Iris sobbed, her heart breaking into pieces. "Your son was born, and you never even looked at him once—now you just want to take him away from me?"

Hearing the accusation in her tone, Wendel ran his finger through his hair, letting out a weary sigh before finally admitting the truth.

"I've always loved Esther," he confessed. "She's fragile and can't have children. So I thought—" He hesitated, then met her gaze. "I thought I could take your child instead."

Iris refused with everything she had, but Stella locked her up in the house. She could only watch helplessly as her own flesh and blood was taken away.

The mere thought of losing her child filled her with a burning hatred. She wanted nothing more than to rip Esther’s face apart.

Seeing the look on Iris’ face, Esther trembled all over.

"Brother, Iris's expression is so scary. Did I do something wrong? I'll apologize, okay? I’ll apologize!"

With that, she raised her hand and slapped herself repeatedly, crying out, "It’s all my fault! I’m the one to blame! I should just die! If I die, everyone will be happy!"

Wendel panicked. He rushed over to stop her. "Esther, what are you doing? Who told you to die? Who can’t accept you?"

Esther said nothing. She just kept crying.

Before Iris could even defend herself, Wendel suddenly shoved her hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you? If you're angry, then just be angry! What’s the point of being passive-aggressive? Haven't you bullied Esther enough over the years?"

His harsh accusations rang in her ears.

Supporting her sore shoulder where he had shoved her, Iris clenched her teeth. "I have never bullied her. You're the one who's always had a bias against me!"

But Wendel wasn’t listening. His mind was entirely occupied by the sight of Esther, crying like a delicate, tragic heroine.

Glaring at Iris, he snapped, "Apologize to Esther right now!"

Iris lifted her head, her eyes stubborn and unyielding. "I won’t apologize. I did nothing wrong. Why should I?"

The dim candlelight reflected in her bright, unwavering eyes.

For the first time, Wendel saw a defiance in her gaze that he had never noticed before.

She stood her ground, her voice steady and clear. "I didn’t say anything wrong. I simply passed on Mom’s words. It was Esther who lost control and started acting crazy. Yet you blindly blamed me without knowing the full story. I’ve done nothing wrong—why should I apologize?"

"You-" Wendel was stunned.

He had always thought he understood Iris best. To him, she was obedient and gentle, always yielding to his demands without a single complaint.

But today, she was like a completely different person.

The tears that had been endlessly streaming down Esther’s face suddenly stopped. She stared blankly at Iris, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Iris glanced at the two of them, let out a cold laugh, and said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going to bed."

"Iris..."

For some reason, an uneasy feeling crept into Wendel’s heart.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, pressing his lips together before saying, "I know I was wrong to accuse you just now, but we’re all family. The way you talk is just too harsh."

Iris pulled her hand away indifferently and asked coldly, "What do you mean? Are you trying to make me apologize a second time?"

Hearing her words, Wendel felt a sharp, piercing pain in his chest.

He had known for a long time that Iris had feelings for him—feelings that were different from simple affection.

But he had never loved her. Let alone wanted to marry her.

Yet she had always been so obedient, so easy to control, never resisting, never questioning him.

Until now.

As a man, Wendel had never been able to refuse the obedient and submissive Iris.

But today, this woman who had been by his side since childhood, who had never once defied him, suddenly felt unfamiliar.

For the first time, he began to reflect—perhaps, just perhaps, not everything that happened today was Iris’ fault.

"Wendel..."

Esther tugged at Wendel’s sleeve, her voice soft and pitiful. "Maybe we should just leave it at that for today. If Iris is really upset, that wouldn’t be good..."

Iris almost laughed out loud.

Esther probably never imagined that one day, her pitiful act would stop working.

In her past life, the moment Esther shed a tear, Iris would have been so guilt-ridden that she would have dropped to her knees to apologize.

On the other hand, the moment Wendel heard those words, it was as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

His expression turned serious, and he spoke with righteous indignation.

"Even if Esther misunderstood you, your words were too harsh! Esther is sensitive—she’ll be upset for days because of this. You need to apologize! Besides, she’s younger than you. It’s only natural for you to give in to her."

A wave of bitterness surged in Iris’ heart.

Two lifetimes had passed, and yet Wendel still didn’t remember—Esther was actually three months older than her. She was the youngest in the family, not Esther.

But at this moment, she had no interest in arguing over such trivial facts.

She refused to back down. Glaring at him, she enunciated each word clearly.

"I. Will. Not. Apologize."

Tension filled the air. The three of them stood in silence, locked in a standoff.

"What’s going on here? Why aren’t you all in bed at this hour?"

Their adoptive mother and father emerged from their room, looking concerned.

Wendel brushed them off. "Dad, Mom, go back to sleep. This doesn’t concern you."

The moment their adoptive parents appeared, Esther reacted instinctively—her tears started falling again.

"Mom, Dad... please don’t worry, really, everything’s fine..."

Hearing her beloved adopted daughter cry, the adoptive mother’s heart twisted in pain. She rushed forward to comfort her.

"Who bullied you? Tell me! I’ll stand up for you!"

Esther sniffled. "It’s nothing... Iris didn’t mean it..."

The moment Iris’ name was mentioned, a cold glint flashed in their adoptive mother’s eyes.

"You shameless thing!" Stella shrieked.

She grabbed Iris and, without hesitation, slapped her hard across the face.

She cursed furiously, "We took you in to shield Wendel from misfortune, not so you could turn our family upside down! Who do you think you are, daring to bully Esther?"

"You were almost killed by human traffickers back then. If not for me, you would’ve been dead long ago! You owe me a debt of gratitude you can never repay! And now, you dare cause trouble in our home?"

Holding her stinging, swollen cheek, Iris felt a deep, suffocating grievance rise in her chest.

These words had been drilled into her since childhood.

She knew she had to repay her debt. That was why she had taken on all the household chores from a young age—so that when Wendel and Esther came home from school, they could do their homework while she fed the pigs and ducks, washed the family’s clothes, and worked late into the night.

When the family couldn’t afford to send all three children to school, she was the first to be sacrificed.

Even when she discovered the whereabouts of her biological parents, she was forbidden from contacting them.

The Lancaster family couldn’t stand the thought of their doormat leaving—let alone seeing her live a life of wealth and comfort.

But this time was different.

She had been reborn. She would not walk down the same doomed path again.

Her voice was hoarse as she spoke softly, "If I’ve repaid my debt, can I leave?"

Stella froze, clearly not expecting such a question.

Then, she burst into laughter.

"Fine! But repaying a debt isn’t just about saying the words—you want to repay me? Give me five thousand dollars, and I’ll cut ties with you immediately!"

Wendel quickly stepped in to stop her. "Mom, what are you saying?"

To put things into perspective, as a teacher, Wendel only earned fifty dollars a month. Stella’s demand was nothing short of absurd.

Who in the entire village could possibly come up with five thousand dollars?

Wendel put his arm around Iris’ shoulders and comforted her. "Don’t worry, Mom is just saying things out of anger. Just apologize, and everything will go back to normal. We’re still a family."

"Iris..." He leaned closer, his voice gentle as he coaxed her. "Be good, don’t be stubborn right now."

Iris lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.

"I understand. I’ll do my best to save up the five thousand dollars," she flatly stated. "I’m tired. I’m going to rest now."

With that, she turned and walked back into her room.

However, Stella’s curses continued ringing in the air.

"Ha! Save up five thousand dollars? How much could she even earn in a month? Dreaming in broad daylight, is she?"

"I treated her so well, gave her food, gave her clothes, and this is how she repaid me? What a disgrace to this family! If I had known back then, I would’ve let her die!"

Leaning against the door, Iris took deep breaths, forcing herself to stay calm.

She wasn’t bluffing—her biological parents were wealthy. Five thousand dollars was nothing to them.

Soon, the house quieted down, and exhaustion took over. She decided to get into bed and sleep.

But then, a knock came at the door.

"Iris, I know you’re still awake. Can we talk?"

It was Wendel’s voice.

Iris walked to the door and replied flatly, "Brother, you should go rest."

Hearing her call him "brother" again, Wendel felt inexplicable discomfort.

Ever since they had agreed to get married, she had never called him that.

For some reason, an unfamiliar sense of loss crept into his heart.

Refusing to give up, he continued patiently, "You were too stubborn today. Think about it—why are you even arguing with Esther? Once we’re married, she’ll be calling you ‘sister-in-law’ anyway. We’re all family."

Iris found his words ridiculous.

She couldn’t understand how Wendel could love Esther while still speaking to her like this.

Calming herself, she answered, "Brother, I think we need to reconsider this marriage."

Wendel immediately panicked. "Iris, why would you say that? What’s wrong with us getting married?"

"Are you just trying to spite me?"

"Iris, we’re not children anymore. Don’t joke about things like this. I know you just want me to coax you—is that it? Fine, I’ll coax you, okay?"

Iris let out a long sigh.

Talking to this man was exhausting.

All she wanted now was to close her eyes and rest. "Brother, just leave. I’m really tired."

Wendel was silent for a moment before his voice turned cold. "Iris, I’ve already lowered myself to apologize. Don’t say I’m heartless."

With that, he left.

Iris knew he was angry.

He had always been like this—if his coaxing didn’t work within three minutes, he would give up completely.

The next day, Wendel started giving her cold shoulder.

Iris didn’t speak to him either, simply going about her chores as usual.

No one knew that she had already contacted her biological parents.

Until they came to take her away, she would keep a low profile.

Every day, she would find an excuse to go to town for groceries, making sure to stop by the post office, afraid of missing a letter from her real family.