Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Shaun Harrison came home with Jaxon Harrison in the middle of the night. I sat on the couch and checked the time. It was 12:05 a.m. I nervously said, “Please don’t keep Jaxon out so late. He has school tomorrow.” Jaxon looked annoyed. “No one cares about that, so why do you?”“I…” I wanted to say it was because I was his mother, and only a mother would care. But I felt mentally exhausted to say anything, so I stayed silent. Jaxon yawned, and Shaun took him back to his room. The whole time, Shaun did not even look at me. Then, he went straight into his room and closed the door. I sat on the couch, stared at the papers on the coffee table, and was lost in thought. Maybe letting go was the best choice. With that thought, I gathered my courage and knocked on Shaun’s door. “Come in.” I heard his cold voice and took a deep breath. I instinctively tightened my grip on the papers. When Shaun saw me, he frowned. “What’s wrong?” His room smelled of women’s perfume. It came from the suit on the couch. It was the same perfume Stellar Johnston, my so-called sister, liked to wear. “Shaun, let’s get a divorce,” I finally said. A weight lifted off my chest. I handed him the divorce agreement. “I won’t take anything. I know your mom won’t let me take Jaxon, so you can have his custody. I only hope you’ll let me go.” Shaun did not get as angry as I thought he would. He calmly said, “Okay, but don’t regret it after you sign this agreement. From now on, I won’t help you with anything, even if you beg me for it.” I nodded. “Fine, it’s a deal.” He quickly agreed to the divorce and signed the papers just as fast. Maybe he had been thinking about this for a long time, too. After signing, he handed the papers to me. “When can we finalize the procedure?” I asked. He looked at the calendar. “The day after tomorrow. I have nothing planned then.”“Okay.” When I was about to leave, Shaun said, “You don’t need to see Jaxon anymore. I’ll take good care of him.”“Okay,” I said firmly. “I won’t come back.” I had wasted so many years of my life. I even thought this place could be my home. It was time to wake up from that dream. This time, it was not them who did not want me. It was me who did not want them. I did not have many things at home, so I packed quickly. Even when I left the house, Shaun did not come out of his room. I took a cab with my suitcase to the Johnston family’s mansion. I stood at the door and hesitated. In the end, I pressed the doorbell. Mrs. Wilson opened the door. When she saw me, her face froze for a moment. Then, she said with a conflicted face, “Madam, Quiana is back.”“Come in.” As I walked into the foyer, Stella walked over to me with a big smile. “Quiana, what brings you here?” She reached for my suitcase to help, but Mrs. Wilson stopped her. Mrs. Wilson said in a loving voice, “Ms. Stella, let me take care of that.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Wilson. Quiana rarely comes home, and I want to catch up with her.” Stella always had a cheerful personality that made people want to be around her. Just then, Reina Clark, the head of the Johnston family, who was also my real mother, slowly came down from the second floor.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Reina saw me with my suitcase and frowned. “Did Shaun send you back?” I did not deny it. Stella felt awkward and let go of my suitcase. “Quiana, did you and Shaun have some kind of misunderstanding? “I saw him this afternoon, and he seemed fine. “He was in a good mood, and Jaxon—” She realized she messed up, so she quickly covered her mouth and looked at me anxiously. “Quiana, I didn’t mean to hide that I met Shaun. “It’s just that Jaxon missed me. He wanted to see me, and I couldn’t say no.” I forced out a smile. “It’s no big deal.” Reina heard that and seemed to understand what had happened. So, she said, “Stella, go upstairs. I need to talk to your sister alone.” Stella nodded softly, and Mrs. Wilson took her away. Only Reina and I were in the big living room. She gestured for me to sit down. I got restless as I sat down on the couch. She calmly made a cup of tea and sipped it slowly. I could not sit still anymore, so she finally said, “Can’t you

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Stella wore a beautiful dress, and her skin looked perfect. On the other hand, I had dry hair, a pale face, and rough hands covered in calluses. I suddenly felt very insecure and hid behind Mrs. Wilson. But I could feel my real mother looking at me with disdain. “Just settle in for now. Let me know if you need anything.” After saying that, she took Stella’s hand and went upstairs. After that, life in the Johnston family was rough for me. I was practically invisible. Nobody cared about me. They thought I was disrupting the family’s peace. But I was her real daughter. Why did she treat me like this? I wondered about this for many years but could never figure it out. I was tired of thinking about it and had come to accept it. If I could not figure it out, then I would stop trying. Not everything in life needed an answer. The next day, I visited my adoptive mother in the hospital. She was still in a coma. I sat by her bed and held her hand. I hoped to fi