"Jessica, don't you agree? We can't really let her dress like a princess, right? That would just look ridiculous," Serena said with a sneer.

Jessica's expression darkened. She wanted to speak up, but Xander's cold glare stopped her.

"Serena is right. The kid should know her place and not fantasize about things that don't belong to her. Giving her this much is already enough," Xander remarked.

…

During dinner, at the long dining table, Xander sat at the head. Serena sat right beside him, acting like the lady of the house. Mom and I sat at the farthest end from them.

The dishes on the table looked exquisite, but the portions were pitifully small, without even a single hearty dish.

"Eat up, brat." Serena smiled sweetly, picked up a piece topped with caviar, and placed it on the small dish in front of me.

She added, "This is yummy. Try eating it with the salad. Don't disappoint your infertile mother who went through so much trouble to bring you home."

The mockery in her tone was practically oozing out of her mouth. I looked at the thing before me and felt no appetite to eat it.

Mom then cut her barely touched steak into small pieces and pushed it toward me. "Sweetie, heave some steak," she said.

Xander glanced at us and slowly said, "Jessica, keep the rules in mind. Refrain from bringing your uncultured habits into this house. Whatever she wants to eat, the maids will prepare it."

The maids would prepare it?

I peeked into the kitchen. Tomato and eggs, ribs, pulled pork—the staff were eating way better than I was!

I felt a spark of anger ignite in me and, in a fit, poked at the salad before me. I would endure this for Mom's sake! It was fine as long as I didn't starve to death.

Just then, Serena's saccharine voice rang out again. "Jessica, this soup has been boiling for hours and is really nourishing. You're weak, so you should drink more."

She carried a steaming bowl of soup, smiling broadly as she walked over and pretended to place it in front of Mom. My heart skipped a beat, for I had a bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, when Serena bent down to set the bowl, her wrist "accidentally" shook. The scalding hot soup spilled straight onto Mom's leg!

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Mom cried out in pain and instinctively pulled back. Her skirt was soaked in an instant, with a glaring red mark showing beneath the fabric.

Almost simultaneously, Serena let out an exaggerated scream and yanked her hand back. A tiny red spot from the splashed soup on her hand, about the size of a grain.

"Jessica, what are you doing? I kindly brought you soup, so why did you push me? I only wanted you to taste it!" Serena sobbed theatrically. "It hurts so much!"

"Serena!" Xander shot up and rushed over. "Jessica! Serena was being kind-hearted, yet you took your anger out on her?

"You couldn't bear a child, so we let you adopt a child. And now, you're jealous of Serena, weren't you? Apologize to her right now!"

Mom's face turned pale from the pain, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She looked at her swollen, reddened leg, then at Xander's irrational state. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a single word.

It was as if she had experienced this kind of slander and injustice countless times, having already become numb with pain. She even looked too weak and powerless to defend herself.

The livestream comments flashed past quickly before my eyes.

"Damn! The scheming woman's acting is insane! She should get an award!"

"Push her? It was clearly Jessica who got burned! Bastard Xander, are you blind?"

"Tsk! The female lead doesn't even dare to speak up. Looks like she gets bullied like this often."

"Enough with the tragic angst already! I'm so pissed off! Kid, hurry up and fight back!"

The anger in my chest burst out in an instant, and I lost it. I shouted, "Are you blind or what?"

I jumped down from my chair and rushed to stand in front of Xander. I pointed a finger at Serena's hand, then at Mom's swollen leg.

"She only burned a tiny spot on her hand that's not even as big as my fingernail! But look at Mom's leg! Her whole leg is red! You can't see that? What are your eyes for, decoration?" I shouted.

I was so furious that my chest rose and fell, and I pointed straight at the blinking surveillance camera on the ceiling.

"You're twisting the truth and can't tell right from wrong! Even if your brain isn't working, the camera up there is recording! Check the footage! Do you dare to check who pushed whom and who spilled soup on whom?" I retorted defiantly.

"Enough!" Xander snapped. I had openly challenged him, and his face had turned an ugly shade of red due to his rage.

"This isn't a place where you can accuse others! Shut your mouth!" he yelled.

"So, telling the truth counts as being disrespectful? And you siding with that wicked woman counts as discipline?" I retorted stubbornly, refusing to back down.

"Why should my mom apologize? That lady is the one who should apologize!" I pointed fiercely at Serena, who was pretending to cry.

The dining room instantly descended into chaos. Unfortunately, the final result was no surprise—Mom and I were locked up in confinement, without even dinner to eat.

Before Xander took Serena to the hospital, she deliberately whispered in Mom's ear, "Jessica, do you know what your dear husband was doing the night you lost your child? He was massaging my feet.

"While you were lying on that cold operating table, listening to the doctor say your child couldn't be saved… All I did was make one call and tell Xander that my ankle felt a little sore, and he immediately abandoned you and your dying daughter and rushed toward me without hesitation.

"Hah! Even now, he still stands firmly by my side. Between us, who do you think you are?"

After she left, Mom's face turned deathly pale, and her whole being seemed to sink into icy despair. The comments instantly came pouring in.

"Holy shit! So that was the truth?"

"Xander, are you even human? At the critical life-and-death moment of your wife and child, you were with your mistress? You damned scumbag! Go to hell!"

"My god! How desperate the female lead must have felt… Losing her child, losing her womb, and her husband was with another woman… This is the peak of the win-your-wife-back plot. It's so inhumane!"

I hugged Mom's cold, stiff body tightly. Upon sensing her despair and impending breakdown, my eyes widened in panic.

"Mom! Mom! Don't listen to that wicked woman's nonsense! She's a terrible person, so everything she says is crap! Don't listen! Just treat her like gum beneath your shoe—annoying but harmless!

"Mom, you still have me! I'm your super warm and comforting snuggle bug! We don't need that bad man! He's blind and has a rotten heart. We'll stay far away from him!"

I clumsily patted her back, like I was coaxing a child.

"Mom, why should we stay in this rotten place and take this humiliation? Why don't we leave? The world is huge, and we can live anywhere. Let's find us somewhere you can cook, and I'll stoke the fire for ya! Wouldn't that be a hoot?"

Mom fell silent, as if she was thinking about this for the first time.

"Leave… can I really leave?" she asked.

I blinked. "Why not?"

Mom smiled bitterly. "But he and I are in a family-arranged marriage, and our relationship isn't that simple. My parents hoped I could be of some use…"

I became anxious hearing that. "Mom! Why'd you have to live for others? I don't have family, but I know this—being family means wishing you happiness, not sacrificing yours. You gotta live for yourself!"

After a long time, she finally said in an extremely serious tone, "If I leave this palace, there won't be a big house and no fancy clothes… would you still want a mom like that?"

"Mom! Ain't ya silly? What'd I need that stuff for?" My eyes sparkled with anticipation.

I continued, "Just tell me! If you have money in the future, would you be willing to make me some stew? Ribs and corn? Pulled pork? Mac and cheese?"

Mom nodded instinctively. "I will."

"That's settled, then! As long as there's food to eat, I'd be happy to follow ya!" I threw my arms around her and rubbed against her cold neck.

"Mom, don't stay here and let people bully you anymore. My heart aches so much for you. They're so cruel, always bullying you."

Mom suddenly burst into tears, then pulled me tightly into her arms.

"Alright, I'll take you away."

Her scorching hot tears ran down my neck as she cried.

That night, it was like a new beginning for Mom. I, too, received a new name—Sally Dawson.

…

The next morning at breakfast, the atmosphere at the dining table felt suffocating. Xander demanded that Mom apologize to Serena.

Mom raised her head and kept her gaze calm as she looked at Xander at the head of the table and said, "Xander, let's get a divorce.".

The air seemed to instantly freeze, and Xander snapped his head up. "What did you say?"

"I said, let's get a divorce."

Mom didn't speak loudly, but her words were exceptionally clear.

Xander sneered. "Jessica, has your thinking been ruined by that kid? Right now, you're a useless woman who can't even bear children!

"You have no job and no source of income—how will you survive if you leave me and the McNeils? What, are you going to take that wild brat and starve in the cold?"

He paused, and his tone seemed to soften slightly.

"I know. I've done you wrong regarding our child. But what's done is done. What more do you want from me? Don't you bear any responsibility at all for our daughter's death?

"Jessica, be realistic. I'm the only one still willing to support you and that adopted wild brat of yours, to give you both food to eat. After all, deep down, I still love you."

I straightened up my small frame, pointed at Xander, and fired back, "Stop blabbering on! What do you love about Mom, huh? You love her so much that she ends up crying every day?

"That you make her eat plain food every day, listen to people call her infertile, watch people pour boiling soup on her, and still demand she apologize? Is that what you call love?

"That's what I call being a bastard. People work jobs and at least get paid by their bosses, but you don't even give her money.

"Look at you, strutting around like you're so great. And what, you're gonna support us? Bah! Without you, Mom would live better!"

Xander's face turned ashen with rage from my words. "Fine! Alright! Jessica, you want a divorce? Alright! I'll grant you one!

"But think carefully! Once we're divorced, this wild child's adoption papers will immediately be void! What right do you, a woman with no job or income, have to adopt a child?

"They won't even stamp your adoption papers! Let's see how you'll raise her!" He then signed the divorce papers and slammed them harshly in front of Jessica.

The little courage Mom had finally gathered wavered instantly under the threat of the adoption getting canceled, and she didn't dare sign the papers anymore. My gaze was firm as I held her hand.

"Mom, don't be afraid! I'll always be standing behind you. You have to save yourself first. Only then can you save me, and everyone else you want to protect."

She looked at me, nodded firmly, and signed her own name.

…

The divorce process went more smoothly than we expected. Mom and I rented a small place outside, and our very first meal was a pot of stew. But before we could enjoy the happiness for long, she got a call from the orphanage.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Dawson. We just received a notice and verified your current situation. Unfortunately, you no longer meet the conditions for adoption. Please return Kiddo as soon as possible—"