Chapter 13
Emily was just about to refuse when Emma cut in, “Come with us. It’s been so long since you went shopping with me.”
Now that Emily was finally obedient, Emma planned to buy her a few outfits and handbags as a reward.
Emily had no desire to take part in the Bennetts warm family outing, but Lydia didn’t give her a chance to say no. She looped her arm through Emily’s and started leading her out the door.
Emily stiffened, wanting to pull her arm away-but she didn’t dare.
Two years ago, she’d learned the hard way that if she tried to shrug Lydia off, even with the gentlest motion, Lydia would fall to the ground.
And as always, someone from the Bennett family would just so happen to be passing by and witness the scene.
They’d rush to help Lydia up with concern all over their faces, then turn to Emily and curse her with venom and disgust. Sometimes they’d even shove her to the floor, saying it was time she learned a lesson.”
The worst time had been when Lydia fell down the stairs. That was the day Emily got tied up and sent to St. Gabriel Reform Academy.
And so, just like that, she was dragged out the door.
On the way. Emma and Lydia chatted and laughed like those mothers and daughters who’d always shared a close, loving
bond.
Emily trailed behind in silence, wearing a cheap, faded cardigan that didn’t match the elegance of the two women ahead of
her.
Emma glanced back at her-part sympathy, part rearf
The once-bright, proud Emily had clearly suffered in St. Gabriefs. But Emma believed that suffering was necessary. Without it, Emily wouldn’t have matured so quickly in just two years
She felt that sending Emily to St. Gabriel’s had been the right call
She gently patted Emily’s hand. “Now that you’re back, you and Lydia should get along. I know I’m not your birth mother, but in my heart, you’re still my daughter
“Lydia’s had a hard life. As long as you don’t try to compete with her, I’ll treat you both the same.
After all, Emma had doted on Emily for eighteen years. She didn’t want to give up on this daughter too easily.
In her mind, everything had gone wrong simply because Emily had been immature-always picking fights and trying to outshine Lydia. It was Emily’s own behavior that had forced her to be harsh.
Emily lowered her eyes, her face calm and unmoved by Emma’s words.
She’d heard such lines before—on her eighteenth birthday. Back then, not only had she listened, she’d believed it.
But in the end, the Bennetts sided with Lydia every time. They forced Emily to apologize again and again based on Lydia’s word alone, all under the guise of “It’s for your own good”
Hearing those words again now, Emily simply pulled her hand away. “Mrs. Bennett, please don’t joke like that. How could I ever compare to Ms. Bennett?
“I was foolish before. I thought that just because you’d raised me for eighteen years, I had the right to stand on equal footing
1/2
Chapter 13
with her. I won’t make that mistake again.”
What she’d gone through at St. Gabriel’s had taught her that no matter how many years they’d spent together, that bond would never outweigh blood ties. Thinking otherwise had been nothing but a naïve fantasy.
Now she was awake-and it was time the Bennetts realized that too. They needed to stop thinking she was always trying to “compete with Lydia.
Whether Emma understood her words or not, a flicker of panic crossed her face. It was as if something vital was slipping away, leaving her with a strange and unfamiliar sense of helplessness.
“Emily, wh-what do you mean by that?” she asked.
