For the winter holidays, my mom and I returned to the family house, leaving my dad and Janice alone.When we returned, Janice came to taunt me. “I don’t know how you know that I’m going to be your stepmom, but I’m pregnant. You’re going to have a sister.“And it’ll only be a matter of time before your dad, my husband, divorces your mom.“You should start calling me ‘Mom’ and if you take good care of me, I’ll ask my husband not to throw you out.”She caressed her stomach greedily. I gave her an indifferent look. “You’re so hungry for it, aren’t you?”Janice did not understand. I proceeded to spread the news of her pregnancy around campus, and in no time, everyone knew. “Did you hear? YL’s illegitimate daughter is pregnant!”“I heard! I also heard the baby daddy’s some old man in his fifties!”“Huh? But she’s barely twenty! Well, what did we expect from an illegitimate child anyway? They know nothing about shame.”Janice happened to hear their discussion and glared at me.
Mom and I found a place near my school. Our neighbor followed, too.Mom decided to hand the esteemed divorce lawyer all the evidence she collected, as she did not want to deal with Janice and my father anymore. While their divorce procedures ran, the man decided to host a wedding with Janice first and let the world know that he and my mother were divorced. The media was invited, and everyone knew that Janice was his mistress. At the same time, Mom had also regained control over the company, and all of YL’s employees moved to the new building. She even changed the company name to Sylvia Group. My father was not informed of this. He was too busy basking in the glow of a new marriage. Janice even messaged Mom and I: [From today onwards, I’m David Roffe’s wife! No one will call me his mistress! But if you two beg to be my maids, I don’t mind asking my husband to consider giving you two some money. After all, it can’t be easy for an ugly and unwanted woman to send her daughter to
I did not doubt that Janice would argue with David over this.David hired a lawyer and posted online: [I won’t let you get away with this!]Worried, I tugged on Mom’s clothes. “Mom, how are our chances against him?”Mom had a relaxed smile on her face. “Silly girl. Between a three thousand dollar lawyer and a thirty thousand dollar lawyer, what do you think?”She had a point. She did not leave David an extra cent and had David’s and Janice’s cards stopped. She even chased them out of the villa, as the estate was under her name. David had a limited amount of cash on him. Their finances would run thin soon. I heard that netizens were especially ruthless, and Janice did not dare to leave the house at all. Some even went to cause a stir where they stayed, and a video of them arguing got posted online. Janice wanted to get an abortion, but David told her to calm down and swore that he had never lost a lawsuit. “I already had some of my assets arranged for you. You’ll get the m
I turned around and scoffed. “I’ve never met a woman so proud to be someone’s mistress before. Mother? Who do you think you are?“You expect me to believe that you’re actually in love with my old*ss father? Everyone can tell why you married him. Go bark somewhere else, Bumpkin.”Janice turned red. Wilda snickered and secretly gave me a thumbs-up.“You! I am not a mistress! I love my husband and he loves me too! Your dad stopped loving your old and ugly mom a long time ago!” She pointed at me angrily.I cackled. “You’re serious? Love? What about him is there to love? The fact that he’s 3 times your weight or the fact that he showers once a week? Oh! I know! You love his body, is that it?”“You!” She glared at me and continued to boast to her group of ‘friends’. As they whispered among themselves, they would also sneak glances at me from time to time. Anyone could tell that they were plotting something. One summer afternoon, Janice had me cornered in the bathroom again. Luck
Without a doubt, Mom's three hundred thousand dollar lawyer won the suit. Since my father cheated, all their assets were under my name, leaving my mom with nothing to her name. David had to give half of his remaining two hundred thousand dollars to my mom. "After all these years, Yvonne, must you go this far?" David asked. She did not even entertain him with a look. "You have five minutes to transfer a hundred thousand dollars to my account before the court does it for you." She took my hand and left. I could hear him shout at us from behind. "I climbed my way up here once! I can climb my way back again!" Mom was speechless. "And I let him take advantage of my power and wealth…" The court instructed Janice to return my parents' shared property and the money David had spent on her. Unable to repay, the banks deducted her credit score and put a stop to all extravagant spending.Security guards also chased them out of the villa, and I heard that David ended up living in a sma
The underprivileged student I sponsored became my dad’s new mistress. She told me she no longer needed my sponsorship and that I only needed to ask if I needed money. My mother was kicked out of the house within a year, and Janice became the next Mrs. Roffe. Janice loved taunting my mother and showing off the love my dad showered her in, and so my mom died angry and bitter. After that, Janice only got worse. She turned her arrows at me and drilled into my head that I was the one who killed my mom. “Your mother would never have died if you hadn’t pitied me in the beginning! You were the one who killed your mother!”As she wished, I succumbed to sickness in that rented apartment. Fortunately for me, I woke up again to the day I first sponsored Janice.
When I opened my eyes, I had returned to the day I first sponsored Janice. Everything that happened before I died felt like a dream, albeit one I could not brush off.Sounds of a quarrel pulled me back to the present, and I wiped the wetness from the corner of my eyes. I turned to take a look.The shouting was from our school's notorious delinquent and her clique. It was no secret that they loved bullying the weak, and their target today was none other than Janice. At this time, Janice still wore her hair short with thick bangs. Coupled with her thick black glasses, she looked the epitome of a teacher's pet. In a prestigious school like ours, family business and status determined how we were treated. Janice, lacking both, became the bullies' top choice for their target.Last time, I fell for her innocent facade. This time, I gathered my books and walked past. Just as I left the room, Janice called out after me, "Sylvia! Y-you're just going to leave? Aren't you going to save
I had always kept a low profile at school, so no one really knew about my family’s assets. If not for the luxurious one-of-a-kind necklace I wore, I could have become the delinquents’ next victim. When I saved Janice, I told her to come to me if she needed help. Perhaps it was to thank me, but she began to take care of my daily needs. Rumors of my new ‘pet’ began to spread, and I tried to get her to stop, but she insisted anyway. I assumed this was her way of showing gratitude, so I left her alone. Less than a month later, she came crying to me about how she had nowhere to stay and no money for school. She kept insisting that I assist her, claiming I had ‘helped her so many times before anyway.’Every time I hesitated, she would plead, beg, and even prostrate herself, not giving up until I finally agreed.I was too young and naive then. I did not know how to reject her, so I made a decision that I would regret for the rest of my life.
Without a doubt, Mom's three hundred thousand dollar lawyer won the suit. Since my father cheated, all their assets were under my name, leaving my mom with nothing to her name. David had to give half of his remaining two hundred thousand dollars to my mom. "After all these years, Yvonne, must you go this far?" David asked. She did not even entertain him with a look. "You have five minutes to transfer a hundred thousand dollars to my account before the court does it for you." She took my hand and left. I could hear him shout at us from behind. "I climbed my way up here once! I can climb my way back again!" Mom was speechless. "And I let him take advantage of my power and wealth…" The court instructed Janice to return my parents' shared property and the money David had spent on her. Unable to repay, the banks deducted her credit score and put a stop to all extravagant spending.Security guards also chased them out of the villa, and I heard that David ended up living in a sma
I turned around and scoffed. “I’ve never met a woman so proud to be someone’s mistress before. Mother? Who do you think you are?“You expect me to believe that you’re actually in love with my old*ss father? Everyone can tell why you married him. Go bark somewhere else, Bumpkin.”Janice turned red. Wilda snickered and secretly gave me a thumbs-up.“You! I am not a mistress! I love my husband and he loves me too! Your dad stopped loving your old and ugly mom a long time ago!” She pointed at me angrily.I cackled. “You’re serious? Love? What about him is there to love? The fact that he’s 3 times your weight or the fact that he showers once a week? Oh! I know! You love his body, is that it?”“You!” She glared at me and continued to boast to her group of ‘friends’. As they whispered among themselves, they would also sneak glances at me from time to time. Anyone could tell that they were plotting something. One summer afternoon, Janice had me cornered in the bathroom again. Luck
I did not doubt that Janice would argue with David over this.David hired a lawyer and posted online: [I won’t let you get away with this!]Worried, I tugged on Mom’s clothes. “Mom, how are our chances against him?”Mom had a relaxed smile on her face. “Silly girl. Between a three thousand dollar lawyer and a thirty thousand dollar lawyer, what do you think?”She had a point. She did not leave David an extra cent and had David’s and Janice’s cards stopped. She even chased them out of the villa, as the estate was under her name. David had a limited amount of cash on him. Their finances would run thin soon. I heard that netizens were especially ruthless, and Janice did not dare to leave the house at all. Some even went to cause a stir where they stayed, and a video of them arguing got posted online. Janice wanted to get an abortion, but David told her to calm down and swore that he had never lost a lawsuit. “I already had some of my assets arranged for you. You’ll get the m
Mom and I found a place near my school. Our neighbor followed, too.Mom decided to hand the esteemed divorce lawyer all the evidence she collected, as she did not want to deal with Janice and my father anymore. While their divorce procedures ran, the man decided to host a wedding with Janice first and let the world know that he and my mother were divorced. The media was invited, and everyone knew that Janice was his mistress. At the same time, Mom had also regained control over the company, and all of YL’s employees moved to the new building. She even changed the company name to Sylvia Group. My father was not informed of this. He was too busy basking in the glow of a new marriage. Janice even messaged Mom and I: [From today onwards, I’m David Roffe’s wife! No one will call me his mistress! But if you two beg to be my maids, I don’t mind asking my husband to consider giving you two some money. After all, it can’t be easy for an ugly and unwanted woman to send her daughter to
For the winter holidays, my mom and I returned to the family house, leaving my dad and Janice alone.When we returned, Janice came to taunt me. “I don’t know how you know that I’m going to be your stepmom, but I’m pregnant. You’re going to have a sister.“And it’ll only be a matter of time before your dad, my husband, divorces your mom.“You should start calling me ‘Mom’ and if you take good care of me, I’ll ask my husband not to throw you out.”She caressed her stomach greedily. I gave her an indifferent look. “You’re so hungry for it, aren’t you?”Janice did not understand. I proceeded to spread the news of her pregnancy around campus, and in no time, everyone knew. “Did you hear? YL’s illegitimate daughter is pregnant!”“I heard! I also heard the baby daddy’s some old man in his fifties!”“Huh? But she’s barely twenty! Well, what did we expect from an illegitimate child anyway? They know nothing about shame.”Janice happened to hear their discussion and glared at me.
My dad decided on his own that Janice would stay in my room while I took the guest room. He said that she had suffered enough these past years. Not wanting me to feel unfairly treated, my mom bought me a villa as compensation. Without telling my mom, my dad bought Janice three villas and gave her a gold card. Not that this was important because it would only be a matter of time before I retook back everything my dad spent on this mistress. The more he spent on her, the more I would retake. Who knows if she could even pay me back by then?Janice left me alone these few days and spent most of her time and energy seducing my dad.It was disgusting watching them act out ‘father and daughter’ in front of my mom and me.Merely thinking about the things they had done in my room made me viscerally disgusted. I quickly left home for peace of mind while my mom secured evidence and started contacting my uncles about their shares. It was not long before Janice took Wilda in as h
My eyes were red as I suppressed the urge to beat Janice up. “I’m not scared of a biting dog, Janice.” I did not intend to whisper, so the classmates around us heard what I said. Janice Huffed. “So what if I am? As if anyone would dare to stand up against me anyway!”Those words were for me, but also to establish dominance among our classmates. I did not say another word. When she walked away, I stretched my foot to trip her, and everyone laughed. Janice glared and slapped me across the face. “You b*tch! Just you wait! I’ll make you pay for this!”This was the first time she hit me in this life, but I was not in a rush to hit back. I had suffered worse days, and it was time for me to make her life a living Hell. If she loved status and power so much, then all I had to do was praise and raise it even higher. After all, the higher she stood, the harder she would fall. Once class was over, I rushed home. “Mom. What’s going on? Why is Janice Dad’s illegitimate daughter?”
That night, I slept like a baby. When I saw Janice again the next day, her face was bruised and swollen. Not that it had anything to do with me. She saw an opportunity when the classroom was empty to beg for pity, but I ignored her all the same. Word spread like wildfire, and she quickly became the school’s laughingstock. To my surprise, she left me alone for a while. Even Wilda had not seen her much. Her silence worried me. While I was drifting in and out of sleep last night, I missed my mom’s messages: [Sylvia… That classmate from your story... Was her name Janice?][She came over to the house.]I jolted awake to my alarm the following day, only to realize I was almost late to class. I did not have the time to check my messages. The class atmosphere was solemn. Wilda, especially, looked pale. I asked the classmate in front of me, “What’s with everyone today?” She leaned backwards and whispered, “We’re screwed! YL Group’s CEO is our country’s wealthiest and most
I returned to school, knowing that Mom had it handled.The moment I entered the classroom, I noticed the weird looks my classmates cast on me. They looked at me the same way in my previous life. Once I sat down, Janice placed a cup of warm milk on my desk. Then, she left before I could reject her. The classmate in front of me turned around and asked, “Sylvia, are you really keeping Janice by your side? Everyone’s talking about your new pet these past few days.”Our classmates turned over with curiosity. Even the campus delinquent was glaring at me resentfully. My lips quirked. This was the same tactic Janice used last time. After I protected her last time, she repaid me by painting a target on my back. I have no reason to pity someone like this.I pursed my lips and scoffed. “No way. Why the hell would I take some bumpkin as a lapdog? I’d get a much more dignified breed if I really wanted one.”Catching a glimpse of Janice’s shirt behind the curtains, I raised my voice pu