Five years ago, the Chen and Brooks families decided to arrange a marriage between their children through a random draw. Lucas Chen, who had always been fond of my younger sister, ended up being matched with me. After standing me up 99 times at the courthouse, he resolutely chose to go on a business trip to Kenya, a country with harsh living conditions. He left for five years. The day after he left, my sister Rachel abandoned her arranged fiancé and emigrated to Kenya as well. Five years later, Lucas returned to the country with Rachel and their daughter Lily. He arrogantly informed me: “Since we have to follow the arranged marriage rules, I will only marry Rachel.” “As long as you stay at home and take good care of her and Lily, I won’t embarrass you in front of others.” The man who was originally waiting for my response looked down at my daughter Emma, whom I was holding hands with, and suddenly smiled: “So you got pregnant after just one time? Looks like you have no choice but to agree now.” I covered Emma’s mouth as she was about to call him “Daddy” and whispered to her: “How about I find you a new daddy? Is that okay?”
Five-year-old Emma immediately understood my meaning. She jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her hands, and looked up at me to whisper: “Is it that handsome uncle who always takes me to the carnival?” I forced a smile and nodded at her. Seeing us smiling instead of getting angry, Lucas, who was affectionately holding little Lily, frowned, seemingly displeased: “What are you two whispering about?” Seeing that I had no intention of answering him, the man’s tone turned cold again: “It’s settled then. I’m sure you understand the situation. Rachel and I have known each other since childhood. You’re just getting in the way. Since you’ve given birth to my child, I won’t abandon you, but remember to behave yourself.” Emma and I had waited for Lucas for five years. I had to comfort her almost every day, telling her that her daddy was just working abroad and would be back soon. Countless times, I saw the longing in Emma’s eyes when she saw other children with their fathers. She even developed autism because of it. My heart ached as if it was being squeezed. If it weren’t for Rachel’s ex-fiancé taking care of us, Emma’s autism might have gotten worse. But after enduring these five years, what we got was Lucas returning with Rachel and their daughter, demanding that I become their housekeeper. Although Emma liked her new dad, seeing Lucas, her biological father, holding another little girl, she couldn’t help but show a pitiful expression of envy. Lucas noticed Emma’s gaze and handed Lily to Rachel before crouching down to caress Emma’s little face. But the next second, Lily ran over and scratched Emma’s face, leaving a bloody mark. She pouted arrogantly: “This is my daddy, you can’t steal my daddy!” Emma endured the pain with the scratch on her face, biting her lip to hold back tears. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Growing up without a father’s companionship had taught her to be strong beyond her years. She seemed to know that she didn’t have a father to stand up for her, but as her mother, my chest hurt so much I could barely breathe. I turned my gaze to Lucas, who remained unmoved. He instinctively shielded Lily behind him and defended her: “It’s just children being naughty. Are you really going to make a fuss over this? That’s enough.” Hearing his completely biased words, I lowered my head and laughed bitterly. Why did I still feel disappointed when I knew this would be his attitude… When Lily tried to run over to hit Emma again, Lucas stopped her with a look. She halted in her tracks. Rachel knowingly took Lily into her arms and deliberately raised her voice: “Don’t be angry, sweetie. Daddy built a princess fairy tale kingdom especially for your birthday, and even bought you a star. Even your little braids today were done by daddy. Of course, daddy only loves you, his one and only daughter.” After saying this, Rachel, who was crouching down, tugged at Lucas’s pant leg and blinked her eyes, asking: “Lucas, am I right?”
Lucas didn’t answer directly, but his tender gaze towards Rachel and Lily answered everything. Rachel, who had been gloomy because of Emma’s existence, suddenly became cheerful. She stood up and linked arms with Lucas. “Sis, we’re just comforting the child. Don’t take it seriously.” She emphasized the word “we” as if they were a loving couple who had been together for years. Emma heard about all those enviable father-daughter interactions that Rachel mentioned. The word “Daddy” that she had been holding back for five years was once again swallowed timidly. Lily straightened her back proudly and clamored to go see her grandparents. Lucas immediately picked her up lovingly. Before leaving, he glanced coldly at the red mark on Emma’s face and didn’t forget to instruct me: “Come to the family house tonight for Lily’s birthday celebration. Remember not to say anything unnecessary. Just say Emma bumped into something.” Watching the family of three laughing and joking as they got into the car, Emma finally showed her vulnerable and grieving side, mumbling: “Then let Uncle Ethan be my daddy. Mom never cries when she’s with him. I don’t want mom to be sad…” Hearing her say this, I realized that there were faint tear tracks on my face. After returning home, Emma eagerly called Ethan. He quickly responded: “It should have been this way long ago. Wait for me, Emma. Uncle will take the earliest flight back home.” I originally thought that no matter how much Lucas disliked me, he would at least treat his biological daughter well and take good care of Emma wholeheartedly. But now that he has Lily, he can no longer be a competent father to Emma. I think a stepfather might not necessarily be worse than a biological father. In the evening, Lucas personally drove back to pick up Emma and me. He leaned against the car, not even bothering to step into the marital home he hadn’t set foot in for five years. Seeing Emma’s face covered with a large bandage, Lucas made a move to check on her, but Emma dodged him. Although the child is young, she understands everything. I silently got into the car with my daughter, watching Lucas’s hands awkwardly freeze in mid-air. After a long while, he angrily sat in the driver’s seat and looked back at me dissatisfied: “Sophia, did you teach Emma to ignore me?” “I didn’t expect you to still be so jealous. Let me ask you, how long are you going to hold a grudge against me?” Perhaps in the past, I would have really been jealous and angry that he only had eyes for Rachel. But now, I just looked out the window and calmly reminded him: “Let’s go. If we’re late, everyone will be worried.” Lucas’s hand gripping the steering wheel unconsciously tightened, his knuckles gradually turning white. The journey was silent. We arrived at the Chen family house. The Chen family elders were very fond of Lily and were willing to give the entire family fortune to the mother and daughter. “Rachel, the chain of hotels under the Chen Group will be handed over to you in the future. Consider it our dowry for Lily.” Seeing my arrival, Rachel deliberately showed off the family heirloom jade bracelet on her wrist and quickly thanked them. Then she feigned surprise: “What about Emma? Shouldn’t the Chen family prepare a dowry for her too?” Just as the elders realized Emma’s existence and their faces flashed with embarrassment, Lucas casually interjected: “We’ve established a primary school in rural Kenya, Emma can…” Before he could finish, I directly interrupted him: “Lucas, keep it for yourselves. Emma doesn’t need it.”
Perhaps it was the first time he heard me call him by his full name, Lucas was stunned. Seeing this, Rachel tightly held onto Lucas’s arm and spoke in a sarcastic tone: “Sister must be angry, right? But after all, Lily is the legitimate heir of the Chen family. It’s reasonable for the elders to arrange things this way.” “However, as her aunt, I’ll definitely arrange a job for Emma in the future. I can’t bear to see her go hungry.” Lucas immediately smiled with doting eyes and pinched the woman’s chin: “I knew you were the kindest, always thinking of others no matter what.” Emma and I were squeezed into a corner, completely out of place with all the Chen family members. Of course, we were considered “others.” Seeing that we were not welcomed, even the servants began to gossip without restraint: “Knowing that the young master liked Rachel, she still shamelessly gave birth to a little burden. How shameless!” “Huh, anyway, the young master won’t marry her. The Chen family giving them food and shelter is like throwing scraps to beggars. If they want to stay, let them stay…” Everyone gathered around Lily, singing her happy birthday song and blowing out candles with her. Emma had always crouched outside the dining room window watching others celebrate birthdays as a family of three, but now that Lucas was back, she still could only watch from the side. After dinner, Lucas took Lily to the rooftop to watch the fireworks display. Rachel found me. “Sis, you shouldn’t have given birth to Emma. Do you really want to use a child to steal my happy family?” Looking back now, it’s laughable. If Lucas hadn’t made excuses to go on a business trip, promising to come back and fulfill our engagement, I wouldn’t have given birth to Emma. Seeing that I remained silent, the hatred in Rachel’s eyes became more obvious: “You know what? No matter how hard you try, even with a child, you can’t steal Lucas’s heart. I am the rightful Mrs. Chen!” As she spoke, the woman showed off the family heirloom jade bracelet on her wrist, smiling triumphantly: “Don’t you think it’s redundant for you and Emma to stay in the Chen family?” Then she began to grit her teeth: “I’m tired of beating around the bush with you. I’ll say it directly, take your bastard child and get out of the Chen family!” As soon as she finished speaking, a slap unexpectedly landed on my face. Emma heard the commotion and ran over, directly pushing Rachel away and standing protectively in front of me: “Don’t bully my mom!” Lily also rushed over to help Rachel, getting into a fight with Emma. The scene became increasingly chaotic. I originally wanted to quickly break up the fight, but Rachel held me back and even encouraged her daughter to scratch Emma freely. “Lily, don’t be afraid. Daddy will support you. Even if you scratch up a wild child like her, no one will care!” Lily completely inherited her mother’s viciousness, pinning Emma to the ground and bullying her without restraint. Until Emma couldn’t bear it anymore and used all her strength to push Lily to the ground, breaking free from the restraint. Unexpectedly, Lucas, who arrived late, saw this scene and without a word, slapped Emma across the face.
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