I didn't reply to Karen's questions. I merely passed her my backpack, sat at the dining table, and fixed my gaze on the food. "I'm hungry already, so let's eat."

Karen was dumbfounded. She then walked right up to me with a spatula in her hand. She asked, "Why the rush, Madison? I mean, Calvin hasn't even come back yet!"

She then rubbed her hands together and looked past me at Drew. "I thought you were supposed to pick up Calvin. How could you come back here without him? What kind of father are you? I even made his favorite Atherian lobsters today!"

I noticed Drew standing beside me. He was frantically signaling at Karen with his eyes.

I threw the bowl and cutlery to the ground. The crash echoed through the room. Karen, who had been pacing around, finally stopped and stared at me in shock.

"I said it's time to eat! Is everyone deaf here?"

It went quiet all of a sudden. Luna, who had been cleaning the stairs, Karen, who had been talking incessantly, and Drew, who had been frantically signaling Karen with his eyes, were all struck silent.

"Who do you think is the real head of this household? If you're unwilling to perform the part you're paid for, then feel free to pack your things and move out of here."

I used to be too nice to the household staff at home, which led them to take advantage of me when I was gravely ill in my past life. It was only after I had been reborn that I realized that there would always be people who would take advantage of you—no matter how kind you were to them.

It was only then that Karen slowly lifted the lids from each dish, revealing that half of the over a dozen dishes were seafood. I immediately lost my appetite. I then pulled at the tablecloth, flipping all the steaming dishes onto the floor with a loud crash.

"I don't like what you made today. I want you to make me something else."

Upon seeing the mess on the floor, Karen nervously tugged at her apron in confusion and said, "I spent the entire afternoon cooking these dishes, Ms. Smith. If you don't want to eat them, I'm sure Calvin does! How can you behave so unreasonably?"

Karen was so distressed that she almost sank to the floor.

I had been allergic to seafood since I was a child, so it was never part of our meals. Karen had always kept this in mind and never cooked seafood. Yet, as Dad got busier with work and Callum went abroad for school, I was often left alone at home.

It was around this time that Karen started paying less attention to me, and Calvin started visiting our home regularly. It wasn't long before seafood dishes started appearing on the dining table, and they began testing my willingness to comply.

Moreover, Karen insisted that she was merely doing this for my own good by suggesting I gradually change my eating habits. Yet, despite knowing that I wouldn't take a single bite of it, seafood dishes continued to appear increasingly often on the dining table.

I tapped the dining table lightly with my cutlery to get everyone's attention. I then announced, "You're not needed here starting tomorrow, Ms. White. I'll be reviewing the household accounts, and any unaccounted spending will be directly deducted from your salary.

"And from now on, everyone will sit at separate tables during meals and stick to their jobs. If anyone were to step out of line, they'll face the same consequences."

Upon hearing that, Karen tugged at her apron while looking quite aggrieved. Yet, despite that, she didn't dare to utter a single word and quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor.

I glanced at the clock before heading upstairs to my room. Dad had gone out of his way to secure the best and most expensive private tutor available, and today was her scheduled visit for my lesson.

In my past life, Calvin had just transferred from a rural high school and was struggling academically, ranking at the bottom of the class. I paid the private tutor extra to tutor both of us, and it worked exceptionally well. Calvin's grades improved significantly, and he even became one of the top students in his class.

In the end, Calvin returned home with Dad, and with them was Holly Larson, a student my father had been supporting financially.

Holly and Calvin shared the same hometown. In my past life, when I was bullied and ostracized for writing love letters to Calvin, Holly was the only one who believed in my innocence. In those dark and lonely days, I regarded her as my closest friend. I offered her all my trust and affection.

In the end, I was unexpectedly dealt another harsh blow. I was struggling with my studies due to the bullying, and I was seriously considering transferring schools, yet Holly secretly reported me to the school for cheating on an exam.

In the face of the meticulously fabricated evidence, I couldn't even defend myself, which resulted in disciplinary action from the school.

Even Dad, who had been planning to transfer me to a new school, changed his mind after listening to Holly. He began to believe that I was the problem, leading to his growing disappointment in me.

It was only in my final moments that I learned that Holly not only had feelings for Calvin but also had a deep-seated resentment toward the wealthy. I realized that everything I had gone through was all orchestrated by her behind the scenes.

I could hear Dad's voice coming from downstairs before I even reached the stairs. He said, "I can't believe Madison would behave so unreasonably! How could she do something like that?"

"I don't think Madison did this on purpose, Mr. Latham. I mean, she comes from a privileged background, so it's understandable that she'd feel uncomfortable sharing a table with us. And besides, we're not that hungry, so let's give Ms. White some time to finish cooking."

Calvin and Holly were standing behind Dad. Their gazes were fixed on me as I made my way downstairs.

The moment my dad saw me, his anger dissipated significantly. He simply said, "Alright, come down and wash your hands. It's time for dinner soon."

I immediately threw my arms around Dad's neck, hugging him tightly like I used to when I was a child. I then said with a pout, "You're finally home, Dad! I hadn't eaten breakfast before heading to school, so I was really hungry. And since I didn't know where Calvin was, I decided to come home by myself first.

"I'm allergic to seafood, but Ms. White keeps making seafood dishes every day—even though I've reminded her countless times. I just got really upset and threw a tantrum. I didn't think she'd tell you about this, though."

Dad had been so wrapped up in his work after Mom's passing. He felt guilty about not being there for me, but he just didn't know how to express it—just like I did in my past life. In the end, Holly, with her ability to act cute and cheer him up, ended up becoming more like his daughter instead.

Upon hearing that, Dad wrapped his arms around me and gently patted my back. He then turned to Karen and said, "I've made it very clear on your first day of work that Madison is allergic to seafood. How can I entrust Madison's care to you if you can't even remember something this important?"

I was the only one who knew Dad was coming home, so Karen didn't have time to clean up the evidence of her cooking. Even though she had been the one who tattled on me earlier, she ended up facing the consequences of her own actions.

"It's alright, Dad. I don't think you should blame Ms. White for this. I mean, she is getting up there in age, so it's quite normal for her to forget things at times. I'll listen to her and eat what she cooks from now on."

Holly was taken aback. She thought that she was the only one who knew how to play the weak and submissive card.

Dad glared at Karen. He then pondered for a moment before saying, "I guess she is getting old. I'll find you someone younger, more reliable, and willing to follow orders."

Upon hearing that, Karen and Calvin turned to look at each other, with the latter gritting his teeth in anger.

I leaned against Dad's shoulder and subtly pulled him away from Holly.

It was just the three of us—Dad, Holly, and me, at dinner tonight, as Calvin didn't join us at the table.

Holly, who had always been in cahoots with Calvin, immediately started stirring up trouble. "Are you aware that Madison has become quite a well-known figure now, Mr. Latham? Her name's known all over the school now!"

Upon hearing that, Dad calmly set his cutlery on the dining table.

Holly was really getting into it, throwing out what seemed like a casual joke, but it was actually a veiled attempt to slander me. Her face lit up as she turned to me and said, "You should tell Mr. Latham—"

I cut her off mid-sentence and decided to turn the tables on her. "I'm pretty sure our classrooms are very far apart, so how do you know so much about me? You should be focusing on your studies instead, Holly. You're in the lowest C-class in the grade, after all.

"If you have so much free time on your hands, you should spend it doing some extra revision instead of engaging in such baseless rumors."