Chapter 2
I didn’t give up trying.
At first, I thought if Bennett discovered I was actually a good kid, he’d come to like me.
So I threw myself into my studies. Every semester, I was named an outstanding student and earned countless honors.
But it was useless.
Ruby would send Bennett this good news, but he never replied.
Later, some classmates started bullying me. One boy laughed and asked, “You say your dad is Bennett? Liar! How could you possibly be the daughter of Lewis Group’s CEO?”
Another boy chimed in, “During parent–teacher conferences, neither of your parents showed up. You’re just an orphan.”
I got into a fight with them and crashed into the display case by the playground.
The glass shattered. One panicked student grabbed a shard and viciously slashed my arm.
*****
At the hospital, I overheard those kids‘ parents whispering among themselves.
A man agreed, “Then we’ll just give her some money and call it
even.”
Another man suggested, “Why don’t we talk to the principal about having her expelled? Otherwise, if she starts spreading rumors at school, it’ll damage our children’s reputations.”
I lay in the hospital room, my expression numb.
Protecting one’s children is human instinct.
I didn’t blame these parents for wanting to sacrifice me for their kids‘ futures.
If anything, I envied those children.
Suddenly, the whispered conversations stopped, replaced by panicked voices: “Mr. Lewis?”
Bennett had arrived at the last moment.
Behind him followed Luke with his cold, professional demeanor, lawyer Jacob Miller, and Principal Aaron Collins wearing an ingratiating smile.
“I understand your point completely. This was our school’s negligence,” Aaron said nervously. “I’ll handle the perpetrators severely and have them expelled.”
Bennett nodded coldly. Luke and Jacob stayed outside to handle the aftermath while he pushed open the hospital room door and walked in alone.
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My heart had never felt so warm. In that moment, I felt like the ice between Bennett and me was finally going to melt.
I called out to him through tears: “Dad.”
But the next second, I froze, because I saw Bennett looking at me with incredibly cold eyes.
“Stella, you’re really something,” he said flatly. “Are you going to pull the same stunt your mother used to?”
Much later, Ruby told me that Valentina had once hired two men to harass her, then called Bennett crying to gain his sympathy.
“How much did you pay those classmates to put on this act with you?” Bennett stared at me grimly, his eyes filled with merciless scrutiny.
I felt all the blood in my body turn cold instantly. “I didn’t.”
Bennett said coldly, “Stella, tell the truth.”
“I really didn’t.” I cried. I had no way to prove my innocence, feeling nothing but grievance.
Bennett looked at me with disappointment for a while, then said quietly, “I thought you’d be different from her. Now I see you’re becoming more like her every day.”
Then he turned and strode out of the room.
place in the room.
So he walked alongside Bennett, constantly praising me: “So Stella is your daughter. She really does take after you.
“Just like you, she gets first place on every exam, writes
exceptionally well, and her writing style bears some resemblance to yours from back then.”
Bennett’s footsteps paused slightly.
But immediately after, he let out a laugh and said, “That’s useless.”
Then his footsteps resumed, gradually fading away.
I grew up from one Christmas to the next.
Every Christmas, I would try everything I could to get Bennett to spend my birthday with me.
I came close to succeeding several times, but Bennett never showed up in the end.
He would have Luke deliver gifts to me, each one more expensive than the last. He would also order handmade cakes worth thousands of dollars and have Luke bring them over.
Maybe in front of others, Bennett still needed to put on the act of being a loving father.
But he himself never came, not once.
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11:23
troublemaker.
If I behaved well and worked hard, he thought I was putting on
an act.
If I had a high fever and was hospitalized, he thought I was faking illness to gain sympathy.
No matter what I did, in his eyes, I was always wrong.
Ruby retired due to her advanced age, leaving me alone in the
house.
When I got tired of studying, I would watch TV.
On TV, he was appearing on a family variety show with Violet and their son Dylan Lewis.
Violet was his young love from years ago. After Samuel died, Bennett finally got to be with her as he had wished.
He had invested a lot of resources in her. The once unknown actress had now become a famous star with many fans.
The three of them appeared on variety shows together. Bennett was handsome and wealthy, Violet was beautiful and gentle, and Dylan was lively and adorable–they looked absolutely perfect.
I felt happy for Dylan, thinking he had the most blessed family in the world.
Dylan was indeed very happy. Although Bennett was busy every day, he still made time to help Dylan with homework, build 11:23
The screen was filled with envious comments.
[Mr. Lewis is truly the best dad in the world.]
[I’m so jealous of Dylan. I wish I had a dad like that too.]
I smiled and turned off the TV.
Tomorrow would be my eighteenth birthday.
This was my last chance. If I still couldn’t complete the mission, I would be eliminated by the system.
I picked up my phone and called Bennett.
I called several times, but he didn’t answer.
So I had to leave a voice message: “Dad, please, a person only has one eighteenth birthday in their lifetime.
Throughout my entire childhood, every time I had a birthday, you never showed up. Could you just spend this one birthday with me?
Otherwise, I’ll die.”
After a long time, a voice reply appeared on my phone screen.
With trembling fingers, I opened it.
Bennett’s voice was cold and mocking: “So now you’re even resorting to threats? Then go ahead and die.”
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