Chapter 61
Book6 Rent a Mother To Love Me
Graduation required family members to join you on stage.
My fake mom, Maria, stood proudly on stage, speaking confidently. Meanwhile, my biological mother glared at me from the audience, seething with anger!
Maria Hutchinson had been a woman I paid to be my fake mom. When I met her, she was standing alone on the street, smoking a cigarette.
On a whim, I approached her and asked if she would pretend to be my mom and go to school with me.
Seven years had passed since then, and she had been my mother all that time.
Suddenly, Charlotte fainted in the audience.The scene turned chaotic. My mother stormed up to the stage, her face filled with rage.
In front of the entire school, she slapped me hard across the face.
“Why did you have to be this outstanding graduate?!” she had shouted angrily.
“Didn’t I tell you that Charlotte had a weak heart? Your becoming the outstanding graduate would only aggravate her. Why were you still standing on this stage?!”
“And you even found a fake mother here–how disgraceful!”
The crowd gasped in shock.
Laughter, insults, and all kinds of ridicule crept into my ears.
Those unbearable memories surged to the surface, and I lost balance and fell to the ground in an instant.
I had a dream.
I dreamed of the day I was brought back to the Smiths.
Back then, I had been filled with joy and excitement.
I had thought I had finally escaped the fate of fighting stray dogs for food and sleeping on the streets.
But reality gave me a harsh slap in the face.I had eagerly awaited my family’s arrival, only to be treated with a few indifferent words.
“Charlotte has a piano solo today, and we just can’t get away.”
“Here’s the address. You can find your way home.”
My brother had quickly opened the car door and tossed me out.
But at fifteen, I had no phone, no money, and I was in an unfamiliar place.I had no choice but to ask for directions.
The once clear skies suddenly grew overcast.
Heavy raindrops pelted from the sky.
In the hazy rain, I desperately searched for the way home.
After stumbling and walking for four hours, I finally arrived at this so–called home.
Despite the arduous journey, I kept telling myself that once I was home, things would be different.
I would be a child loved by my family.
But the security guard stopped me outside.
No matter how much I pleaded, he refused to let me enter the neighborhood.
“Little beggar, I’m following the rules here, so I really can’t let you in.”
“How about this: you can stay here and wait for the rain to stop before leaving.
Under the security guard’s persistent insistence, I finally agreed.
In the evening, my brother’s car sped past the security booth.
I saw her–the girl who looked like a princess, my sister, Charlotte Smiths.
At the moment our eyes met, she smirked. triumphantly.
But my parents frowned, saying to the guard, “This is an upscale neighborhood; don’t let beggars in.”
I stood stunned for a moment.
By the time I tried to explain, they had already disappeared.
It wasn’t until the next morning that my parents seemed to remember my existence and came to the security booth to inquire about me.
I walked out of the corner of the booth.
They frowned, examining me critically.
With displeasure, they said, “Since you’re back, don’t you know how to go home?”
“Isn’t it just that we left you on the road? Is it necessary to throw a tantrum?”
“We’ve been so kind to you, and you don’t seem to appreciate it.,Now you’ve made your sister feel guilty for so long!”
My throat, soaked in rain, felt as if it had been sliced with a knife.
I wanted to defend myself but couldn’t utter a word.
I could only follow behind the Smiths weakly.
The place where I slept was the bay window.
They said the sofa was for guests, and since I was dirty, it would be embarrassing to stain it.
They said the house had underfloor heating, so even without à blanket, I would be comfortable sleeping in the bay window during winter.
They said there was already a little princess in the house, so I shouldn’t compete for space with Charlotte.
Unconsciously, tears began to fall from my eyes.
A distant voice gradually woke my thoughts back, as if someone were calling me.