Chapter 2

After a long time passed, Lavender nimbly stood up. Her legs were wobbly. She stumbled and almost fell but managed to steady herself using the sturdy wall.

She walked to the bathroom to wash her face. She could not even recognize the disheveled girl in the mirror. She came home from school in high spirits only to find such devastating news, how could she take it? She was only 18 years old today and had never faced something as cold and ruthless as this.

After washing her face, she remembered her auntie saying that her grandfather was paralyzed, she hastily left the room to check on him.

On her way out, she met with her cousin, Rael. Although they called each other cousins, they had no blood relation. It was just for formality.

Rael was 23 years old, five years older than Lavender. She was the firstborn of Jeffrey and Janet and always maintained a haughty attitude when she saw Lavender. She had two more siblings, a sister called Jane and a brother called Sam.

She has always envied Lavender ever since she joined this family. Her parents treated her well and pampered her like a princess, unlike hers, who could not even afford to pay for her school fees.

She has always loathed Lavender's carefree attitude and always treated her with hatred.

Although Lavender knew all of this, she had never really cared about her. She always treated her like air since she did not want to stoop to her level.

Talking with an unlearned person was really tiring. The only thing that she knew was to doll herself up and party all day long.

When Rael saw Lavender, a vicious light passed through her eyes. She halted in her steps and looked at the approaching woman, a fake smile plastered on her already fake face.

"Ooh my dear cousin, I didn't know that you are back, I could have welcomed you at the door," Rael said, not minding to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

Lavender looked at her like she was looking at a lowly being, not even minding to spare her a second glance.

Seeing that she was being completely ignored, Rael felt her heart simmer with anger.

'How could this orphan ignore me? Wait and see how I teach her a lesson.

"You, are you deaf?" Rael said.

Lavender completely ignored her as she continued to walk forward.

Rael could not take it anymore and immediately went to block her way.

The strong cologne on her body assaulted Lavender's nostrils, making her face frown. She almost threw up from the suffocating smell.

"What do you mean by ignoring me?" Rael asked coldly.

"Give way!" Lavender commanded coldly.

"Heh!" Rael laughed coldly.

"Do you think that you are the young miss of the family? Poor girl, you are now an orphan, with no parents, no siblings, only an old man who is paralyzed." Rael said smugly, not caring that her words sounded mean to the person who was listening to them.

All the humiliation she has felt from this missy all those years, she will pay back one at a time.

"Are you done?"

Although being reminded of her parents and brother hurt, Lavender did not want to show any emotions to this lady.

"Don't act all high and mighty, I'm now the missy of the family, the next time you see me, please be humble," Rael said, puffing out her chest.

"Suit yourself, young missy!" Lavender said sarcastically. The look in her eyes was one of mockery and it made Rael feel like she was a clown.

"Don't act all smug, because I can do anything to you." Rael threatened, but her threat fell on deaf ears.

"You know what, talking to you makes me question how low my IQ has dropped. You want to act all high and mighty in front of me, I think you need to first remove the plastics you have plastered on your face. It is disgusting and nauseating just looking at it." Lavender said.

"You...!" Rael was so mad that her body was trembling. By the time she came back to her senses, Lavender had already confidently walked away.

Rael looked on, feeling bitter.

She was not born beautiful like Lavender. She was raised in the village and did not know how to take care of her skin. It was not until they relocated to town that she learned about plastic surgery. She forced her mother to give her money so that she can change her outlook, she could not afford an expensive hospital so she could only opt to go to a local hospital, although it was not as she wished, it was at least better than her previous outlook, but someone who has seen the beauty of the world, Lavender felt like she resembled a clown.

She clenched her fists tightly and vowed to teach Lavender a lesson.

Lavender walked towards her grandfather's bedroom, her heart feeling heavy. Although she appeared confident in front of Rael just a moment ago, she knew that she was really broken, one blow and she will fall.

Pushing the door open, her breath hitched when she saw the frail-looking man on the bed. His eyes were tightly shut, you could even think that he was dead.

Her eyes immediately turned hot. No matter how much she tried to suppress her tears from falling, they came pouring down on her cheeks like a hurricane.

"Grandpa!" Lavender called out softly as she matched towards the bed.

Looking at the frail-looking man on the bed, she cried even harder.

When she left for her last term, her grandfather was healthy and very energetic, but now...

'What the hell happened just a few months I was away for my exams. Everything has changed. It all felt like a dream." Lavender thought as she went to touch her grandfather's hand.

It was thin and cold. It felt as if it had no life in it. If not for the fact that she could hear some faint breathing, Lavender would have presumed that her grandfather was dead.

''Grandpa, what happened, I don't understand anything. Can you wake up and explain everything to me? I don't know what to do anymore." Lavender said in between the sobs.

The tears she thought had dried up after crying for her parents came crashing down.

Gerald tried hard to open his eyes but he could not. Since he was paralyzed, his body could not move unless someone carried him. He has been holding on just so he could be able to see his precious granddaughter.

...

Downstairs in the living room. Janet was talking to her husband when she saw her eldest daughter approaching with a dark face.

Ever since the tragedy befell the family, her daughter had been going out less and less.

"What is wrong, who bullied you?" Janet immediately asked her daughter. Although she was good for nothing and only knew how to waste money, Janet still loved and doted on her daughter very much.

"It's nothing ma!" Rael said, although her expression said otherwise.

"Weren't you just fine a moment ago? What happened to you?" Janet insisted on knowing the truth.

"Ma, it's a cousin. I only wanted to show that I cared about her, but instead of appreciating my kindness, she went ahead and said some nasty things to me. I could not stand it." Rael immediately started to cry.

Her acting was perfectly on point, and if she were to join the entertainment industry, she might be able to win an Oscar.

"That bitch, who does she think she is, huh? Does she still see herself as the rich second-generation heir?" Janet lamented angrily.

"She even said something like wanting to teach me a lesson, I'm afraid that she will do something to me, mom!" Rael continued to cry pretentiously.

"Hmmph! Don't be afraid, she can't do anything to you. Mom is here and will protect you."

Jeffrey said nothing and looked on with an indifferent gaze. He knew her daughter too well that the moment she opened her mouth, he knew that she was acting.