"Sabrina, I...do you know what it feels like to be deceived, betrayed and tossed aside by your own kin?" Ruth asked in tears. Then she shook her head and continued, "You don't. Your father is no longer around, but he loved you with all his heart when he was still alive. Your mother is missing, but she loved you too. You wouldn't know how it feels to be deceived and sold out by your own parents. I don't think I can live like this any longer, Sabrina."Sabrina patted Ruth on her hand. "You are your own person, Ruth. Stay strong. I...I can understand what you are saying, I know the feeling.""You do?""Yeah. To be cut off, insulted and hurt by your father, I can empathize with what you feel," she responded gloomily. She lifted her glance to meet Ruth's eyes. "Tell me, what did they do to you?"Ruth flinched as she recalled what her parents had done to her."They..." Her sight was blurred from all the tears, her voice was trembling in despair and helplessness. "I...did you know, Sabri
But she also knew that she wasn't worthy enough to have him. Just as Ruth lowered her face to hide her blush and struggled to find the right words, Ryan lifted her chin up with his injured arm. His fingers held her jaw in place and forced her to look him in the eyes."Look at me," he said. Ruth's blush darkened and he smirked. "You can't act like this didn't happen! I saved your life today, so you are going to have to repay me with yourself. You don't have the right to reject me now, you are going to be my wife whether you like it or not!"Before Ruth could react in any way, the man had already wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. "Master Ryan, don't..."Her mind went blank and lost herself in what happened next. She had no idea when Ryan managed to tear her clothes off or lift her up to the bed, but by the time she came to, she was snuggled up in his arms."Ma-Master Ryan." She couldn't bring herself to lift her head up. Were her clothes even wearable at
Upon hearing that her mother was sick, Ruth's heart ached. "Mom...how did she get sick?""Because you pissed her off!" Her father snapped.Ruth's voice trembled. "Dad, what exactly did I do wrong? Are you doing this to me simply because I refused to help my cousin? I can understand that you want to be nice to her because she lost her parents when she was still a child. I've never protested that you favor her over me. But she went as far as to attack me with sulfuric acid, and mom is angry at me instead? If you don't want me as your daughter, just say so, dad. I'll just stay away from now on. Don't worry, though, I will still pay every penny to support you and mom."Ruth had never been so determined before until now. She was devastated!Her father's tone softened at her words. "You have always had your parents right by your side for your entire life, do you have any idea how frustrating life could be for a kid without parents? Try putting yourself in her shoes. What if both of your pare
How could a father not notice his daughter blushing. What was she thinking? Her father spluttered, "You! You two are together?"Ruth flashed crimson and muttered, "Dad...he is going to marry me."Her father was silent, his expression darkened for a split second. But Ruth was too focused on being embarrassed that she failed to notice it."Dad, I'll just give Ryan a call and let him know," she said, still reed.Her father nodded. "Sure."Ruth pulled her phone out and called Ryan. Ryan had just woken up to a red heart-shaped note on his nightstand that read 'Hubby, I went down to get you breakfast. If you wake up to this note, call me and let me know if you want anything specific'.Ryan chuckled at the heart-warming note. "That little woman sure knows how to take care of me."It was almost as soon as he finished reading the note that his phone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello?""Ryan," said Ruth. She was too shy to call him 'hubby' in front of her father, but Ryan wasn't having it."Call
"What are we doing?" Ruth's mother stepped out of her room and kicked at Ruth. "You little skank! Where is your conscience? How dare you step over our sister to get into the elite community? Huh? How could you be this cheap? Do you really want to really be a part of the elite society that badly? Do you want to take your sister's resources from her that badly? Aren't you sisters? How could you be this cheap? How shameless!"Her mother kicked Ruth a few times, more viciously. Ruth wailed in pain, she couldn't see a thing with her head in the sack, so she could only plead. "Mom, can you please just take this off me first? Let me out and-and you can scold me or beat me however you want, okay?""We can let you out!" said her father. "But not until we take your phone and every last penny you own from your bag. We have to tie you up before we remove the sack."Her parents immediately leaped into action after that to go through her bag. Her phone, cash and the shopping card Sabrina had given h
"You have driven yourself insane thinking about climbing your way up the social ladder! But you never belong! You are a Mann, not a Shaw! Do you really think that you can rule over South City and Kidon City simply because you have the support of the old Master Shaw? Just how stupid can you be? You want to marry my husband-to-be, but do you know how he sees you? You are barely even a maggot to him! Wealthy families are not as simple as you think they are! A woman like you, who would harm your own cousin only for a chance to marry into a wealthy family, will never become a lady of high status! You will always be pathetic!""Go to hell!" Mindy gritted out. She was surprised at herself for actually listening to what Ruth had to say about her. She pulled at Ruth's hair viciously and barked, "Uncle, auntie, get me a knife, now! I'm going to destroy her face, let's see how Master Ryan would like that!"Destroy her face? Ruth couldn't care less. She had found peace in her heart and could final
"Say, Sabrina..." Ruth's eyes were swollen from all the crying at this point. "Are they really my parents? I've always cared for them, I even plan on giving them most of my salary once I get it, keeping only a small part to cover my own expenses. They were supposed to be my family, but now..."After narrowly escaping a fate worse than death, Ruth didn't know whether she was supposed to hate them. All she knew was that her heart was filled with nothing but pain. Sabrina didn't know what she should say. She, too, was doubting if Mr. and Mrs. Mann were actually Ruth's parents. But who was she to comment on this? Her own father was merciless towards her as well. Sabrina handed a tissue to Ruth and comforted her. "Don't cry, Ruth, you survived it. It's always darkest before dawn, you know? You are an adult now, there are still going to be a lot of obstacles that await you in the future, but you will have your own family after marrying Ryan and having your own children. You have no idea how
Ruth's heart sank. She had been hurt by her parents, and her only hope now was Ryan. Why didn't he tell her that he was getting discharged?Frustrated, Sabrina whined, "That Poole brat! Some man he is!" Ruth shook her head. "Sabrina, this isn't Master Ryan's fault. He called me but my phone was on silent mode, so I didn't notice it. When I did, I didn't dare to pick it up. I went through the history and he had called me a couple of times the first day I was gone, but after that...he just stopped.""Let me call him and ask him about it," said Sabrina."I tried." Ruth shook her head again with a bitter smile. "His phone has been turned off."Sabrina took her phone out and planned on calling Sebastian to get him to call Ryan and find out what was happening with this nephew of his. Just as she was about to do so, her phone rang. She glanced at it and sneered. She looked up at Ruth. "It's from Ryan, do you want to take this?""You should answer it, Sabrina," Ruth muttered, trapped in her o