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..."

"Enough, get up!"

Dylan's voice was cold. It seemed mixed with anger.

"Is kneeling the only thing you know how to do now when you see people? Chloe, where's your self-respect?"

Wasn't it he who crushed my self-respect with his own hands?

In the past, the Phillips family cherished me. Dylan never let me suffer the slightest grievance.

One time, he got drunk, and I went to the bar to pick him up. A rich kid mistook me for a bar girl and just grabbed my hand. Dylan beat him until his face was covered in blood.

In the end, he pressed the guy's head down and forced him to kneel and apologize to me. That's how the matter was settled.

When word got out, everyone envied me, the beloved princess of the Phillips family.

Back then, I was proud. I never bowed my head to anyone.

But now, there's no more princess of the Phillips family. There's only the orphaned girl of the Morgan family.

I cowered in silence.

Dylan stood in front of me for a long time.

Finally, he let out a cold laugh.

"It seems you've made quite some progress these three years. You've even learned how to play the victim.

"If you want to kneel, then kneel. Let's see how long you can keep it up."

Of course, Gianna couldn't let me kneel there forever. She tried to smooth things over and help me up.

I flinched.

In Roberts Village these past three years, countless hands have torn at my body.

Any touch from someone else filled me with fear.

Gianna's hand froze in mid-air.

After a moment, she looked at my pale face. She was in disbelief.

"Chloe, why have you lost so much weight? Did they not treat you well?"

Dylan looked at me coldly and said, "Mom, you're overthinking it. They're Chloe's relatives. How could they treat her badly? She probably threw tantrums, refusing to eat this or that, and that's why she's like this."

I lowered my eyes and didn't say anything.

I got up awkwardly.

Dragging my heavy right leg, I limped toward the stairs. I saw the shock in Dylan's eyes.

Gianna exclaimed, "Chloe, what happened to your leg?"