Xylia nced up. It was Ziggy Schultz, the eldest son of the Schultz family. Dressed in ck, he took a seat with natural case, sharp eyes glinting, a faint smile on his lips. His gaze flicked to Xylia, then he frowned. “Why is she here?”


    Xylia pressed her lips together and stayed silent. She had known since childhood that Ziggy had never liked her.


    Meanwhile, Tessa naturally grabbed his arm and said, “It’s Dad’s birthday<i>. </i>Of course she should be here. Ziggy, I was starving, so I started eating first. You’re not mad at me, right?”


    The usually stern Ziggy let out augh and gently flicked Tessa’s nose. Watching the siblings‘ easy affection, Xylia felt a pang in her chest. She had once admired him so much.


    From a young age, he showed great promise, founding his ownpany and single–handedly lifting the Schultz family to sess. Yet no matter how hard she tried, he remained cold toward her.


    She had assumed he was just distant by nature. But after Tessa returned, he became so openly affectionate with his real sister. Xylia let out a bitterugh. ‘Of course. Blood runs thicker than


    water.’


    Nearby, Gia smiled as she added food to Tessa’s te. “How’s your dancepetition prep going?” she asked gently. “Feeling confident?”


    The mention of dancing pricked at Xylia’s heart like a hidden thorn. Thatpetition, the very one Tessa was preparing for, had once been her own childhood dream. Only now, her dancing days were over.


    Tessa’sughter tinkled as she cast a sidelong nce at Xylia. “Almost ready,” she said breezily, “just a few tricky parts left.”


    With deliberate sweetness, she ced a serving of fish on Xylia’s te. “Xylia, could you give me some advice? Even if you can’t dance anymore, you know all the techniques by heart.”


    Xylia stared at the fish on her te, then dumped it into the trash without blinking. “I’m allergic to fish,” she said coldly. “I can’t eat this.” They all knew it. They just didn’t care enough to remember.


    As a child, Xylia had once eaten fish by ident. Her throat swelled within minutes. The fever that followed burned so high she needed twenty–four hours of IV fluids. She still remembered Gia clutching her through the hospital night, tears soaking into her hair.


    Yet the next meal was fish again. Gia imed exposure would build immunity. Later, Tessa returned to the Schultz family. She loved fish, so every dinner became fish–centric. Not a


    :


    single meal since had ever considered Xylia’s needs.


    <b>75 </b>


    <b>55 </b>vouchers


    Yves lost his temper. His fist crashed onto the table. “After all these years raising you,” he snarled, “have you forgotten every bit of decency we taught? If you can’t eat it, leave it be. Save your theatrics.”


    Xylia opened her mouth to defend herself, but didn’t know what to say. They had spent years treating her like air, dismissing her needs and silencing her thoughts. Now that she had a mind of her own, their outrage, of course, erupted like a sudden storm.


    ‘Forget it,‘ Xylia thought. ‘Just three more months and I’ll be home. Whatever the Sadler family is like, they’re my real family bound by blood.’


    “Xylia didn’t mean it,” Tessaughed, filling Xylia’s ss with milk. “Maybe she’s just upset because I’mpeting while she can’t dance anymore.”


    Her small white teeth shed, eyes glinting with yful provocation. “You’re not mad at me, are you, Xylia?”


    Xylia couldn’t drink milk either. She felt a surge of irony in her heart, “How could I be? When I first started dancing, I won an award in thispetition.”


    ‘If I hadn’t given up my dance career for family, if my legs hadn’t been crippled, Tessa would still be just another nobody in the audience,‘ she thought.


    Gia gave a dismissive sniff. “Don’t listen to her nonsense. How could she everpare to you?”


    “Yeah, Tessa is the best dancer,” Sonny chimed in cheerfully. “My mom is just a housewife. I’ve never even seen her dance.” Blinking his eyes, he asked Yves, “Grandpa, was Mom actually good back then?”


    “It was just a stroke of luck when she was young. If we’re being honest, she can’t hold a candle to Tessa now,” Yves said, patting Sonny’s head.


    Xylia’s hands clenched until her nails bit into her palms. Back then, she had danced through bloody toes and worn–out shoes. They had seen it all, yet they attributed her hard–earned sess to pure luck.


    Her gaze lifted, icy with realization. “If I had been lucky,” she said slowly, “my legs wouldn’t have been ruined.” Then she suddenlyughed, her tone light, as she turned to Connor, “Don’t you agree, Connor?”


    Connor’s eyes flickered with difort. His lips thinned into a tight line, face hardening like stone. “You’re overreacting, Xylia,” he said, voice edged with disapproval. “Tessa just wanted your advice. None of us expected what happened to you.”


    75


    55 vouchers


    Xylia stared at his hypocritical face, a bitterugh rising in her throat. The whole family was nothing but a den of vipers, every second in this house turning her stomach. Shoving her chair back, she stood abruptly. “I’ve lost my appetite.”


    Gia’s expression darkened. “How dare you!” she exploded, mming her palms on the table. “Throwing tantrums at the people who raised you? We may not be your blood, but you owe us everything!”


    “Don’t take everything so personally, Xylia,” Tessa chimed in. “Can’t we just be a happy family? Why so much bitterness? You pushed me into the pool before you got locked up, and I even kept it from Mom. Three months in jail should’ve taught you some remorse.”


    Xylia’s brow furrowed. She and Tessa had barely spoken privately before jail. “I didn’t push you,” she said coldly. But her words was suddenly cut off by Connor.


    “Enough,” Connor’s voice cut through the air, his deep–set eyes unreadable. With deliberate control, he set his fork down. The metallic clink against porcin echoed sharply. His words then fell like stones. “Xylia, apologize to your mom and Tessa.”


    The air turned to lead in Xylia’s lungs. Lips pressed into a white line, she held her silence.


    “It’s all your fault,” Sonny said. “You’re just a nasty old hag. You don’t deserve to be my mom.” A deafening silence swallowed the dining room.


    Xylia’s gaze flicked across the table. A hollowugh escaped her. “Why the hell should I?” With one sharp motion, she sent tes crashing to the floor and strode out. Behind her, Gia’s curses and the family’s uproar faded into white noise. She finally felt a sense of relief.


    After years of walking on eggshells around the Schultzes and breaking her back to please them, she still couldn’t earn their love. Even her own husband and son didn’t say a word in her defense.


    ‘I should’ve left this family years ago. The thought shed through her mind as she shoved the door open. Cold air whipped through her hair, carrying an unexpected lightness with it.


    Then footsteps echoed behind her. Before she could turn, a vise–like grip mped around her


    wrist.