Chapter 5: The Daughter Who Won’t Back Down

16

Marcus’s mind went blank for a second. Looking at Savannah’s mother, a flash of disgust crossed his eyes.

"I didn’t. She’s just my adopted daughter. I have nothing to do with her mom."

Marcus was anxious to explain, losing his composure as soon as he thought Mom misunderstood.

Seeing this, I sneered.

"Yeah. Yeah, nothing to do. Just eating Christmas dinner together, just attending parent-teacher conferences together."

I said these words calmly. But my heart churned. All these years—Christmas dinner. I ate alone. Parent-teacher conferences. I blushed and told the teacher Dad was busy, and the teacher would always ask: "What’s he so busy with, he doesn’t even care about his daughter?"

I couldn’t answer. So the teacher would contact Marcus directly. But the one who came in the end was Mrs. Carter, our housekeeper. Mrs. Carter’s English wasn’t perfect, and every time she came, my classmates would laugh at her.

I felt very sorry for Mrs. Carter. She had her own daughter, and if her daughter knew she was laughed at in the city, how sad would she be?

I didn’t have a mom myself, so I couldn’t drag down someone else’s mom. Later, I’d rather lie to the teacher than let Mrs. Carter come again. So every parent-teacher conference, my family was always absent.

But Savannah was different. Marcus would personally attend her parent-teacher conferences, and even donate things to her school. Later, Savannah’s mom was discharged. As long as Savannah hinted at any wish, Marcus would appear at her school with her mom.

Her elite school was just across the street from mine. Every time Marcus’s luxury car stopped at the school gate, it would draw attention from across the street. My classmates envied Savannah too.

"So lucky to be born into the right family."

"Natalie, your last name is also Thompson, but your mom is a cleaning lady who can’t even speak proper English."

Those words gathered all my anger. I couldn’t tell if I was angrier at him insulting Mrs. Carter, or at him insulting my own mom. But either way, I punched that foul-mouthed boy. He got beaten up pretty badly.

This incident alarmed Marcus. He knew it wasn’t my fault. But he still made me transfer schools. And said condescendingly: "Always causing me trouble, you and your mom, not alike at all."

Thinking of this, I looked at Marcus’s torn collar and smiled. Aren’t Mom and I quite alike?

Thinking of this, I took Mom’s hand. Only then did I realize, Mom’s hand was very cold. She must be very sad too.

She just told me she came from ten years ago. Just in the blink of an eye. She definitely couldn’t accept her husband eating Christmas dinner with another woman, attending another woman’s daughter’s parent-teacher conference.

It’s okay. Mom. You still have me.

I squeezed Mom’s hand and whispered: "Mom, shall we go find Uncle Ben? He’ll be so happy to know you’re back."

After saying that, I glanced at Marcus. Not to provoke him. I just needed to say it out loud, like claiming a future for myself that wasn’t tied to his house anymore.

17

But Marcus’s face still turned dark. He’s hated me for so many years, but never once was he as angry as today. Oh right. He used to just ignore me. Making him angry. How satisfying.

But. He was overthinking it. How could I use Mom to provoke him? Uncle Ben and Mom are just friends. He’s just petty. He’s always held a grudge about Grandpa wanting to marry Mom to Uncle Ben.

After Mom left, Marcus didn’t care about me, and my grades fell badly. Uncle Ben couldn’t stand it, so he took me to a coffee shop every week to tutor me. After Marcus found out, he dumped me on a strict tutor. Wouldn’t let me go out on weekends anymore. Wouldn’t let Uncle Ben see me again either.

After that, I never saw Uncle Ben again. I heard he’s now an associate professor at a university. It’s the school I want to get into. Once, I secretly called to tell him, and he was very happy, sending me lots of study materials.

"Mom, Uncle Ben helped me. I want to thank him."

That’s my real reason. Of course, Mom wouldn’t refuse me. She pulled herself out of her emotions and said "okay" to me.

But the next second—

Marcus spoke in a deep voice: "You’re not allowed to go."

Marcus’s words hung between us, heavy as thunder. I met his eyes and, for the first time, didn’t flinch. This time, I wasn’t backing down.