Chapter 2 Her New Crisis

"Shameless bitch, you're a traitor to our family. You whore!"

All Kinsey heard as she arrived home was the evil hiss of her stepmother, whose eyes were cold and accusatory, fixated on the marks of Kinsey's body.

Last night, she accidentally slept with an unknown man. Kinsey shook her head to defend herself, "I was drugged. I didn't do it intentionally."

"Not intentionally?" Her stepmother Olive huffed. "Do you know how much trouble you've gotten us into?"

Kinsey tearfully shook her head in denial when her stepmother waved the whip in her hand. She knew how much it would hurt. Every time Olive felt Kinsey annoyed her badly, she would whip her, leaving scars that took months for her to disappear.

"Not only did you have the guts to ruin Mr. Smith's clothes, but you dared to hit him?" Olive scolded her. "You have to work all your ass life to afford the money he asked for!"

"But he was planning to rape me!" Kinsey couldn't help but cry out.

"Then just let him fck," Olive taunted without concern. "Open your easy legs for Mr. Smith; at least get us benefits. It would be better than sleeping with some other wild man to earn no penny."

Kinsey's eyes widened in disbelief, tears falling down her cheek. She knew her stepmother had always disliked her and her late sister Alexa, but she had never thought Olive would want to ruin her so badly.

She suddenly felt so chill. Ever since the duo mom and daughter had moved in, this big house was no longer a home for her and Alexa. Father had always been aloof from their suffering. Kinsey felt like running away, but what about Connor if she ran away?

"Now, she lost her job. Mom, are we still paying for Connor's medical bills?" Her stepsister Blair revealed from the shadow, gloating at Kinsey.

Olive scoffed. "Of course not. And that's on you,” she pointed to Kinsey, sitting on the floor. "This is your fault. If Connor dies, it's because you refused to help him."

Kinsey immediately pleaded, holding Olive's legs. "No. Please don't stop paying for Connor's medical bill. I will find a new job. I swear I will perform better this time."

Alexa had been her only savior while she was alive. She always shielded Kinsey with all her mind, and now she was gone, Kinsey felt obliged to protect her son. If she just ran away, they would have given up on him directly, leaving him for dead. She couldn't let it happen.

Olive enjoyed her pleading face as she pried off Kinsey's hands on her legs. Cunning flashed across his eyes.

"Since you've pleaded so hard, there's only one way for you," Olive deliberately paused, giving Kinsey a bad feeling.

"Marriage," Olive's words cut through the suffocating air. "Marry the son of the Simons, or watch Connor die."

Kinsey felt it like a bomb exploding in her head. "Why me?" she asked. Though Kinsey hadn't known any Simons in her life, the ancient heritage and vast properties of the Simons were known to many. It was a very powerful family.

"Does it matter?" Blair said nonchalantly as if marriage wasn't a big deal.

"You should be grateful that you have the honor to marry such a prominent family," Olive added, exchanging a knowing look with her own daughter.

There's no way this mother-and-daughter duo would marry her to a decent man from a noble family. Kinsey smelled plotting almost immediately.

It was like Blair could read Kinsey's mind, she interjected. "But don't get too carried away. Brandon was a man deemed loathsome in appearance and reputation, which is why he is half-exiled from the family."

"Half-exiled? What does it mean?" Kinsey asked in confusion.

Blair smirked wickedly. "Do you think we will let you marry the real heir of the Simons? Who do you think you are? Look at yourself, you whore."

Kinsey had fully regained her senses that this mother-and-daughter duo was planning to sell her again. Sacrificing her to an unloved son would gain them the shelter of the Simmons family. What a deal.

"But...but how should I explain it to Gordon," Kinsey muttered, trying to fight this injustice.

Gordon had been her boyfriend for years, whom she promised to marry and keep her virginity for. But she had no idea how to face him after all that had happened last night. He might be able to understand it was an accident last night, but how would he forgive her for abandoning him to marry another?

"Don't ever think about Gordon," Blair laughed mockingly and crouched to whisper in her ear. "He's already mine, and I'm carrying his baby. You're nothing to him."

"You liar," Kinsey retorted. "Gordon could never do that to me. He promised me!"

"I figured you wouldn't accept it," Blair sneered, tossing her phone to Kinsey. "But facts speak louder than words."

Kinsey grabbed the phone with shaky hands to see a video playing. It was clearly Blair on the video with Gordon fcking her. Kinsey wanted to convince herself that all this could be faked but the face in the video was so clear that she couldn't deny it was Gordon, especially after she recognized the tattoo on his chest. She designed it for him and no one could fake it.

She had an emotional breakdown, and her words stuck in her throat.

"You know what," Blair kept murmuring to her like a demon. "Every night you were busy running away from those horny men at the casino, Gordon was enjoying bed with me. That's why I was able to conceive his child so quickly."

Before Kinsey could even recover, Blair threw a pregnancy test on Kinsey's face. Which was shown positive.

"I hope that would be enough to convince your stubborn head," she stood up and poked Kinsey's head upon saying that.

Kinsey, teary-eyed and heartbroken, still couldn't comprehend all this shocking news. Did Gordon really betray her? Did he really make Blair pregnant? She desperately wanted an answer. She gathered all her courage and fumbled for her phone to call Gordon.

"The number you have dialed is not in service."

Kinsey froze to hear the cold service tone, while the next moment, Blair dialed the same number with her own phone and it was picked up at the first ring.

"What is it, Blair?" His tone was cold but Kinsey was still shocked by her discovery. She couldn't call him but Blair could. Did Gordon blacklist her number?

"I just called to remind you of my maternity checkup tomorrow," Blair tried hard to make her voice sweet, "The Father needs to present, the doctor had advised."

"I'll call you then. I'm going to a meeting now." With that, he hung up the phone. Blair pouted unhappily but luckily to her Kinsey seemed not to notice Gordon's indifference to her.

The pain and confusion swirled within Kinsey, creating an emotional storm. She couldn't believe Gordon had really betrayed their love and gotten her stepsister pregnant. Why should he do all this to her? Was their love only a game for him?

Blair and Olive, celebrating in the turmoil they had ignited, watched with a sinister satisfaction as Kinsey grappled with the harsh reality of her shattered relationship.

Kinsey, gripping tightly on her phone, jolted to a sudden ring. It was a call from the hospital.

"Hello?" Her hands were trembling as she swiped the screen to answer, hoping it was not any bad news related to Connor. She had lost enough, she couldn't lose Connor anymore.

"Miss Gates, this is from St. Andrews Medical Center. I called to remind you of the bill for Connor's treatment. He badly needed to be treated," the woman on the other line said urgently.

Kinsey's heart broke for her nephew. Tears streamed down her face, "I will find a way to pay Connorr's medical bill. Please continue treating him."

"I'm afraid we cannot treat him if you don't pay his medical bills in time," she said apologetically.

"You will get the payment soon, I promise."

As the call ended, Kinsey felt a wave of despair. The weight of her decision hung heavily on her shoulders. Fate had pushed her over the edge and there was no other way for her.

With a heavy sigh, Kinsey surrendered, "Okay, I'll marry Brandon Simons."