Eight years after I was brought back to the Codd family, I was finally allowed to show up at the family gathering.

That same night, the fake heiress—Jocelyn Codd, who had run away years ago—suddenly came back.

She said she had been depressed back then and that leaving was the only way she could survive.

But her running away from the wedding had cost my father his life. It had also humiliated the Heburn family, the family I had already married into.

None of that mattered. My mother shoved me aside even though I was pregnant. She grabbed the girl like she'd found something precious and broke down crying. "Sweetheart, blood or not, you're the only daughter I have."

I hit the floor. Marcus Heburn—the man I'd been married to for eight years—didn't spare me a glance.

His eyes were red. His voice trembled. "Joce, I never canceled that grand wedding. I've kept it just for you. This time, you're not running away."

A sharp pain rolled through my stomach.

And in that moment, I finally understood. Eight years of trying. Eight years of staying. None of it ever mattered.

If that's how it is, then I'm done with all of them.

***

"Mrs. Codd, the guest room is ready for Ms. Jocelyn—"

The new maid stepped forward, cutting into my mother's warm talk with Jocelyn Codd.

My mother's face turned cold at once. "She's the only daughter of our family. Since when does the owner stay in a guest room?

"I don't think you need this job anymore. Go see Linda and settle your pay."

"But Ms. Adira is staying in the guest room—"

Yes. Because I had always stayed in the guest room.

That was why the new maid naturally went to clean it.

She didn't know that the main bedroom on the fourth floor—the one I had never even stepped into—belonged to Jocelyn.

Even though she hadn't come home for eight years, the butler, Linda Barnes, still cleaned that room every single day.

The maid's excuse only made my mother angrier.

She turned back and cast a sideways glance at me, still sitting on the floor, and sneered. "What kind of 'young lady' is she?

"If she hadn't suddenly come back to claim her family ties, our family wouldn't have been torn apart like this!"

But it was clearly Jocelyn who ran away from her wedding. That was why my father had died of anger.

I used to think it was because my mother and I had been separated for so long that she just didn't know how to get along with me.

I never expected her to blame my father's death on me, too.

That was why she had always been so distant all these years.

I forced the tears back.

Ignoring the pain in my waist, I slowly pushed myself up. "Mrs. Codd, these years... I was immature.

"I'm sorry for the trouble. I'll move out in a few days."

When she heard how I addressed her, she froze for a moment.

Just as she was about to say something, Jocelyn cut in. "Addie, are you going to be a mom?"

She stared straight at my stomach. Everyone in the room panicked at once.

Marcus took a big step forward and blocked me behind him. "Joce, the grand wedding is still waiting for you. I'll take you to see it."

He led Jocelyn out of the Codd's residence.

I lifted my foot to follow, wanting answers, but he suddenly turned back and yanked me aside hard. "What are you doing? Joce has depression. Stop showing up in front of her and upsetting her!"

He lowered his voice, warning me. "And don't tell her about us."

"But we're already married, and our baby is almost here."

I couldn't help reminding him.

He didn't care at all. "It's just a fake marriage certificate. You actually believed it?"

I froze.

Back then, to calm the Heburn family's anger, my mother ignored my feelings and made me marry in Jocelyn's place.

We had no wedding. No rings. The marriage was kept secret from everyone.

The only proof was that marriage certificate I had carefully kept.

And now, he was telling me it was fake.

The tears I had just held back rushed out, all those years of staying suddenly worthless.

When Marcus's eyes swept over my swollen belly, he paused for a few seconds.

He gently tucked my hair behind my ear. Then his next words made my blood run cold. "After the baby is born, Joce will raise it.

"She's been drifting outside for years. Her body is weak. She can't handle childbirth."

The tears finally fell.

The doctor had once said my lower back had been badly injured. Pregnancy was already dangerous for me.

There was even a risk of paralysis.

And since the day I got pregnant, my back has hurt nonstop.

By late pregnancy, the pain was so bad I couldn't sleep night after night.

Thinking of that, I wiped my tears hard. "If the marriage certificate is fake, then I won't trouble you anymore, Mr. Heburn. I'll raise my own child."

Marcus stiffened. Then his eyes turned cold, his voice filled with anger. "Adira Codd, don't push your luck."

When he saw my eyes were still red, he clenched his fist. After a moment, he sighed and reached out, like he wanted to wipe my tears.

Before he could touch me, Jocelyn grew impatient outside the door and called out to him.

He pulled his hand back at once and said awkwardly, "I'll talk to you when I get back."

I watched him leave without looking back, then turned and went back to my room.

I hadn't even sat down when Mom walked in with a glass of milk.

In eight years, this was the first time she had ever entered my room.

Maybe what I said at dinner made her uncomfortable.

She glanced around, clearly searching for something to say. "You keep your room pretty tidy."

I had been beaten growing up. If I didn't do things right, I didn't get to eat.

I learned early to keep busy and do things right.

When I didn't respond, she pushed the milk closer to me, uneasy. "Leg cramps are common during pregnancy. Drink some milk. It's good for calcium."

Just then, the butler came in with something and saw the scene. She quickly pulled the milk back. "Ms. Adira is allergic to milk. She has to be extra careful now that she's in late pregnancy."

I looked at her, half-smiling.

Her face flushed with anger. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You're trying to embarrass me!

"No wonder. You didn't grow up with me. You've always been so cold—never close, never warm."

She forgot that whatever warmth I once had was drained by her years of ignoring me.

"Eight years ago, our family became the joke of the city," she said sharply.

"Now Joce is back, and you want to leave again? Do you want people laughing at our family forever?

"Don't forget—you're a Codd too!"

Her aggressive tone almost made me laugh.

So now I am part of the family?

In the eight years I lived here, she never once allowed me to appear at any event, big or small.

The first year, she claimed my speech was unrefined and that I'd embarrass them.

The second year, she said my posture wasn't right, that I didn't look the part.

The third year, she even said my birth chart was unlucky and would bring harm to guests.

Every year, she had a reason.

Once, a guest walked into the wrong room and ran into me. She told him I was the maid's daughter.

At first, I waited and hoped. Over time, I learned to accept it.

This New Year's, she finally asked me to help prepare the family dinner.

I was thrilled. I started planning a week early—shopping, cleaning, and arranging everything.

But what I got in the end wasn't approval. It was a mess on the floor.

Thinking of that, I let out a bitter smile.

And I finally asked the question that had haunted me for eight years.

"I'm your real daughter. Why is it that you—"

Before I could finish, headlights flashed downstairs.

We both looked out. Marcus was back, dropping off Jocelyn.

Mom sneered. "See that? You were with Marcus for eight years. He never brought you home once.

"But Joce is different. Even after being gone eight years, she still knows how to hold onto him.

"I raised Joce with care. Music. Art. Everything.

"She's my finest work."

It felt like a hole was torn open in my chest, cold wind rushing through.

Only after Jocelyn walked inside did Mom finally look at my face—the one that looked so much like hers.

Her tone softened. "After the baby is born, you can stay in here with the child.

"It'd be nice. The kids could grow up together."

So even the baby inside me wasn't truly acknowledged.

I dug my nails into my palm and forced my voice steady. "Mrs. Codd, my child doesn't need your concern.

"I'll have a lawyer draw up papers to cut ties. Don't worry. I won't take a single cent from the Codd family."

Mom exploded. She pointed her long nails at my nose. "Do you think I'm stupid?

"You rushed back home for one reason only—our money."

A sweet, spoiled voice suddenly came from the doorway. "Mom! Marc is taking me out for New Year's. I came back to change."

She shot me a look, full of challenge.

The woman who had just been glaring at me changed her face at once. "Come on, sweetheart. I'll help you pick something nice."

Watching them laugh together, I finally understood.

It wasn't that she didn't know how to love a child. She just never wanted to try with me.

I rubbed my tight stomach. I needed to pack and leave—fast.

I didn't own much. The clothes were easy. But my drawings and crochets—those I couldn't leave behind.

If I didn't have my crochet skills, I wouldn't even have the courage to leave the Codd family.

That's when I realized the most important sketch was still with Marcus.

At dawn the next day, I rushed to his house.

For eight years, he never allowed me to come here on my own. He never let me stay overnight either.

At this hour, he wouldn't be awake. As long as he didn't see me, I could grab the sketch and leave.

But the moment I found it, a woman screamed behind me.

I turned and met Jocelyn's eyes.

She wore a thin, sexy dress. Red marks covered her neck, proof of how wild the night had been.

"Adira? What are you doing here?"

Marcus heard the noise and ran downstairs.

After a brief pause, he saw the papers in my hand and rushed to explain. "Oh—right. I just remembered. There's an urgent file. I told Adira to deliver it to a client today."

But Jocelyn wasn't fooled. "You made a pregnant woman run errands for you? Let me see what kind of file is so important."

Before I could speak, she grabbed it.

Rip. The sketch tore in half.

"So it's just some trash drawing."

She looked at it once, then ripped the rest to pieces and threw it in my face.

That sketch belonged to an old client.

I spent three months working with him, fixing and changing it again and again.

The deadline was in two days.

If this deal went through, I wouldn't need to worry about money for three years.

And now—all of it was gone.

Pain. Rage. Shame. Everything hit at once. I couldn't hold back anymore.

Smack! My hand landed hard on her face.

"Jocelyn, didn't anyone ever teach you to respect someone else's work?"

Marcus snapped out of it, pulled her into his arms, and slapped me back.

My ear burned. The world went quiet.

"Adira, are you insane? You come to my house early in the morning just to hit her?"

I watched his lips move, his face full of disgust.

My heart turned cold.

"Marcus, this is the last time I'll ever come looking for you."

He opened his mouth to speak—then Jocelyn fainted.

Watching him panic and catch her, I turned and walked out.

I staggered back to the Codd's residence, thinking only of fixing the sketch somehow.

But the moment I walked in, I froze.

My drawings. My crochets. All of them—cut into pieces and thrown across the floor.

"What are you doing?!"

I rushed forward, trying to grab the scissors from Mom's hand.

"Joce was sent to the hospital because of you! She woke up crying about killing herself!

"If that's the case, then you don't deserve peace either!"

She fought me like she'd lost her mind.

"Ah—!" The scissors stabbed into my hand. Blood poured out.

She froze when she saw the blood.

"You..." A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.

Then her phone rang. "Mom, it's my fault. I shouldn't have come back..."

Jocelyn's crying came through the speaker, broken and desperate.

"No, sweetheart! Don't do anything stupid! I'll deal with her right now!"

I was kneeling on the floor, one hand on my stomach, the other picking up scraps of my work.

Then—whoosh. She pulled out a lighter.

"You're nothing but bad luck!

"And you still dared give me a birthday gift? Who wants it?!"

She dug out the birthday crochet I had made for her over the past eight years.

Every stitch carried the love I once had for a mother.

She threw it all into the fire like trash.

"I wish I'd never given birth to you!"

The flames swallowed my work. I stopped moving.

It didn't matter anymore. None of it did.

I went back to my room and called the client.

After hearing what had happened, they paused for a moment, then said, "Ms. Codd, since you need to relocate, why don't you come to us? It'll be easier for your delivery, and it'll also help with long-term cooperation."

I hadn't decided where to go yet. Hearing that, I agreed.

After setting the departure date, I urged my lawyer to send me the family severance agreement.

When I went downstairs, I froze. The entire Codd's residence was decorated with lights and flowers. The maids were rushing around, busy and smiling.

Linda avoided my eyes. I already knew the answer. "They're getting married, right?"

"Ms. Adira, you're pregnant. Please try to stay calm. Whatever it is, let's wait until after the baby is born..."

I looked at everything quietly, as if none of it had anything to do with me.

Jocelyn sent Linda away and looked at me with open contempt. "Tsk. Guess some people are just born unlucky. We all thought you were paralyzed back then. Who knew you'd stand up again—and even find your way back to us?"

My heart skipped. "What did you say? Who is 'we'? How did you know about that?"

When I was 15, one night, my adoptive father, Edric Thomas, came into my room drunk.

He tried to touch me.

I pushed him away and ran. But while escaping, I fell down a hillside and injured my legs and back.

"You tramp! You're trying to seduce my man?" Edric's wife screamed. "Fine—stay crippled in bed. Don't think I'll waste money on doctors!"

She dared not confront her husband, so she poured all her anger onto me.

That was when I learned I wasn't their biological child.

"Of course, it was your mother. She found out I wasn't hers and decided to look for you.

"But when she got there, you were lying in bed, filthy and unable to move.

"She's so proud. How could she let anyone know her real daughter was like that?"

My hands shook as I clenched them, barely holding back the ache rising in my chest.

So she pretended she knew nothing and went back to Las Vegas.

If she hadn't gone back, I might have had the chance to escape the hell earlier.

But because I was embarrassing, because I might never walk again, she left me to rot.

This was the mother I had dreamed of recognizing.

I turned sharply, ready to leave the Codd's residence at once.

Jocelyn stopped me again. "Adira, I know the baby you're carrying is Marc's."

She stared at my stomach, her eyes full of hate. "While I was gone, you were nothing but a tool for him to vent on. At least other women cost money.

"But I'm back now. I'll give him children. So get rid of that jerk in your belly—now."

I stopped cold. Seeing my red eyes, she flinched. "W-what are you doing?"

I looked at her and laughed coldly. "Was I not hitting you hard enough last time?"

She suddenly covered her face and fell to the floor, tears pouring down. "I kindly invited you to my wedding, and you're hitting me again?!"

Angry shouts came from behind. "Adira!"

Mom and Marcus rushed over and helped her up. "Enough, Adira! If Joce hadn't insisted you attend the wedding tomorrow, I'd have thrown you out already!"

"Thrown me out? A grand wedding?

"Who cares?"

Looking at Mom, I suddenly hated how much my face resembled hers.

"One last favor, Mrs. Codd. This is the severance agreement. Please sign it. From today on, we are strangers."

I handed it to her. She froze.

"Addie, even if you're angry, you can't stop calling her Mom..."

Jocelyn was still pretending.

I raised my hand. She shut up instantly.

"Adira, don't regret this!"

Seeing I might strike again, Mom stepped in front of her, grabbed the paper, and signed it.

Then she threw it in my face. "From now on, you have nothing to do with our family!"

Jocelyn shot me a victorious look and helped her upstairs.

Marcus picked up the agreement from the floor. "Addie, just go apologize to Mrs. Codd..."

I snatched it back and folded it carefully. "Marcus, what right do you have to speak to me?"

"Addie, don't be like this. We still have a baby.

"I know you're jealous. But that wedding is something I promised Joce.

"When you give her the baby, I'll buy you a cake. Call it payment for all these years."

I didn't want to hear another word and walked straight to the door.

A car was already waiting outside.

"Ms. Adira, where's your luggage?"

Seeing that my hands were empty, the driver froze.

"It's all here."

I patted my stomach and got into the car.

The Codd family—this time, I'm the one walking away.