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.

That day, as usual, Iris used the excuse of buying groceries to visit the post office in town.

Once again, there was no news.

She mentally counted the days—it had already been nearly seven.

Her biological parents lived in Nashville. Communication in the 1980s was slow, and it wasn’t uncommon for letters to take over ten days to arrive.

Feeling disappointed, Iris walked out of the post office, only to spot a familiar figure at the street corner.

It was Wendel, and beside him was Esther.

They had just stepped out of a clothing store, with Esther holding a floral dress in her hands.

The moment they looked up, their eyes met.

Since their last argument, Wendel had ignored her for three days.

He hesitated, debating whether to break the silence. But before he could say anything, Iris spoke first.

"What a coincidence. I was just out buying groceries. You two go ahead and enjoy your shopping—I’m heading home."

With that, she turned to leave.

"Iris!"

After holding back for so long, Wendel finally called out to her.

She stopped and looked at him, her expression calm.

"Be careful on the way back," he said—just a casual remark, nothing more.

Iris nodded, but her gaze unconsciously lingered on the floral dress in Esther’s hands.

Noticing her look, Esther quickly explained, even before Wendel could speak. "My birthday is coming up in a few days, so Wendel took me out to buy a gift."

Wendel immediately chimed in, "That’s right! And when your birthday comes around, I’ll get you a gift too."

As he said this, his eyes landed on Iris’ worn-out clothes, patched up in several places.

For some reason, a wave of guilt washed over him.

After Iris left, Wendel hesitated for a moment before turning back toward the clothing store.

Esther grabbed his arm, confused. "Brother, didn’t we already buy clothes? Why are you going back in?"

He explained, "Technically, you’re both my younger sisters. I should be fair—I can’t play favorites."

Esther’s face fell. Pouting, she snapped, "So, every year on my birthday, you have to buy her something too? I don’t like that!"

"Esther, be good," Wendel coaxed patiently. "That’s not what I meant. But no matter what, Iris sacrificed her education so you could go to school. We should at least show some gratitude."

Upon hearing that, Esther's temper flared.

She threw the new dress onto the ground, attracting the attention of nearby pedestrians. Without a care for the growing crowd, she shouted, "So what? Did I force her to drop out?!"

Several people turned to watch the commotion.

Wendel hated being the center of attention—especially in a negative way. Panicking, he hurriedly picked up the dress and quickly softened his tone, coaxing her like a guilty puppy.

"Alright, alright, I won’t buy her anything. Besides, she’s always doing chores at home—she wouldn’t have anywhere to wear such a nice dress anyway."

Only when she heard his reply did Esther’s anger subside. Satisfied, she smirked. "Now that’s more like it."

Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she frowned and muttered, "But I remember Iris went out to buy groceries this morning. Why hasn’t she returned home yet? The market isn’t even on this street."

Her simple words made Wendel pause. His brows furrowed as he realized something about it felt off.

Esther continued, "Look—the post office is right over there. You don’t think... Iris is—?"

Before she could finish, Wendel’s expression darkened.

Ever since learning that Iris had found her biological parents, he had felt a growing sense of unease.

He couldn’t quite explain why.

Was he afraid that she would leave this home behind and return to her rightful place as a wealthy family’s daughter?

Or... was he afraid that if she left, he might never see her again?