CHAPTER 2

Two years later.

"How dare you steal my money!" My step mother screeched, the sound accompanied by the sound of a deafening slap.

I grabbed my throbbing cheek, tears stinging the back of my eyes. "I didn't steal your money."

"Is that so?" She held up a receipt for the latest hospital bill I had paid for my sister. "Then how were you able to afford a five thousand dollar procedure for that corpse?"

Fury rushed through me, but I knew snapping at her not to call my sister a corpse would only earn me more abuse. I lowered my eyes to hide my hate filled glare.

"Answer me you thief! Or are you selling your body on the streets and lying to us that you've been going to college?" She barked, advancing on me.

"A friend loaned me the money." I lied.

Elisa let out a snort of disbelief. "You expect me to believe that anyone would loan a dirty, rat like you any money knowing that you could never pay back?"

Another voice joined in with a scoff, "Mother, in the first place how could you even believe she has friends?"

I glanced over the living room to see my step sister Cassie walking in. I watched in dismay as her dirty boots left a trail of mud from the front door. I had just spent hours scrubbing every inch of the ground and now she had undone all my hard work.

My step mother spun around at her precious daughter's arrival, an excited smile on her face. "Oh Cassie, you didn't tell me you were coming home."

"Surprise!" Cassie laughed, embracing her mother. Then she looked over at me with disgust, "what has the orphan done this time around?"

"She's a liar and a thief, and I'm guessing that She's also resorted to prostitution," Elisa listed. " I'm not surprised though. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all."

Anger rushed through me at the implication that my mother had been a prostitute. How dare this gold digging, pretentious bitch say such about my late mother?

"Ugh forget her. She sickens me," Cassie spat. "I came back home cause I have some good news for you. I'm engaged." She held out her hand with a squeal, flashing her huge diamond ring.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." They both jumped in excitement.

Glad for the distraction, I turned to sneak away and go back to my cleaning when Cassie suddenly snapped at me.

"And where do you think you're going? Are you so bitter that you can't even be happy for me huh?"

I swallowed back the retort on the tip of my tongue. "Congratulations Cassie." Wish you a miserable life with the unlucky man who decided to put a ring on that finger.

"Repeat that after you meet my darling fiance." She smirked at me.

Confusion rushed through me, but a second later, the door flew open and a familiar figure stepped into the house. My breath caught in my throat. Darling, where should I drop the bags?" My ex boyfriend Ryan asked.

Cassie's smirk turned into a smug smile, and she immediately reached out to Ryan. "Forget the bags baby. Come meet my family."

"You bitch!" The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Cassie shot me a look of mocking astonishment and hurt. "How rude, Mila."

My gaze shifted over to Ryan, who stared at me like he had never met me before. My brain refused to compute what was happening right in front of me. Ryan knew everything about what I had gone through in my step family's hand since the death of my father, so how could he do this to me.

"How could you!" I spat at Ryan, who rolled his eyes like I was a pest. "It wasn't enough that you dumped me like I meant nothing, but now you have the guts to show up here as Cassie's fiance."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Mila," he yawned. "Cassie and I have always had a connection, and it just took you getting out of our way for me to finally realize that she's my soul mate."

Tears blurred my vision. I couldn't believe this.

"Now why don't you make yourself useful by going to get my fiance something to eat?" Cassie snapped her finger in my direction.

"Why don't you go get it yourself." I growled, spinning around to walk out.

My step mother caught my arm in a painful grip. I cried out as her long nails bit into my skin and broke it. "You're hurting me!"

"You insolent gutter rat. How dare you speak to my daughter like that?" Elisa barked. "I see that I've given you too much freedom in this house and so you no longer recognize your betters."

"After everything we've done for you. Feeding, housing and clothing you when your stupid parents chose to die." Cassandra flipped her hair over her shoulder. "When any one else would have tossed you out, we saved you out of the goodness of our hearts."

Saved me? "I'm nothing but a slave in this house and any way, the house belongs to me."

Elisa's eyes flashed with fury. " Oh really? So choose one then, your precious house and inheritance or your sister's life? I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm her legal guardian and I could easily tell the hospital to pull the plug on her life machine."

Terror rocked through me. "No. Please."

"It's too late to beg." She spat. "your inheritance money is finished and we can no longer afford to pay her bills."

You're not even the one paying it!" I sobbed.

She laughed. "Is that so? Well, the money is finished and we have to pull the plug."

"Please! " I dropped to my knees desperately. "Don't do this. Please. I'll do anything."

"Will you?" Cassie smirked. "well, luckily for you, there's someone else that's willing to foot all our bills in return for your hand in marriage."

My head snapped up. "W-what?"

At that moment, the door opened with a thundering bang, and someone stepped into the house.

Bile rose up my throat.