"You crazy woman, I’m gonna kill you—"

A man’s thunderous roar exploded from the room behind her, making Tessa Thornton jolt in sheer fright.

She bit down hard on her lip, spun around, and bolted straight into the pouring rain…

By the time she staggered her way back to the Thornton home, she was drenched and trembling.

Inside, Cynthia Thornton was casually munching on sunflower seeds while chatting with Benjamin Thornton and Fiona Thornton. The three of them looked like the perfect happy family.

The moment Cynthia saw her, her brows lifted with a mocking curl.

"Well, well. Look who came strolling back. Had fun out there? Your neck’s covered in some guy’s marks."

"Smack—"

Tessa didn’t give her a chance to keep yapping. She lifted her hand and slapped her across the face.

The whole living room froze for three full seconds before Cynthia let out a sharp, ear‑splitting scream.

"You bitch! You hit me—how dare you hit me! Mom! She hit me! It hurts, it hurts so bad! Waaa—"

Fiona Thornton shot up from the sofa like she’d been poked.

"Tessa, are you out of your mind? Who told you you could lay a hand on Cynthia?! You wretched girl! How dare you—"

Slap after slap rained down on Tessa’s face, Fiona’s rage completely losing control.

"Apologize to Cynthia! Right now!"

Tessa covered her burning, swollen cheek, her voice hoarse.

"Mom, why don’t you ask Cynthia what she did?! She drugged me just to steal my boyfriend—and then handed me over to some old creep!"

"What boyfriend? You mean Wesley Young? He’s Cynthia’s boyfriend! They’ve been together for over six months! And you—you’re the vile one here! Trying to steal your sister’s man and even hitting her! Apologize!"

Tessa stared at her in disbelief, her mind going blank. Wesley Young… had been with Cynthia for half a year?

Ha.

So she’d been played for six months straight.

Tessa Thornton wiped her tears hard. Fine. A jerk like Wesley Young wasn’t worth crying over anyway.

But what Cynthia Thornton did to her? That wouldn’t just get swept under the rug.

She snapped, her voice trembling, “Forget Wesley Young. What about Cynthia drugging me? Shouldn’t she at least give me an explanation?!”

Mrs. Thornton frowned.

“For something that trivial you actually hit my daughter? Is this how you repay the Thornton family for raising you?”

Mr. Thornton, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke with a dark expression.

“So you were humiliated. Big deal. We’ve already arranged your marriage. Mr. Lewis is in a vegetative state. You marry him, he won’t touch you, and he won’t care whether you’re still ‘pure’ or not. But this cannot get out. Our family’s reputation can’t be ruined.”

Tessa stared at them, shocked. Her reddened eyes shimmered, and her voice cracked.

“Dad, Mom… is my first time that worthless to you?”

“Since I was little, you always sided with Cynthia. No matter what happened, I was the one punished. Even when I felt wronged, I held it in, because she was younger, because she was the ‘real’ daughter. But even today… even after what she did… you’re still protecting her?”

Cynthia let out a cold laugh.

“Of course they’re protecting me. I’m the Thornton heiress. You? You’re just a stray they picked up.”

Tessa ignored her. Her eyes, red but stubborn, locked onto Mr. and Mrs. Thornton.

She stared at the two people who had raised her for nineteen years, the two she had loved for nineteen years.

“So in your eyes… I’m really nothing more than a dog you raised?”

Mr. Thornton’s face turned pitch-black, and Mrs. Thornton looked completely displeased.

“Since we’re being blunt today,” Mrs. Thornton said coldly, “from now on, you’re not allowed to argue with Cynthia anymore. Remember your place. Cynthia is your master.”

Tessa: “…”

For a second she wanted to laugh, but the laugh twisted inside her and almost turned into a sob.

She forced every tear back down, clinging to the last shred of her dignity.

“I won’t call the police about today. Consider that my repayment for nineteen years of being raised here. But if you think I’m going to marry a man in a coma just because you said so—dream on.”

Tessa Thornton finished talking and turned to leave. She’d already reached the doorway when she suddenly twisted back to look at Cynthia Thornton.

“Thanks, Cynthia. Really. Thanks for snatching away the top scumbag in my life and letting me shine on my own. Trash and dogs are a perfect match—may you two stay glued together forever and never break up to go mess with anyone else!

“Oh, and by the way, I didn’t sleep with some old geezer today. I slept with a drop‑dead gorgeous man—handsome, skilled, and built like a dream! A thousand Wesley Youngs together couldn’t compare to him.”

Tessa threw out the last sentence and turned to leave. Benjamin Thornton roared, “Stop right there! We already accepted the Lewis family’s bride price. You’re not going anywhere—wait here and get married!”

Tessa bit down hard on her lip, fury burning through her chest. Then she spun around and rushed straight into the pouring rain. From this moment on, she and the Thornton family were done.

But the second she escaped their clutches, someone struck her from behind, and everything went black…

Nine months later, in a tiny, remote village house, a newborn’s cry split the air.

A female doctor hurried out holding a baby.

She looked at the woman in front of her—oversized sunglasses, a black mask, fancy clothes dripping with wealth—and said excitedly, “Miss, miss, it’s a boy.”

The woman glanced over with obvious disgust. “Ugly as hell.”

She curtly added to the bodyguard behind her, “Take that useless brat away.”

The doctor hesitated. “There are still two babies in the mother’s belly. What should we do?”

The woman said coldly, “Dump them deep in the mountains. Let them fend for themselves. There’s fifty million in this card. Starting today, I never want to see you in Nation Z again.”

“Yes, yes!”

……

Four years later, Riverveil City train station.

Scorching summer heat.

Tessa lugged a huge backpack, a little one tugging at her left hand and another clinging to her right. With great effort, she squeezed her way out of the crowd and off the train.

Seeing the familiar scenery in front of her, she paused, dazed for a moment.

Five years ago, after she walked away from the Thornton family, she was locked up by a stranger. It wasn’t until much later that she realized she was pregnant. When she went into labor, the pain knocked her out cold, and by the time she woke up again, she was already deep in the mountains.

Lucky for her and the two little ones, they somehow pulled through. A kind old couple living up in the woods found them and saved their lives.

They ended up staying there for five whole years. If it weren’t for the kids needing to start school, she honestly wouldn’t have come down that mountain.

And she definitely wouldn’t have returned to Riverveil City.

This trip was mainly to get the little ones registered.

With household registration, they could finally go to kindergarten, get medical insurance… and live like normal kids.

“Wow, so this is where Mommy grew up~”

“Whoa, there are so many people here! So many cars, so many buildings. But the trees are tiny, there aren’t any flowers, and I don’t see any bears or wolf pups.”

The two little ones chimed one after another. Tessa pulled herself out of her memories and exhaled slowly.

Life has beaten her down a thousand times, and she still treats life like some first love.

Not because she’s some saint with a heart as big as the ocean—but because she has her two babies.

Tessa turned to her daughter on the left. “Mommy lived here ever since she was little—nineteen years.”

Then she looked at her mischievous son on the right. “You silly bean, bears and wolf pups live way deep in the mountains. This place is for humans.”

Sophia tilted her tiny head. “Mommy, Daddy is human too, right?”

Tessa: “…Uh, yeah. Of course.”

“Then is Daddy here too?” Sophia blinked those big round eyes at her.

Nathan also looked up, curious.

Tessa pressed her lips together. Why bring him up now? Total mood-killer.

Thinking back on how he treated her… wasn’t it just because she was poor? Same as her so-called first love—both of them acting like they were too good for her.

Tessa huffed silently and said to the two little ones:

“Sweeties, your daddy isn’t here. He… went to hell already.”

Sophia blinked, her little face scrunching up as she grew anxious, and said earnestly, “Then let’s hurry and go to hell to find Daddy! Sophia misses Daddy!”

Tessa Thornton’s mouth twitched hard. This little brain was a bit too straightforward.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’re staying right here in the human world, okay?”

She quickly changed the subject. “Mommy is taking you to ride a car now, a real car—not a picture, not a tiny toy model, a real one that actually moves!”

The two little ones immediately lit up like lightbulbs. “Okay!”

After all, growing up deep in the mountains, they had never even seen a car with four wheels.

Tessa gave each child a kiss, then held their hands and headed to line up for a taxi.

Riverveil City was a tiny little place, practically the smallest of small towns—no airport, no high‑speed rail. The only transportation hub was this train station. Everyone crowded here, and the line for taxis was as long as the queue for New Year’s money.

Nathan and Sophia were going down the mountain for the first time, acting just like kids entering a grand palace for the first time. They ran around excitedly, playing several meters away from the line.

Suddenly—

A row of luxury cars drove up like some red‑carpet procession and stopped neatly in front of everyone.

Dozens of bodyguards jumped out, forming two perfectly aligned rows, their movements textbook‑level precise. They all bowed deeply in the direction where Tessa was standing.

“!” Tessa froze on the spot.

What on earth was this supposed to be?

At that moment, a low, cold, clearly impatient male voice suddenly sounded behind her—

“I told you to keep a low profile. What the hell is this? Trying to make me look like some mafia boss? Idiots!”

Tessa’s heart jolted violently.

That voice… why did it sound exactly like the signature male escort she had somehow ended up sleeping with five years ago?!