Chapter 3

"That was a gift from my sister. Do you know how precious it is to me?"

"What's your name!"

"Thea, my name is Thea." I didn't look up, my voice shaking.

Derek made the call, his voice cold and heartless.

"Fire that employee named Thea right now!"

I didn't argue back. I just quietly stood up and looked at him one last time.

He probably recognized me. Not daring to meet my eyes, he just turned his back to me.

I packed up my things and collected my final paycheck.

Walking down the street, my head started hurting again. My phone buzzed with a message—the villa manager asking me to come clean.

After a few bus stops, I had to walk the rest of the way to the villa area in the suburbs.

There was a lot of traffic on the mountain road. Halfway there, a big truck passed by with a red banner on it.

[Wishing my precious daughter success at work]

I looked away from it enviously and walked for an hour before reaching the villa I was supposed to clean.

I changed into work clothes with the other part-timers and put on a mask.

"Be careful not to disturb Ms. Brown."

After the manager gave instructions, he started assigning tasks. I was in charge of cleaning the pool.

As soon as I got to the pool, I heard clear laughter.

"Mom, Dad, thank you for throwing this party for me today. I'm so happy!"

The familiar voice caught my attention.

"Sophia, as long as you're happy."

"From now on, if anyone at the company bothers you, just tell us."

"We've prepared an even bigger surprise for you. It's already waiting outside!"

So this was my parents' real home.

"What about Thea? Mom, Dad, is the test for her not over yet?" Sophia asked them innocently.

My whole body went stiff, my heart filled with both hope and fear.

"She barely passed the first test. I pretended to be sick, and she really gave up school and has been working ever since."

"But this morning she actually tested your mother, so we decided to add two more tests."

Sophia asked again, "Isn't this too harsh on Thea?"

My mom smiled gently, but she comforted Sophia first. "You're too kind. Thea grew up in the countryside, so she must have picked up bad habits like being greedy for money. Only by pretending to be poor and testing her can we cure her vanity."

Tears streamed down my face. Sophia ran past me and knocked me straight into the pool.

I couldn't swim and choked on the water, coughing. She turned around and smiled at me, her eyes full of pride and showing off.

In that moment, I was sure—Sophia knew who I was.

She pretended to reach out to pull me up, but my parents stopped her at the same time.

"The water's too cold. What if you catch a cold?"

"The one who fell in is just a cleaner hired by the butler, right? I'll give her triple pay." After saying this, they left with Sophia, while I, soaking wet, could only struggle to climb out on my own.

When I left, the butler did give me triple pay.

At the door, I saw the surprise my parents had prepared for Sophia.

It was a brand new pink sports car.

"Sophia, you can drive this car to work from now on."

Hearing the girl's laughter, I quickened my steps to leave.

The road home was long and hard.

My tears seemed to dry up along the way, and so did my clothes.

My biological parents and brother had paved a smooth road for Sophia,

but they had me running in circles with their lies.

I collapsed on that cold iron bed. Half-conscious, I heard my mother's crying voice. "Thea, your father's condition has gotten worse. Would you be willing to donate a kidney to him?"