Chapter 2

The more the “other me” spoke, the more she justified her actions.

She began recounting all the sacrifices she had made for me, painting the picture of a daughter who, in her eyes, had become an ungrateful monster—just because she refused to eat cucumbers.

At that moment, her face twisted into something monstrous.

I gritted my teeth, forcing down my discomfort. I kept telling myself that I was doing this for Madeline, that I was acting in her best interest. Swallowing the cucumbers piece by piece, I fought back the nausea.

Afterward, she looked strangely satisfied, her face glowing with a sense of triumph—as though forcing me to eat something I disliked was a victory.

When we arrived at school, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of relief, though I didn’t understand why.

It had been years since I’d been back to a classroom.

As a high school dropout, I had a deep obsession with education, always feeling that I had somehow missed out.

Given how tormenting the morning had been, I found myself oddly eager to experience school again, hoping it would offer some kind of escape.

But the moment I walked into the classroom, someone poured a bucket of water over me.

The ice-cold water shocked me as its chill sank deep into my bones. The winter air made it worse, and I shivered uncontrollably.

Laughter erupted from the classroom, so loud that some students nearly knocked their desks over in amusement. A few girls stood by the door, grinning smugly. They were clearly the ones responsible for the prank.

I recognized them—they were the daughters of my business partners.

In my memory, they were sweet and well-behaved, which was why I always encouraged Madeline to befriend them.

Yet she always hesitated and spoke about them in whispers. She had even claimed that they bullied her.

I’d made a special trip to the school, hoping to sort things out.

The girls seemed so polite and apologized with perfect manners, claiming it was just a harmless joke. They made it sound like Madeline was the one being petty.

At the time, I couldn’t believe Madeline’s claims. How could a whole group of girls be responsible for what she accused them of?

I assumed that as the girls were also attending a prestigious school, surely they had proper upbringing and manners.

I even scolded Madeline, convinced that she was being overly sensitive. After that, whenever she brought it up, I dismissed her completely.

But now, as I stood there, shocked and confused, the girl at the front, Bella Cole, spoke up.

Her tone was dripping with disdain.

“Well, look who decided to show up. Is the wench here for class?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I never imagined I would hear such vile words come from the mouth of a young girl, full of youth and promise.

I trembled with rage and without thinking, I snapped back, “Who are you calling that? You owe me an apology!”

It was as if I’d said something outrageous. Bella slowly walked toward me, and before I could react, I felt a tug on my scalp.

She yanked my hair and slammed my head onto the desk.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been home nursing your illness and now you think you can act out like a spoiled brat?”

I struggled desperately, only to realize how weak I was in Madeline’s body.

I also noticed how thin her wrists were. Compared to the already slender Bella, Madeline looked even smaller.

The other students watched, laughing at my pitiful attempts to break free. Someone called out to Bella mockingly.

“Ha, looks like your dog doesn’t listen too well, does it, Bella?”

In the chaos, someone shoved me. I crashed into the desk, knocking it over. Books were scattered everywhere, and I felt a sharp pain as my knee hit the floor.

Bella watched me with amusement, an evil smile on her lips. “This one doesn’t listen, huh? Looks like it’ll need more training later.”

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

The door opened and in walked Madeline’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Christopher Bradshaw. I had always thought highly of him—he was responsible and diligent.

I thought to myself that finally, my salvation had arrived.

Little did I know, things were about to take a drastic turn for the worse.