Dressed in a stunning white gown, I arrived at the graduation ceremony with my friends by my side. As we entered the grand hall, I heard Scarlett Reed and her posse burst into laughter. “Look at her! Is she trying to force someone into marriage? I’ve never seen such a desperate woman,” Scarlett sneered. Scarlett Reed was the heiress to Reed Mining Corp. As an only child born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was the epitome of a spoiled princess. She was also my rival in love, having pursued my boyfriend Liam for over two years. My roommate Luna Taylor wanted to stand up for me, but I held her back. I smiled at the group of mean girls, unfazed. “Hey Scarlett, has your hair grown back yet?” The last time Scarlett and her gang cornered me in the ladies’ room, intending to bully me, I turned the tables on them. I knocked Scarlett to the ground, pressed her face against the floor, and swiftly plucked a bald spot on the back of her head. After all, I had plenty of experience plucking chickens during my part-time job at a restaurant kitchen. Perhaps recalling that painful memory, Scarlett’s face darkened. She pointed at me, speechless with rage. “Aria, Liam’s here,” Luna whispered, tugging at my sleeve. I turned to see Liam Foster walking in from the entrance. He looked dashing in a crisp black suit, carrying a large bouquet of roses. My heart raced as he approached. But as he drew closer, he brushed past me without even a glance, as if I were a stranger. In that moment, I froze. I heard gasps and exclamations from the crowd around us. A sense of foreboding washed over me. I turned to see Liam presenting the roses to Scarlett. Scarlett accepted the flowers with a smug smile, feigning shyness while unable to hide her triumph. Liam smoothly dropped to one knee, pulled out a ring, and proposed to Scarlett. Scarlett eagerly accepted, urging Liam to put the ring on her finger. After slipping on the diamond, she dramatically waved her hand, deliberately showing off to me. When our eyes met, Scarlett, like a victorious conqueror, wrapped her arms around Liam’s neck and kissed him passionately. In an instant, my blood boiled. My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles cracked. I glared at the man before me with ice-cold eyes, then swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face. Used to manual labor, I had quite a bit of strength. The force of the slap made Liam stagger. A clear red handprint appeared on his right cheek, swelling up immediately. “Congratulations on your study abroad opportunity. Here’s a little sendoff gift. Enjoy the fireworks,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Aria Bennett, have you gone mad?” Scarlett lunged at me. I grabbed her by the hair at the back of her head and yanked her backward. Unfortunately, it was a hair extension that came off in my hand, exposing her bald spot. It seemed she had been too busy stealing my boyfriend to get hair implants. The onlookers wasted no time snapping photos of the heiress’s shiny bald patch. She screamed, frantically trying to cover the back of her head. Liam rushed to protect Scarlett, taking off his suit jacket to shield her. But I wasn’t about to let him have his way. I tossed aside the fake hair, grabbed Scarlett’s elbow with one hand, and kicked Liam away with my other foot. The kick sent him crumpling to the ground with a cry of pain. At that moment, the rose-tinted glasses I had worn for him for eight years shattered into a million pieces. I looked at the pathetic Liam with disgust, wondering how I could have loved him for so long. “Aria Bennett, you just wait! I won’t let you off easy, you orphan bitch!” Scarlett, completely oblivious to the situation, continued to shout and stir up trouble. I slapped her hard across the face twice. “There, now you two have matching couple looks,” I said. With that, I tossed her aside like garbage, right next to Liam. Liam hurried to help Scarlett up. “Scarlett, I dumped Liam. If you like my trash, feel free to pick it up,” I said. My eyes blazed as I looked at the cheating couple, lamenting the eight years I had wasted. The hall was buzzing with whispers, and people were secretly taking photos. Soon this drama would become the talk of the town. Becoming the subject of gossip probably wouldn’t sit well with Liam. He had worked so hard to stay at the university and secure a visiting scholar position. Now his reputation was in tatters. He must be devastated. After all, Liam had always been extremely prideful since childhood. Having achieved my goal, I dusted off my hands and made a graceful exit. Once outside, I made a phone call, my heart heavy with sorrow. The call was quickly answered. I forced myself to sound cheerful: “Ethan, can you come pick me up and take me home?” Ethan Bennett, on the other end, immediately sensed something was wrong. He asked urgently, “What happened? Who bullied you?” Knowing he couldn’t see me, I still shook my head: “It’s nothing. I just miss you all and want to go home.” Ethan didn’t press further: “Alright, where are you?” I heard him sternly instructing his secretary to pause the meeting, then he said to me softly, “Wait there, I’ll come get you right away.” I was the long-lost daughter of the wealthy Bennett family, and the beloved little sister of the overprotective Ethan Bennett. I should have grown up like Scarlett, cherished like a precious gem. Instead, I had struggled to survive in foster care, like a weed. Life works in mysterious ways. After the high school fire, the hospital’s test results matched my biological information with data in the missing persons database. When I woke up in the hospital room, I opened my eyes to see Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and Ethan keeping vigil by my bedside. Their eyes were full of concern and joy at finding their lost child. They said they were my family. During my hospital stay, they went to great lengths to nourish me back to health, constantly bringing me ginseng, bird’s nest, and all sorts of nutritious foods and soups. But I felt awkward and wary of these suddenly attentive family members who had appeared out of nowhere. I was very uncomfortable. I didn’t believe anyone would be kind to me without reason. Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, I avoided them by hiding in Liam’s hospital room. Liam sat in bed, looking pale but focused on his studies. Seeing me, his eyes lit up and he warmly invited me to sit down. He handed me all the canned peaches, apples, and milk that the foster care director and staff had pooled money to buy for him. At the time, I foolishly thought that this heartfelt gesture worth a few dollars was more precious than millions of dollars worth of supplements. Back in foster care, Liam and I had been very close. That’s because he was the one who had brought me to the foster home. According to the director, I was about 5 years old at the time, barely clinging to life due to a high fever. Fortunately, I pulled through. But I had forgotten all my memories from before arriving at the foster home. “Aria, we’re both unwanted children. From now on, we’ll rely on each other,” Liam had said. He told me I was a gift sent to him from heaven, so he gave me a new name: Aria Bennett. Because we would be together forever, day after day. The ugly burn scar on his elbow made me even more devoted to him for his self-sacrificing rescue. “Aria, let’s be together,” he said. It was the third time he had asked as I carefully changed his bandages. His gaze was intense. I felt shy under his stare, but finally nodded. He hugged me tightly with joy, as if wanting to merge me into his very bones. “Aria, we’ll be together morning and night, forever,” he said. I was hopelessly trapped in Liam’s web of love. And because Liam had always resented the wealthy and put on airs about being above it all, I deliberately kept my distance from my newly found family. Who could have imagined that it would be Liam, the one who claimed to love me so deeply, who would betray our relationship! Men’s words are full of lies. Seeing me return home with Ethan made Mr. and Mrs. Bennett happier than anyone. The elderly couple personally prepared a big feast. Mom held my hand, her eyes reddening, repeating over and over: “My dear girl, I’m so glad you’re back.” I couldn’t help feeling wistful. The strong front I had put up all day crumbled at that moment. I hugged Mom and burst into tears. Dad, Mom, and Ethan were heartbroken. They cursed Liam vehemently. My brother Ethan rolled up his sleeves, ready to go teach Liam a lesson. He made me laugh through my tears. Seeing me smile, Dad also started making declarations to help me get revenge. “Sweetheart, I’ll send someone to Reed Corp to water their money tree to death,” he said. “Why not overfeed their koi fish while we’re at it?” Ethan chimed in. “Reed Corp just started a livestream channel. We could cut their power so they can’t broadcast,” Dad suggested. Dad and Ethan went back and forth like a comedy duo. I gradually relaxed. This was my real family.
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