Chapter 5

"What is it?"

My mother caught her, looking at the phone in Evie’s hand. Her expression changed instantly.

"Rain! Who gave you permission to leak your identity to the press? How dare you! Do you have any idea how much trouble this will cause the family?"

"Since the day you came back, your father and I have treated you and Evie equally. We have never wronged you. You... you utterly disappoint me."

My father’s eyes widened as he glanced at the screen. He pointed a trembling finger at my face.

"You ungrateful beast! Do you honestly think blackmailing me like this will make me acknowledge you publicly?"

I looked straight into his eyes and smiled.

"If you want to believe I did it, then so be it."

They stared at me in shock.

My mother opened her mouth, but she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

[The parents must be so heartbroken. Do you know how much money and time they’ll have to spend to clean up this PR disaster? And the traitor is their own daughter!]

[Rain, just apologize! They will forgive you!]

Apologize? I was done apologizing.

I swung the backpack over my shoulder, walked past my mother, and headed straight for the door.

"You're right. Coming back to this family was a mistake. Now, I'm correcting that mistake."

The room fell dead silent.

Evie rushed forward and grabbed my arm, sobbing hysterically.

"I'm sorry, Rain! I never wanted to steal anything from you! I just didn't want to leave Mom and Dad. This is the only home I've ever known!"

"Please don't leave! If you leave, they’ll be heartbroken. Let me be the one to leave!"

I turned my head. I caught the brief, triumphant smirk on her face right before she threw herself dramatically onto the floor.

"Evie!"

My mother screamed, dropping to the floor to cradle her.

My father stood beside them, glaring at me with pure hatred.

"Get out! If you walk out of this door today, I will consider myself to have no such daughter!"

With that, he turned his back on me and knelt to comfort Evie.

The comments in front of my eyes were scrolling at a manic speed.

[How could the female lead say something so heartless? Things are already chaotic enough, and she's still stabbing her parents in the heart!]

[A child who wasn't raised by her parents really can't be tamed. Can't she tell her dad is just speaking out of anger?]

[Rain, turn back! Your parents are watching you! As long as you turn around, everything will be fine!]

Fine?

More than twenty years of crushing pain had accumulated on my shoulders, suffocating me.

If they truly loved me, they wouldn't have treated me with coldness, accusations, and the systematic stripping of my identity.

I was a human being, not a lump of clay they could mold and discard at will.

Stepping out of the mansion, I took a deep, long breath.

The night air was crisp and clear. I could smell the faint scent of expensive food lingering from the banquet.

Only after leaving the Andrews estate did I realize that it wasn't raining outside.

[Whatever, let her go. Why can't she understand? They raised Evie since she was a baby. How can you expect them to just cut those emotional ties?]

[If it were my family, I'd probably love the adopted daughter more, too. It's just human nature. You can't force these things.]

[It's good that she's gone. Having her around the house was like having a miserable rat constantly dampening everyone's happiness.]

I didn't bother reading those brain-dead comments anymore.

Smiling, I walked out of the heavy iron gates, out of the elite gated community, and out of my pathetic past life.