Chapter 2

Upon reaching her room, Kimberly immediately slammed her bag on the floor. She grabbed her phone and called her father. Her face looked tense, with her breathing fast and erratic. She was no longer hiding her feelings at this moment. She only pretended to be calm in front of Deborah, although she felt like scratching the girl's face.

"Why is that woman's child in this house, Dad?" As soon as her father answered the call, Kimberly protested. Michael, her father, should know that Kimberly never liked Deborah.

"Oh, come on, Kim. You're not kids anymore. You're adults now. Forget about the past and learn to get along with each other." Michael sounded desperate. In his old age, he just wanted his daughters to gather and forget the past.

Kimberly dropped her jaw upon hearing her father's words. How could she forget the past that led to her mother's death?

She shook her head in disappointment, even though Michael couldn't see her. "I can't forget how that woman destroyed our family and caused Mom's death," she said with hatred. Because of that, her relationship with her father had never been good until now.

"I'm sorry about that. I feel so guilty for your mother's death. But haven't I redeemed myself by never bringing them to our house? I never forced you to like them all this time. But I'm old now; I want our family to come together." There was a sense of guilt haunting Michael ever since his first wife's death. Kimberly was only 10 years old when he was caught cheating with his secretary named Liana. They even had a daughter who was 2 years younger than Kimberly.

Georgina, his wife, immediately fainted upon learning the truth. She was hospitalised for a few days, and on the third day, she passed away.

Kimberly was devastated and continued to blame Michael for her mother's death. She also never acknowledged the presence of Liana and her daughter. Michael understood and never invited them to live with them. However, they had to meet a few times when attending an event. But lately, Kimberly chose not to join to avoid them.

Taking a deep breath, Kimberly tried to control her emotions. "I don't want to! I want her to leave this house!" Kimberly stood her ground. However, they would never be siblings, even though her father had married her mother and she had the same last name as hers.

"Kimberly!" A yell came from the other end of the phone that shocked Kimberly. "I've had enough patience with your childish behavior. You can hate her, but she's still my daughter, your sister! They will continue to live in that house, whether you agree or not!"

After saying that, Michael hung up the phone. Kimberly, still shocked, could only stay silent. Her phone was still stuck to her ear. She never expected her father to be so harsh on her. After all, that house was built by Michael for Georgina. Why would he allow that murderer to stay there now?

Kimberly felt like running away. However, remembering the many memories in that house with her mother, she couldn't possibly leave. Moreover, this house was a gift from her father to her mother. She would never allow those two women to take control of the house.

After calming herself for a few moments, Kimberly grabbed her car keys and left her room again. Under the stairs, she encountered Deborah again. This time, it wasn't just Deborah; Liana was there too. Liana tried to smile at Kimberly, but the woman ignored her, as if she couldn't be bothered. Kimberly kept walking, pretending the two women didn't exist.

"Kimberly! Will our relationship always be like this? Didn't we have a good relationship in the past?" Liana shouted, desperate with Kimberly's constant disregard. "I also want to be your mother!"

She and Kimberly used to get along so well that Kimberly even played with Deborah and considered her her little sister. But that was before she knew that Liana had been having an affair with her father and Deborah was the daughter of their affair. Everything was different after the truth came out and that's when her mom left for good.

Kimberly wanted to continue ignoring Liana, but her last sentence made Kimberly furious. She turned and walked arrogantly towards Liana.

"A mother? You want to be my mother?" Kimberly gave Liana a mocking smile to belittle her. "Don't even think about it! Trash will always be trash, and don't ever expect me to pick it up."

Hearing Kimberly's words about her mother, Deborah clenched her fists. She roughly grabbed Kimberly's shoulder, forcing the girl to face her.

"Don't you dare act like that towards my mom! Regardless, she's married to Daddy. You have no right to treat her like that!" Deborah shouted, her eyes glaring. But it didn't scare Kimberly. She even stepped forward, as if challenging the girl in front of her. Deborah was the one slowly stepping back in fear.

"You're just like your mother. Both of you are trash that will never be noble, even if you're placed in a palace." Kimberly's eyes were filled with hatred and capable of making Deborah fearful. Even her body trembled when faced with her stepsister's intimidating gaze.

Seeing Deborah's expression this time, Kimberly felt very satisfied. She then turned around, leaving the two women she despised behind. But as she passed Liana, she deliberately gave a mocking smile to the woman.

As Kimberly's car was heard leaving the driveway, Deborah screamed loudly. She went into a rage to vent her pent-up anger. Despite her efforts, she remained afraid when near Kimberly. The girl truly had a terrifying aura.

Once outside the gate, Kimberly screamed as loudly as she could. Fortunately, her car was soundproof, so no one could hear her screams. She pounded the steering wheel repeatedly to release her anger.

In a situation like this, there was only one person she wanted to contact, Nicholas.

"What's up, Kim? Did your date not go well that you're calling me tonight?" Nicholas chuckled from the other end of the phone. He didn't know what had happened to Kimberly, so he joked as usual. However, when Kimberly remained silent and didn't respond to his jokes, Nicholas realised that Kimberly was not okay.

"Um... did your date really go wrong, Kim?" Nicholas asked hesitantly.

Kimberly took a deep breath, as if holding something inside her that was about to explode.

"No! It's not like that!" Kimberly still tried to control herself. Her breath sounded heavy, and Nicholas could hear it from the other end. "I'll wait for you at the club."

Kimberly couldn't say anything and finally hung up the phone. She threw her phone behind her because she didn't want to be disturbed, not even by Harry. Nicholas would definitely find her even if he couldn't reach her. For some reason, Kimberly felt safer with Nicholas than with Harry. At least if she got drunk, Nicholas wouldn't take advantage of her because he wasn't interested in her.