Chapter 31: Chapter 31

I once questioned Michael why he felt entitled to make such a decision.

He replied, “Simply because you’re living and eating under my roof. You won’t be able to repay the kindness my family showed you throughout your entire life. It’s just a student exchange spot. How dare you yell at me?”

That day, I sat on the ground dejectedly and felt like an abandoned stray dog.

Jack wrapped his arms around Eva, the person who stole my spot, and walked toward me. They proceeded to trample on me with the cruelest words.

Eva said, “Stephanie, you’re really worthless. Mike’s affection should only be reserved for my sister, not someone as unworthy as you. You’re nothing more than a stain in Mike’s life.”

Jack kicked me and added, “Mike said the thing he regretted most was having Aunty Lois adopt you.”

I sat there, and my body gradually stiffened.

“Stephanie, I’ll kill you if you dare breathe a word to Mike,” Jack threatened me.

“Don’t worry. Even if she did, Mike wouldn’t believe her. Nobody would believe a woman like her.”

Eva strutted away proudly, holding a bag that Michael had gifted Yasmin. The bag was easily worth tens of thousands.

Michael always claimed I owed him and the Fords.

Throughout these years, my living expenses at the Fords and tuition fees only totaled a few tens of thousands. I had a scholarship that essentially waived my tuition and covered my living expenses.

I would rather work night shifts in 24–hour convenience stores than spend any of the Fords‘ money.

What I owed Michael was nothing more than my parents‘ funeral expenses and the penalty he had paid off for my family for not honoring the business contract. The workers were compensated using my parents‘ death compensation and the sale of the house.

I knew I owed Michael a significant amount of money. Still, even if it was substantial, it couldn’t compare to the amount Michael spent on Yasmin, her family, and friends.

I vividly recall when I fell sick in my junior year. I had encephalitis and fainted on the school field.

Despite my high fever, Michael insisted that I perform a physical fitness test on behalf of Eva.

I told him I was suffering from my fever, but he remained persistent. “Stephanie, it won’t kill you to 1. go.

I couldn’t argue. I’ve always remembered he said, “Stephanie, you owe me“.

I just thought of it as repaying what I owed.

Lightheaded, I got up from the bed and went to the field.

That day, I fainted halfway through the half–mile run. My elbows and forehead stung from the scrapes.

The doctor called me crazy and said that I didn’t value my life for attempting a physical test with a 10% -degree fever.

Due to this incident, the school discovered that Eva had someone else take her physical test. They canceled her qualification for the student exchange program.

That day, Michael rushed into the hospital ward with a gloomy face. He nearly yanked me off the bed.

“Stephanie, I didn’t know you were so cunning. How could you do this to Yasmin’s sister just because she got the spot?”

He had called me cunning and calculating, but he never once acknowledged my hospitalization due to encephalitis.

My encephalitis almost took half my life. I desperately needed money for the hospital treatment, or I would die. However, my living expenses for that month were not sufficient to cover my expensive medical bills.

I had begged Michael to lend me money for the treatment. I promised to repay him after I recovered and started work.

However, he only gave me a look of disgust. “Stephanie, you’re still pretending at this point. It’s such a waste that you’re not an actress.”

My head throbbed as I dropped onto the ground.

“If you want money, fine. Show me what you’re willing to do for money.”

Michael grabbed my hair and sneered, “What did you exchange in return for asking Jack for money before? I have already told you to come to me if you need money. How can you be so dirty?”

I stared at him blankly and explained, “I didn’t ask him for money.”

“You’re still making excuses. You’ve been full of lies since you were a child!”

He pushed me away and leaned against the wall. “Stop acting if you want the money. Leave, I’m not interested in having you around.”

I lowered my head as my tears fell.

He repeatedly called me dirty and vented his anger on me.

That night, my fever didn’t go away. I bled from both nostrils and collapsed in the hotel bathroom.

The janitor discovered me the following day and took me to the hospital.

I could’ve died if it had been any later.

Yet Michael never gave me any money. Left with no alternative, I phoned Rachel. She hurried over from the hospital.

She begged her father, who had never supported her ever since her parents‘ divorce, for five thousand dollars.

Rach and I both sacrificed our dignity, all for the sake of five thousand dollars.

We shared laughter and tears in the ward without uttering a word.

I knew she was the only one I had.

On the day of my discharge, I ran into Michael at the hospital. He appeared somewhat fatigued as he moved in and out of the inpatient department.