I used to be the apple of my family's eye, but Suzanne Nilson changed that when she showed up on my birthday with a DNA test result.

The Nilson family cruelly kicks me to the curb and throws me back to my biological parents, leading to me being sold off to the village idiot.

Xavier Gubbens, with whom I've grown up, kicks the door down and saves me. Later, he etches a word on my face. "Do you think you're done repenting for your sins with this, Suzanne Nilson?"

Later still, his eyes are red as he pleads, "Can't we go back to how things used to be?"

How things used to be? There's no such thing. Everyone has to look to the future.

The day Suzanne Nilson returned was my birthday. I had put on the beautiful dress that my mom had bought for me, and I was waiting at home for my parents to take me out to celebrate the occasion.

When Mom came back the first thing she did was slap a paternity test in my face. "Look at this yourself, Sophia!"

I stumbled backward a few steps from the force. When I looked down, I saw blood dripping from my nose.

I thought of the health report that I'd just received yesterday.

Mom had never lost her temper at me before, because I was the daughter that she had prayed for.

She always said that even showering me with affection wasn't enough to show her love for me.

Therefore, I did not expect her to treat me like that. I was stunned.

The blood dripping from my nose stained my dress and the report.

Mom slapped me. "Go away! Don't let your filthy blood stain anything related to Suzie!

"Also, take off that dress at once! I bought that for my daughter's birthday, not for you!"

I collapsed heavily onto the ground. Looking up, I finally saw the contents of the paper.

I didn't understand most of the technical terms, but I understood the last line: Results show that Gordon Nilson is Suzanne Nilson's biological father.

Suzanne stood not too far away, arm-in-arm with Dad. Mom's back was to her, so she didn't see her smile sinisterly.

Then, she feigned a mental breakdown, screaming as she slumped to the ground, "Throw her out! Throw her out now!"

Mom rushed over to hold her, heartbroken by the sight. As Suzanne struggled, she deliberately exposed her forearm which was covered with bruises and cigarette burns.

Mom teared up. She pulled Suzanne into her arms, just like she used to when comforting me in the past, and patted her on the back. "I'm here. Mom's here," she said softly.

Dazedly, I seemed to return to the past. Back then, Mom used to put me to bed with the same comforting voice at night.

I reached up and wiped off the blood. I tried to get to my feet, but Dad kicked me back down.

He was breathing heavily, his face full of anger. "I heard that you bullied Suzie when you were in school. You imposter, how dare you bully my daughter!"

The three of them loomed over me, casting shadows so deep that I felt suffocated. Gripping the hem of my dress tightly, I protested weakly, "I didn't! I don't even know her!"

No one believed me.

Mom glared at me viciously. "We looked into it. You went to the same high school as Suzanne. You're a liar!

"You've taken Suzanne's place for so many years, living a good life, while she suffered in your place. Look at all these wounds. Do you really think you're innocent?"

I wanted to argue that I had only been a baby when the swap happened. Even if there was a mix-up, it wouldn't be my fault.

Mom used to love me so much. Was all that love just a lie?

That was impossible!

I remembered my health report again. Maybe if she saw the report, she would feel some love for me again.

Desperately, I scrambled, searching frantically like the report was my final hope.

However, Mom's words shattered any hope I had. "I wish you would just die, Sophia Nilson."

I froze. My searching hands stopped.

Mom dialed a number on her phone as she gave me a disgusted look. "I'm calling your useless biological parents to come pick you up right now.

"The longer you stay here, the harder it is to hold back from disfiguring you. I've seen you as my daughter for long enough. I don't want to part in such an awful way either."

I let go of the health report I had found and touched my face unconsciously.

A lot of people said that I looked a lot like Mom when she was younger. But while Mom had been a fiery spirit, I was more of a gentle soul.

Mom always used to say that my temper was nothing like hers. It turned out that we weren't even related biologically.

However, I still wanted to make one last effort.

Cautiously, I reached out to tug on Mom's trouser leg. "Mom, why don't we do another test? What if I really am your daughter?"

I looked so much like her; didn't she have any doubts about that?

However, Mom stepped back, avoiding my touch. "Don't get your blood on me," she said in disdain. "You're filthy."

The road leading to the rural countryside was very bumpy. I got nauseous very soon.

The people who called themselves my biological parents were discussing how to make use of me while I stared blankly out of the window.

After whispering to each other for a while, Caroline Wavers, my so-called biological mother, turned to me and cleared her throat. "Sophie, you know we're not as rich as your previous parents," she said, feigning concern. "Life in the countryside isn't great. You may find it hard to adapt. Did the Nilsons make any arrangements for you?"

I looked at her expressionlessly.

She became a little anxious when she saw that I didn't understand her hints. She pointed at our surroundings. "This is all we have here. Aren't they worried that you wouldn't be able to cope?"

Still, I didn't answer.

Suddenly, the man who called himself my biological father, Andrew Nielson, slapped me so unexpectedly that I didn't have time to react. My head jerked to the side.

He looked at me angrily with unconcealed calculation and scheming. "You little brat. Your mother is talking to you. How dare you ignore her?"

I covered my face with my hand, still keeping quiet. I bit my tongue to stop myself from crying.

"Alright, alright," Caroline comforted him half-heartedly and pulled him behind her. She turned back to me and took my hand. "Don't get upset with your father. He's just a straightforward guy. Are you hurt?"

I bit my lip, still not saying anything. My eyes were dull and lifeless.

Caroline did not care either. She kept talking about her hardships, how hard it was to live in the countryside, and how poor they were.

When I continued keeping my silence, her patience began to wear thin. Her true intentions surfaced. "Gordon Nilson and his wife didn't give you any money? Didn't he buy you a house or something in the city, or take care of your tuition fees for the next few years? I heard that you were going to graduate school."

My eyes brightened at that.

Andrew said coldly, "It's already enough of a waste to send a woman to school. What's this about graduate school? We don't have the money."

My first words to him were in defiance. "I don't need your money. I have my own money."

I immediately regretted it as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

Andrew and the woman looked at me ravenously, eager to drain me of everything I had.

Andrew opened his mouth eagerly, but Caroline put a hand on his and smiled at me. "I'm glad that they've been treating you well all these years. How much money did they give you? Let me see."

I shook my head. "They didn't give me any money."

"That's impossible!" Andrew shouted angrily. "They gave us 200 thousand dollars just for sending Suzanne back!"

He reached out to snatch my bag from me. When I refused to let him have it, he pushed me to the ground.

Stones scraped across my skin, cutting up my arm.

No one cared.

Andrew rummaged through my bag eagerly, only to find it empty.

"You are useless!" he cursed. "You didn't even bring any expensive jewelry?"

I didn't even have any jewelry.

Mom said that I had been using her real daughter's things for many years, so I had no right to take anything. She even wanted to take the clothes I had on my back.

However, before I left, I saw her order the housekeepers to throw out everything in my room. Then, she filled Suzanne's room with more expensive things.

She said that her daughter deserved everything good, not leftovers from someone else.

"I found it!"

Andrew's eyes brightened as he pulled a bank card out of my bag along with a small, dirty doll.

I lunged at him. "Give that back!"

Thinking that I was trying to take the bank card, Caroline pushed me away.

I kept lunging at them until I finally managed to snatch the dirty doll from under her feet.

The doll bore some resemblance to me. Xavier Gubbens had sewn it himself for me as my 18th birthday present.

After a vicious beating, Andrew and Caroline locked me up because I refused to tell them the password to my bank card.

They refused to treat my wounds or let me have anything to eat or drink.

I had another nosebleed.

It took a while for me to stop the bleeding. I slumped onto the ground.

There was no bed or windows in the tiny little room. The only light I had seeped through the crack under the door.

I held my doll tightly and curled up right beside my only ray of light.

Although I used to be the well-cared-for daughter of the Nilson family, I wasn't actually a spoiled woman. In fact, I was quiet and reserved, known in our circle as a well-behaved lady.

Xavier often said that I was boring to be around, as I provided no excitement.

Everyone in Hesselton knew that Sophia Nilson was Xavier Gubbens' fiancée, a girl he'd picked out himself when he was a child.

No one believed that the bold and outspoken Xavier would like someone as quiet as me.

When I was 16, a man from a wealthy family who had held a grudge against the Nilson family tricked me to a bar and tried to get me drunk so that they could take incriminating photos of me.

I fought hard against them, threatening that Xavier would come after them.

When they heard Xavier's name, they looked at each other hesitantly.

Eventually, the leader of the group waved his hand and told them to continue stripping me. He said, "You're just his fiancée in name. We all know that he's tired of you."

Just then, Xavier kicked open the door, storming in all by himself.

That night, he beat up everyone in the room except me, sending all of them to the hospital.

A couple of days later, the heads of their families came to my door to apologize to me. It was only then that I found out that the Gubbens family had dealt with them too.

Xavier made it clear that I was his fiancée, and that no one was allowed to bully me.

Since then, no one dared to mess with me again.

I grew up under Mom and Xavier's protection.

That was why I didn't understand how I ended up in this situation.

Xavier probably still didn't know about this. He hadn't been able to celebrate my birthday with me because of work. I had even given him the silent treatment because of that.

A glimmer of hope rose in my heart. If he found out… No, he definitely would find out. When he found out about this, he would come and save me.

Before that happened, I had to find a way to save myself.

Weakly, I pulled myself up and used all my strength to knock on the door. "941225, 941225…"

I kept repeating the numbers, hoping to use the money to get some temporary peace.

After taking all the money I had, Caroline and Andrew stopped being angry and let me out.

I immediately tried to call and text Xavier, but he ignored me.

I was forced to stay with the Nielsons.

That was how I was saddled with endless house chores. I had to cook, clean, and do the laundry. I wasn't allowed to eat at the table; I had to wait until they were finished before fighting the dog for the leftovers.

Caroline demanded that I wash all the clothes with just my hands. She would sometimes beat me just for using too much water.

Andrew was a drunkard. The couple quarreled all the time when he was drunk. He would even hit me, blaming me for not bringing more money from the Nilsons.

The scariest part was that the looks he gave me were slowly starting to feel unsettling.

Even their ten-year-old child looked down on me.

The first time I refused to bring water to my little brother, he splashed a whole glass of water on me, saying vicious words in his innocent voice, "Mom said that you're my servant. I can treat you however I like! If you don't listen to me, I'll kill you!"

I was scared. I wanted to escape from this place, but no matter how many times I called Xavier, he did not pick up my calls. Mom had also blacklisted me.

Living in fear, I began to lose weight quickly.

One day, while I was doing the laundry, Andrew suddenly hugged me from behind. He began touching me, saying that I was pretty.

Unable to free myself from his hold, I bit him hard.

He was furious. He picked up a clothing hanger and beat me mercilessly.

That day, I lost a lot of blood. I thought I was going to die.