I was the adopted daughter of the wealthy Phillips family. I fell in love with my foster brother when I was young.

However, my secret was exposed and I became the laughingstock of the elite circles.

My adoptive mother, who always treated me like her own, scolded me for being delusional and shameless.

Even my once-affectionate foster brother looked at me with disgust.

He sent me back to a remote village and left me with my aunt's family to discipline me.

Later, when he found out my cousin was using me as a cash cow to serve the village's old men and widowers, he was furious and lost his mind.

...

It was my third year in Roberts Village.

Dylan finally remembered me.

He sent the butler to bring me back.

At the time, I was struggling to lift a bucket of pig slop to feed the pigs.

My aunt's family had over a dozen pigs. Every day, before dawn, I had to go to the fields to cut grass for them.

Then, I had to chop the mountain of grass into small pieces, cook it, and pour it into the troughs.

My hands were already calloused, and my arms were so sore that I could hardly lift them. But I couldn't stop to rest.

I had to keep working nonstop, or I'd face my aunt's scolding.

"Lazy girl! Are you still that pampered rich miss who never had to lift a finger?

"Mr. Phillips told me to make sure to toughen you up. If you drop dead from exhaustion, that's your problem!"

She raised the thin bamboo stick in her hand and struck me hard.

The old wounds that hadn't yet healed tore open, staining my ragged clothes with blood.

The pain made me shiver, but I didn't dare utter a single complaint.

When Dylan threw me back to my rural home, I naively thought he was angry at me for disgracing the Phillips family.

I believed that once he calmed down, he would definitely come to take me back.

When I stepped into my aunt's house, I first got a loud slap across the face.

"You useless thing! You managed to get into a wealthy family and couldn't even keep a man. And here I was, counting on you to help your cousin in the future!" she snapped.

My aunt took everything valuable from me, even the clothes on my back.

She then tossed me some old, moldy-smelling clothes.

"Clean the yard, then go make dinner. I don't need freeloaders!"

My aunt worked me to the bone.

If I dared to say a word in protest, I'd get a beating and be punished by being denied food for two days.

Once, I was so hungry that I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the boiling hot pig slop and shoved it into my mouth.

My aunt caught me and twisted my ear so hard that it bled.

My cousin watched coldly from the side and suddenly said, "Mom, be careful not to mess up her face."

At the time, I didn't understand what he meant by that.

It wasn't until the next night, when he brought three burly men into my room, that I understood.

My cousin was addicted to gambling and racked up a huge debt.

Those three were his creditors. They often came to the house to collect and would disgustingly leer at me.

In the end, my cousin decided to use me to settle his debt.

He locked the door from the outside, and my desperate cries filled the room.

"I'm the adopted daughter of the wealthy Phillips family. If you touch me, my brother won't let you get away with it!"

They kept tearing at my clothes while mocking me.

"Wake up. Mr. Phillips is already paired up with the real heiress. Their photos are all over the internet. He doesn't even remember a fake like you.

"Go on, call his name. See if he comes to save you."

That night, I cried until I had no more tears left.

From then on, I never mentioned Dylan's name again.

It was as if I had erased him from my memory.

My aunt raised a bamboo stick to hit me. However, my cousin rushed in with Isaac, an old bachelor from the village.

"Mom, stop hitting her.

"The Phillips family sent someone. They're outside. You should go handle it. Isaac has some business to take care of here.

"Alright."

My aunt's face lit up when she saw Isaac slip some cash to my cousin.

As soon as she left, Isaac couldn't wait to pounce on me, tearing at my clothes.

I instinctively tried to dodge, but Isaac grabbed me by the throat.

"You wretched woman. I paid for this. Don't think you can act tough just because the Phillips family sent someone. I'll kill you right now if I have to."

I stopped struggling.

I numbly closed my eyes.

Before I went to meet the steward, my aunt made me change into my old clothes. They barely covered the scars and marks all over my body.

She gripped my arm tightly, hissing threats into my ear.

"Don't forget your parents' graves are on our land. If you don't want them to rest in peace, you better remember what you should and shouldn't say."

Over the past three years, they had used my parents' remains to threaten me countless times.

Thomas had worked for the Phillips family for many years and had watched me grow up.

When he saw me, his eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Miss, how did you end up like this?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Although I was an orphan, I was adopted by the Phillips family and pampered for over a decade.

I had the best of everything.

But now, my face was sallow, my eyes were dull, and I was wearing ill-fitting old clothes. I was so thin that a gust of wind could blow me away.

My right leg was also crippled.

"Miss, what kind of suffering have you endured these past three years? Mr. Phillips shouldn't have been so heartless back then," Thomas said, choking up.

"You were such a good child... It's such a sin.

"It was just because you liked someone..."

Yes, it was just because I liked someone.

How could that be so unforgivable?

The car arrived at the Phillips residence.

Looking at the large villa in front of me, I felt an unreal sense of having escaped from hell.

I nervously smoothed out the wrinkled old clothes I was wearing and followed Thomas into the villa.

My adoptive parents were seated on the sofa. Their scrutinizing gaze made me uncontrollably nervous.

Somehow, my knees buckled, and I knelt on the ground.

The dull thud startled the servants of the Phillips family, who all looked toward me.

I bowed my head to the ground. "I know I was wrong. I won't have improper thoughts anymore. Please, don't send me away again."

Gianna nodded in satisfaction when she saw me like this.

"You've become much more obedient than before. As long as you behave from now on, you can still be Ms. Phillips."

At that moment, footsteps could be heard.

Dylan's tall figure appeared in the living room.

The moment I saw him, the nightmares I had experienced all flooded back into my mind.

Three years ago, at my 20th birthday party, my secret crush on my adoptive brother was exposed in front of everyone.

The once-envied lady of the Phillips family instantly became a shameless disgrace.

Dylan looked at me as if I were something filthy.

He said, "Chloe, I've always thought of you as a sister, but you had such filthy thoughts about me. You disgust me.

"You don't deserve to carry the Phillips surname anymore!"

He changed my name back to Chloe Morgan and had the bodyguards throw me back to the remote village where I was born.

He loathed me so much. If he knew that I was no longer pure, he would probably wish for me to die in Roberts Village to avoid tarnishing the Phillips family's reputation.

I hurriedly lowered my head. "Mr. Phillips, I know I was wrong. I won't dare do it again. Please don't send me back..."