my mom.‘
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I stood nearby, baffled by what ideas Emily had put into Sophia’s head.
Emily shot me a triumphant look, then walked into the playground holding Sophia’s hand, leaving me alone at the school gate.
I turned and left, refusing to break down in public.
After work, I pushed open my door and froze at the sight.
My room was ransacked–drawers gaping, wardrobe flung open, personal belongings strewn everywhere.
T
What terrified me most was that all the medical records and health notes
on William’s condition had vanished.
voice
I rushed to find William, only to hear his icy at the study door.
“Emma, get in here.”
Pushing open the door, William sat behind his desk, his face dark. My medical records and health notes lay scattered across the surface.
He sneered, slapping a stack of photos against my face. “Is this who you really are? Trying to blackmail me with these?”
I picked up the photos, stunned to find they’d been deliberately doctored.
Images documenting my condition were altered to look like secret snapshots, treatment records twisted into evidence of privacy invasion.
雅
“I didn’t do this! Someone tampered with these!” I protested urgently, only
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Chapter 2
to be met with his scoff.
“That’s enough!” William slammed his hands on the desk as he stood. “Emily’s told me everything! You set me up years ago, and now you’re using these photos to keep blackmailing me!”
I couldn’t defend myself. My heart turned to ash.
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I had become a scheming woman in his eyes–a gold–digging fraud who’d stop at nothing.
When night fell and silence reigned, I lay in bed, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Faint footsteps echoed outside my door. Alert, I sat up just as the doorknob began slowly turning.
The door cracked open, revealing Sophia’s small figure holding a glass of
water.
“Sophia?” I called softly, a warm feeling rising in my chest, thinking my daughter had finally remembered me.
Startled by my voice, Sophia fumbled the glass, water sloshing over its rim.
“You… why aren’t you asleep?” she stammered, her eyes darting.
I noticed the liquid in her glass looked cloudy–nothing like plain water.
Sophia, what’s in your hand? I asked warily.
Sophia stammered, avoiding my eyes: “J–just water…
Just then, Emily’s whisper came from outside: “Sophia, hurry. Do as I taught you.”
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I gasped in realization, springing from the bed–but too late.
Startled by my sudden movement, Sophia splashed the liquid. Most struck my right cheek and shoulder.
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Searing pain shot through me. I screamed in agony, feeling my skin burn.
“Ah!” Clutching my face, I collapsed to the floor, nearly passing out from pain.
Sophia froze in terror. The cup slipped from her hand, clattering against the floor.
“Mom!” she screamed in terror, the first time she’d called me that in years.
Emily rushed in, feigning panic: “Good heavens! What happened?”
I writhed on the floor in agony, feeling my facial skin peeling off inch by inch.
William jolted awake from the screams and burst into the room. His face paled seeing my suffering.
“Call an ambulance!” he barked, then whirled toward Sophia. “What did you do?”
Sophia burst into terrified sobs: “Aunt Emily said… it was special water to make Mom beautiful…”
William’s glare shifted to Emily, who instantly adopted an innocent expression: “I only gave her beauty water as a skin tonic! I never expected…”
Too agonized to speak, I felt myself being carried into the ambulance.
