As soon as I said those words, the entire room became quiet. Then the crowd broke into an uproar.

"Is Laura out of her mind? The Jackson family is the richest family in the country! Why does she want to sever all ties with them?"

"They've always said that Lily was the second daughter of the Jackson family, but it turns out that they're not related at all."

"Can't you all see? Lily didn't do anything, but Mr. and Mrs. Jackson still chose to comfort her first? Laura's arm was burned while trying to save them, but they didn't seem to care at all. Laura must have suffered a lot of grievance over the years."

All the journalists began gossiping about the dirty dealings of affluent families. The surprise was evident on Lily's face, but my parents furrowed their brows.

"What's the meaning of this, Laura? What are you playing at in front of so many people? Why did you tell everyone about Lily's true identity? Are you trying to ruining her and this family?"

I could tell the authority in my parents' voice.

If it had been in the past, I would definitely be scared and then apologize to beg for their forgiveness.

But now, I didn't want their pathetic love anymore. I had been dead once and had come to my senses.

I didn't need their love. I would just need to love myself.

"I was merely telling everyone the truth. There's no need for you to be angry, Mom, Dad. My wish is to leave the Jackson family. I hope everyone present today can bear witness to my decision, and I hope my parents will fulfill my wish."

Seeing that I had made up my mind, my dad, Bradley Jackson, slammed the table, my mom, Sophia Jackson, looked at me with eyes full of resentment, and Lily snuggled into Mom's arms with tears in her eyes.

"Why is Laura being so mean? She must want to use this method to make others think that we're mistreating her. Mom, Dad, I bet she won't really leave this family. She just wants to make me look bad!"

Mom trembled in anger as she pointed at me. "Laura Jackson! You're such an ungrateful bastard! How could you tell everyone about Lily's identity? Have you ever thought about how she would feel? Lily's kind and smart. She's the daughter of the Jackson family! As for you, you've set your eyes on our inheritance and even enrolled in a local university, and weren't willing to leave our side at all. That's because you were afraid that we'd favor Lily over you! I can't believe you're such a vicious person!"

I looked at my mom, who was pointing at me and criticizing me, and my heart ached.

I was unwilling to leave their side because Dad had a heart condition. There had to be someone at home to take care of him. I didn't trust Lily, so I chose to stay.

Lily had never hidden her desire to acquire our family's assets when she was in front of me. From what I knew, if Dad had a heart attack, she would definitely just sit back and not do anything.

I wanted to protect Dad.

Seeing that I had my head lowered and wasn't saying anything, Dad sneered. "Can't come up with anything to say now? Laura, did you think that we'd be worried about you and beg you not to go? To be honest with you, you're wrong! You've already told us what you want in front of everyone, so there's no going back now! We'll never forgive you and let you come back to us, even if you beg us!"

My heart ached even more as I raised my head to look at my dad in the eyes. "Don't get me wrong. When I said I wanted to sever all ties with you, it wasn't a threat or anything. I mean it."

Dad clenched his fists in anger, and the disgust was evident in his eyes.

"Alright then! Very well! Since that's what you want, then I'll grant you your wish! Laura Jackson, from this moment onwards, you're no longer a member of the Jackson family!"

All the journalists present didn't expect things to turn out this way. They looked at each other in a daze.

"Laura, why did you make such a wish?"

"Are your parents or Lily mistreating you? The Jackson family is the richest family in the country. You did a good thing. Why are you punishing yourself by severing all ties with the Jackson family?"

I smiled softly and used my hands to push back the microphones that were stuffed in my face and just left.

Behind me were the discussion of the journalists and the shouting of my parents.

"Did you really think this little act of yours was convincing, Laura? I've already seen through your little tricks! You're just doing this to get our attention, right? When you applied for a local university, I knew you just wanted to cling to us for the rest of your life and so that you could bully Lily?"

That was when Lily's voice sounded. "Laura's just trying to ruin my reputation in front of the cameras. Mom, Dad, you've got to explain things to everyone for me!"

When I turned a corner, only journalists who sensed gossip followed me. No one from the Jackson family came after me.

I refused to answer any questions.

I then took out my phone and started looking for the number of the University of Quiles' Admissions Department.

"I'm sorry, I regret turning you down before. Is it too late for me to apply to go to the University of Quiles?"

The person on the other end of the line was stunned at first, but quickly became overjoyed. "You're Laura Jackson? Back then, I tried my best to convince you to come to our university, but you insisted on going to an ordinary local university. Why did you suddenly change your mind? It's already past the application deadline, so technically speaking, you won't be able to enroll at our university anymore, but I'll talk to my superiors and see if there's any other way."

I was overjoyed when I heard those words and quickly thanked the person on the other end of the line.

Over the past couple of years, I had always tried to prove that I was better than Lily and let my parents see how good I was, so I had always given myself high standards.

But what I didn't expect was that when I came home with my top exam results, my parents had already gone on holiday with Lily.

I called them to tell them the good news, but my parents said angrily, "You knew Lily didn't do so well in her exams, why are you still trying to upset her by bringing up the exam results? Just hang up already! You're making Lily upset for no reason! So what if you've got good grades? You're still a useless country bumpkin!"

Those memories were so overwhelming that I found it difficult to breathe.

Just when I felt suffocated, my phone rang.

"Laura, I've spoken to my superiors and was able to get you a chance to make a transfer! Congratulations! You'll be able to enroll with us in two weeks' time!"

After hearing those words, I finally felt relieved. Tears began streaming down my cheeks.

It was tears of joy. I could finally leave this city and the Jackson family.

I thanked the staff from the University of Quiles and was about to head home to get the necessary documents to make the transfer.

What I didn't expect was that when I opened the door, the house was filled with dazzling lights. It was a party.

Lily was wearing heavy makeup and was swaying coquettishly to the music. All the boys and girls looked at me simultaneously when I opened the door.

Seeing that it was me, Lily turned off the music and furrowed her brows.

"Well, Laura, what are you doing at my house?"

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her, so I went back to my room.

"I came back to get my own ID and documents. It's none of your business."

Lily grabbed my wrist, and the anger was evident in her eyes.

"Let me get this straight. This is my house, not yours! What right do you have to come to my house and take things that don't belong to you? Did you regret what you said at the press conference and come to apologize to Mom and Dad? It's a pity that they're at the airport right now. I'm in charge now, so get out of my house!"

With that said, she pushed me to the ground. I didn't hesitate to get back up and fight back.

Seeing that I actually dared to fight back, Lily was infuriated.

"Are you all blind? You guys leech off me all the time, and now you're not helping out?"

With that said, the crowd surrounded me and began beating me up.

Seeing that I was at a disadvantage, I tried to leave, but Lily grabbed my hair.

"You've been kicked out of the Jackson family, Laura! And now you come back to my house and try to steal things? You deserve a beating, you thief!"

Amongst the chaos, someone smashed a beer bottle on my head. My vision became blurred by the warm blood.

Seeing that my face was covered in blood, Lily screamed. Then I was thrown out of the house.

Before I lost consciousness, I heard Lily's trembling voice.

"Oh no. She'd better not die. If anybody asks, just say Laura tried to beat me up, and I was just defending myself. Got it? Throw her into the back alley. Not many people would go there. That way, we won't be responsible if she dies from excessive bleeding."

When I opened my eyes again, all I could see was white walls.

My grandma, who had been living alone in the countryside, was sitting next to me.

"Bradley, you bastard! Your daughter is now hospitalized because of your adopted daughter! What the hell are you doing right now? How could you not come and check on your own daughter?"