Chapter 3

The woman’s smile faltered, and her arms dropped slowly to her sides.

William quickly knelt beside me, trying to soothe me.

"Chloe, you shouldn't speak to your mother like that."

The woman didn't seem angry. Instead, she looked at me with deep sympathy.

"It’s okay, William. It's natural that Chloe can't accept me right away. We have plenty of time."

She looked at me and said, "If it makes you more comfortable, you can call me Valerie. I want us to build a real relationship, however long it takes."

Then, she nudged the young girl beside her.

The girl stepped forward, grabbing my hand with a sweet smile.

"Hi, Chloe. I'm your sister, Evie."

Despite their friendliness, I remained completely cold.

Because I had seen my real mother in the dark the night before. Even though I couldn't see her face clearly, I saw her silhouette.

My real mother had short hair. This woman, Valerie, had very long hair.

No matter how much time passed, this woman would never be my mother.

William took me up to my bedroom. It was beautiful, warm, and bright.

Most importantly, the bed was covered in plush teddy bears—the exact same design as the cartoon bear on my band-aid.

My real mom must have set this up for me.

In the days that followed, William and Valerie took great care of me.

But the better they treated me, the sadder I felt.

Why wasn't my real mom here with me?

She was the one who had protected me in the dark all these years. Why was someone else taking her place in the light?

One evening, Valerie came up to my room to call me down for dinner. I was sitting on the floor, playing with the teddy bears.

"Chloe, dinner's ready. Let's go down to eat."

Then, she glanced at the plush toys scattered all over the floor.

A look of disgust flashed across her face, and she muttered under her breath,

"I honestly don't get what's so special about these stupid cheap bears..."

Hearing her words, a wild rage exploded inside me.

I grabbed my slipper and threw it hard at her, screaming,

"They are not stupid! My mom gave them to me!"

Valerie was shocked by my sudden outburst. She dodged the slipper, her own temper instantly flaring.

"Stop living in a fantasy world! Your mother abandoned you a long time ago!"

"I've had enough of walking on eggshells around you! You're just an ungrateful brat!"

I froze, tears streaming down my face.

Valerie's mouth was still moving, but I couldn't hear a word she was saying.

Only one sentence kept echoing in my head: Your mother abandoned you.

William ran upstairs after hearing the commotion, looking shocked at the scene.

"What is going on here?"

Valerie’s face was red with anger as she pointed a finger at me.

"Your daughter! She just threw her shoe at me!"

"You should have left her in that group home! Not only is she completely delusional about having a mother, but now she’s turning violent!"

"Is she going to burn the house down next? I'm warning you, William, if she hurts a single hair on Evie's head, I won't let this go!"

I didn't care about her accusations.

My mind was completely shattered by the thought that my mother didn't want me.

"Dad! Valerie is lying! She said my mom abandoned me!"

"My mom protects me every single day! How could she not want me!"

I rushed to my drawer and pulled out the cartoon band-aid I had saved.

Even though my cut had healed long ago, I kept it like a precious treasure.

"Look! This is the band-aid she gave me! It matches the bears on my bed!"

"She loves me! She would never abandon me!"

I sobbed, my tears soaking the front of my shirt.

A flash of pain went through William's eyes. He took a deep breath, knelt down, and said quietly,

"Chloe... your mother did abandon you."