I felt my body go ice cold. I had become the old man’s plaything.

He said that if he was not poor, he would not have purchased me who had already given birth.

He told me to give birth to a daughter so he would have someone to fool around with when she got older.

I was drenched in cold sweat. I knew that if he did not die, my life would be a living hell.

My fingernails that used to flip musical scores were all broken.

I clenched my teeth and used all my might to strangle the old man.

However, I got slapped in return.

He stepped on my abdomen and beat me with all he had.

He cursed me for being disobedient and invited all the other single men in the village to his place.

I was terrified and cursed them all to burn in hell.

Days passed as my attempts to kill myself failed continuously.

I was slowly going insane.

Finally, my bodyguard appeared. He always looked so serious.

He brought the police with him.

He also sent me to a mental hospital.

I did not know what it felt like to die.

But I knew how it felt like to live in hell. I had gotten a good taste of it for over ten years.

I felt wronged. If I had another chance, I would make them go through what I had been through!

The sound of glass breaking pulled me back to reality.

I saw shattered glass on the floor when I went downstairs.

The piano that I practiced on every day was covered in orange juice.

Lynn wrapped her arms around my mother’s neck as she said in a timid and soft voice, “Mom, I didn’t break the bottle on purpose. I just wanted to take a look at the piano. Will Harper be mad at me?”

She bit her lower lip to pretend that she was scared and made her voice tremble.

She saw me in her peripheral vision and cocked an eyebrow at me tauntingly.

If I had noticed that in my last life, things would have been different.

She was hostile toward me. From the moment she returned home, she was planning to take everything away from me.

I sat down before the piano and stared at it.

Music started to play as my fingers danced on the keys.

“It’s fine if the piano’s ruined. You have just returned home, so let me play a song to welcome you back…”

Lynn’s expression changed when she heard the melody.

She charged forward and grabbed my collar before she started to hit me.

My mother was shocked. She did not expect her long-lost daughter to be a savage.

My father rushed over and stopped Lynn.

It was only then that Lynn calmed down.

She looked guilty as she hung her head and apologized to my parents.

A hint of disappointment flashed across my mother’s eyes when she looked at me, who was playing the piano, and then at Lynn.

I did not stop playing the familiar piece.

My parents did not know why Lynn had such a sudden breakdown.

However, I knew the reason why.

There was not much entertainment in the village. In the evening, the speakers would play a piano tune to indicate that it was nighttime and everyone should go home.

Then, moaning could be heard from each house.

At Lynn’s age, she could already be a mother in the village.

Hence, she was frightened when she heard that melody. It transported her back to her nightmare.

I smiled brightly and slowly walked toward Lynn.

I touched her face. “You’ll get used to it in time. I play the piano every day!”

Lynn slapped my hand away with red eyes.

She was trying to contain herself.

I smiled, but I felt cold inside.

This was only the first day. She was going to have a hard time containing herself from this day onwards.

My mother looked at us: her obedient adopted daughter and her savage biological daughter, and wiped tears with her sleeves.

My father sighed and slowly said, “Lynn, you’re no longer in the village. You should work on your temper.”

Only I knew that a person’s temper could only change under extreme duress and that person be turned into an obedient pet.

The doorbell rang and stopped our conversation.

A servant went to open the door and came back with a huge bouquet of red roses.

She passed the roses to me excitedly. “William sent you such a big bouquet of roses despite the fact that he’s going to see you soon. It’s so hard to find such a good boyfriend!”

My smile froze when I heard the sender’s name.

I snapped myself out from my thoughts and pretended to stomp my foot in embarrassment. “Don’t be silly. Quickly throw the flowers away. What if there are insects in them? They’ll scare Lynn!”

My mother’s eyes were fixated on the red roses, and she seemed deep in thought.

Lynn had never seen such a big bouquet of roses. She stared at it greedily.

I would not give her anything that she wanted!

My mother came back to her senses first. She put her arm around my shoulder and advised, “Harper, I haven’t seen William in a long while. You should invite him to join us for dinner tonight.”

I was thinking the same as I secretly chewed the name.

“Alright, I’ll invite him so he can meet Lynn as well!”

William, the husband that my parents approved for me and my boyfriend, was asked to serve Lynn some food.

He glanced at my expressionless face as he hesitantly served a chicken drumstick to Lynn.

He said carefully with a charming smile on his face, “Lynn, you should try this tasty drumstick…”

Lynn took a bite obediently and smiled sweetly at William.

“It’s yummy! I also want…”

My father wanted to say something, but my mother stopped him.

She served the other chicken drumstick to Lynn.

Without looking up, my mother said, “You don’t have to worry about Harper. She prefers seafood. It’s all yours.”

It was then that I noticed there was not a single seafood dish. There was not even a vegetarian dish.

Lynn had to love to eat meat.

That made sense. In the village, she could only have meat when it was the new year.

She would have never had two chicken drumsticks in a single meal.

Looking at the meat feast, I felt a little nauseated.

I covered my mouth and left the dining table.

I heard Lynn ask in her high-pitched voice, “Is Harper pregnant?”

Of course I was not pregnant. How could I let that happen to me in this life?

However, Lynn should have a taste of getting pregnant out of wedlock and the nervousness that came with it.

It was a good day, so I took out a wine bottle from my father’s collection.

I then mixed a few different kinds of alcohol together.

Lynn looked at me excitedly when I returned. She bumped her elbow against my mother’s hand.

“Is Harper really pregnant?”

She widened her eyes and looked at me with a gloating expression.

My mother looked at me then William and frowned.

My family was very conservative, so my parents would feel embarrassed if I got pregnant before marriage.

My expression darkened.

“Do you think I’m that easy? I wouldn’t get pregnant before marriage.”

I placed wine glasses into Lynn and my mother’s hands. I put my arms around their shoulders and pretended to be close to them.

“I don’t want to get married just yet. I want to stay at home to accompany you and Lynn…”

My mother’s eyes turned red from having both her daughters by her side. She drank the wine in one go.

She sighed in pity when she looked at her biological daughter. “I don’t know when Lynn will be able to find a good husband and get married!”

I held my own wine glass as I watched them drink and converse.

I told myself to be patient. It was going to be an interesting night!