Chapter 1
Quinlyn Guzman was dying on the cold hospital bed, just waiting for the end. She stared at the closed door and the empty room. Her eyes closed, and she trembled.
She wondered if her own parents and brothers really hated her that much. Even knowing she’s dying, they didn’t even look
at her.
Her hand shook as she tried to grab her phone. She wanted to see them one last time or hear their voices before she died.
Just lifting the phone wore her out. She was panting hard, her face pale, as she dialed. The call was not connected. All Quinlyn got was the robotic reply. She froze, and then clenched her fist and dialed again.
Finally, maybe annoyed by the ringtone, the other end answered the call. Quinlyn said in a hurry, “Hello, Mom and Dad, I
Yalena Guzman cut her off. “Quinlyn, Mom and Dad won’t take your calls. Stop pushing it, or they’ll sue you for damaging the Guzman family.” Her gentle voice turned harsh, like she was the judge.
Then Yalena added, “By the way, Zachary and I are getting married. Leave us alone.”
Quinlyn heard a familiar man’s voice say, “Yalena, try this wedding dress again.”
Yalena’s voice softened instantly. “Okay, I’ll be right there. I’m thirsty. I want some watermelon juice.”
After the man replied gently, only Yalena’s voice remained. She lowered her tone. “Quinlyn, I know you’re dying, but you did this to yourself. Why did you try to take everything I had so cruelly? If you had another chance, don’t be so bad, okay?”
The call ended suddenly. When Quinlyn tried to call back, she was blocked. She slowly put her phone down and laughed bitterly. Her laughter got louder as tears streamed down her face.
Quinlyn thought, ‘So, it was me who took Yalena’s parents and fiancé? I have ruined Yalena’s perfect life and destroyed the Guzman family. My life has been a mistake from the start. But the Guzman family… it should be my home…
Quinlyn stared at the plain white ceiling, her mind fading.
At the last moment, a mechanical voice echoed in her head, [Quinlyn died on a sunny afternoon at the hospital, finally bringing peace back to the Guzman family.]
Quinlyn sank into darkness, filled with shock. Her mind repeated the last sentence.
Quinlyn opened her eyes, finding that she was at a bus station, clutching her phone.
The hot sun was beating down, and a furious shout exploded beside her ears. “You little brat, get the money for Mom’s hospital bill back now. If you run off with it to your boyfriend, I’ll break your legs.”
Quinlyn froze; all this was too familiar for her.
Quinlyn’s silence made the caller even angrier. The yelling and cursing got louder.
Before she turned eighteen, she heard insults every day. For a while, she thought everyone talked like that.
She took a deep breath to calm down. “I’m just getting some fresh air outside, and I’m too young for a boyfriend.”
The other end snapped back, “We all know you. You can’t stop chasing guys. Who was that guy last time—”
Chapter 1
Quinlyn hung up right away. After ending the call, she trembled as she looked at the rundown station.
This station should have been torn down three years ago. She was not sure if this was a dream. She looked down at her rough but young hands. Then she saw a stack of money. The money was her worst nightmare.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind, saying, (Quinlyn gets to the station, buys a ticket to meet that street punk and get away.]
Quinlyn froze. Those words brought back that awful day.
Living with the Chappells, Quinlyn got insulted all the time. Then, by accident, she heard her parents say she wasn’t their real kid. She was already stunned. But worse was coming.
They said, “I want to know how our real daughter is. Since we swapped them, I haven’t seen her. Every day, I have to look at that bitch. Just look at her. She’s nothing but trouble.”
In a flash, Quinlyn’s world fell apart. She burst in to demand answers, but all she got was a sneering dismissal.
Quinlyn’s adopted mother, Beatrice Chappell stonewalled her. “We’re just kidding. What, you think you’re some princess? You think you’re that lucky?
“Go get ready for tomorrow’s sale. All you do is eat, never work. After this year, quit school. Drop out and get married fast. Help Yarden buy a house and find him a wife.”
Beatrice’s fake face and half-hearted attempt to hide something showed the betrayal. Quinlyn said directly, “You lied to me.”
Beatrice sneered, “Yeah, I lied to you. Princess? Go find your rich dad. Tsk, what’s the point of raising you? Better to raise a dog.
Humiliating words poured down. For Quinlyn’s angry glare, Beatrice slapped her hard, showing no mercy.
In Quinlyn’s previous life, she knew that no matter how good she was, her family would never like her. Then she changed. She started acting out, lazy and clueless.
Back then, her bad look shamed the Guzman family, her real parents’ family. They declared that Yalena was their daughter and Quinlyn the adopted one.
Thinking of her dark days at the Guzman residence, Quinlyn clenched her fists tightly. People are never let down by things they don’t hope for. The worst part was that she saw them as her rescue and hope, only to find it was all a stupid dream.
Urged on by that street punk, Quinlyn stole Beatrice’s hospital money. But he tricked her. He took the cash and left her in a remote spot. She barely escaped assault and limped back to the hospital, bruised and beaten.
By chance, she saw the Guzmans. They looked down on her but felt sorry for Yalena having such awful parents. Their Yalena, loved for years, shouldn’t be treated like this.
Quinlyn’s phone buzzed again. She glanced at it and gave a cold laugh. “Let me the dying old lady teach these young punks a lesson. Girls should be loved, not lied to.”
Twenty minutes later. She stepped out of the alley, breathing a bit hard, and said to the skinny street punk, “Kid, get better before you try scamming girls.”
Just then, the voice appeared again. [Modification: Quinlyn got to the station. After the call, she beat the street punk up bad. From then on, he changed his ways, studied hard, and became her loyal buddy.]
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Chapter 2
