My dad had a respectable job and always acted like a man who took responsibility. My mom didn't have a high degree, and she was timid and afraid of conflict. So, when they divorced, I decisively chose to live with my dad. Not long after, my dad remarried. My new stepmom sold me to human traffickers. My mom crossed mountains and rivers, risking everything to find me and bring me back from the middle of nowhere. The moment we reunited, my mom held me and sobbed: "Peach, I'm so sorry! Mom failed to protect you!" My dad, in order to pay for his stepson's expensive private school tuition, forced me to drop out of high school. My mom couldn't win back custody, so she could only secretly slip me the tuition money she had painstakingly saved up. Eventually, I was pushed off a balcony by my stepbrother and died. My dad testified in court: "The girl committed suicide." After I died, I floated in the air as a spirit. I saw my mom holding a sign with the word "Injustice" written in blood-red letters, kneeling outside the courthouse for days, refusing to leave... When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn. I was back on the exact day the judge asked me to choose between them. 1 In the courtroom, the judge called me in. "According to the law, since the child is over eight years old, we must respect her true wishes." "You are already fourteen. You understand the circumstances of both your parents. Who do you choose to live with?" I had just been reborn, and my head was still a bit foggy. Thinking I was hesitating, my mom rushed to say, "Peach, come live with Mom. Mom can take good care of you." My dad shot her a look of absolute disdain and said, "What kind of care can you provide? Are you going to feed my daughter scraps for the rest of her life?" "I already found a job! I can support Peach!" "With your education, how much can you possibly make? For the past dozen years, every single penny you spent was mine!" Listening to their argument, my mind gradually cleared. In my past life, I was a fourteen-year-old girl going through a rebellious phase. My mom was strict. She wouldn't let me get extra ear piercings, dye my hair blonde, and definitely wouldn't let me skip class to date boys. I found her incredibly annoying. My dad, on the other hand, rarely came home and basically never disciplined me. Whenever he did show up, he would just hand me a wad of cash and tell me to take my friends out for KFC buckets. So, when they were fighting for custody, I chose my dad without a second thought. Hearing my decision, my mom started crying uncontrollably. Her tears soaked her clothes. Her hair, her lips, her eyes... everything was covered in tears. She kept calling my name as she watched my dad smugly lead me away. Now, this scene was playing out again. Both my parents were staring at me with desperate, expectant eyes, waiting for my decision. "I choose Mom." A look of pure, unadulterated shock and joy flashed across my mom's eyes. My dad looked at me in utter disbelief. "But I have one condition! "I want to change my last name! I'm taking my mom's last name!" 2 Outside the courthouse, my dad grabbed my arm. "Peach! What is wrong with you? My financial situation is infinitely better than your mother's. You've always been a kid who knows how to weigh the pros and cons!" "Exactly. Because I know how to weigh the pros and cons, I would never choose you!" In my past life, my spirit hovered in mid-air, watching my own blood-soaked body being loaded into a body bag. My dad put on a pathetic show, kneeling on the ground and crying, telling the police that I committed suicide because the pressure of the SATs was too much for me. Total bullshit! I scored a 1550 on the SATs. What pressure did I have? It was his cheap stepson, who couldn't even get into a community college, who pushed me off the balcony out of pure jealousy. If his stepson was the murderer, my dad was a complete and utter accomplice. Under the scorching sun, my mom held that "Injustice" sign, kneeling in front of the courthouse, ignoring the pointing and whispering of the crowds. Her knees were worn raw and bleeding, but she refused to leave, demanding justice for my death. If I chose him again in this life, I would literally be asking for a death sentence. "Peach, what do you mean by that?" "What do I mean? Do you really not understand?" I stared at him provocatively, making the hair on his arms stand up. My mom was also confused by my behavior. "William Vance. Let me jog your memory. Does the name Chloe Summers ring a bell?" My dad's previously firm gaze instantly became evasive. "Who... who is that?" I sneered internally. Why is he pretending? 3 Chloe Summers was his college goddess. My dad chased her for four years and worshipped her for four years. After graduation, the Summers family refused to let them marry, forcing Chloe to marry into a wealthy, elite family instead. So, my dad, introduced by relatives, ended up marrying my mom. Years later, Chloe and her son were kicked out by that wealthy family with absolutely nothing. No one knew why. My dad, the ultimate simp, decisively stepped up to be the fallback guy. He subjected my mom to three years of severe emotional abuse and the silent treatment, forcing her to agree to a divorce so he could rush to marry Chloe. My mom might not have known the name Chloe Summers, but my dad certainly knew it better than anyone. "Peach, I know who she is. She's your dad's college classmate. I met her once when I went to pick your dad up from a college reunion. Let's not bring up irrelevant people. Let's just go home!" My mom tried to pull me away, but I wasn't about to let my dad off the hook that easily. After today, I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. If I didn't make him squirm a little, it would be an insult to my tragic death in my past life. "Mom! Are you blind? Chloe Summers is his first love and his mistress!" My mom froze, but she didn't look surprised. "You knew?" I always thought my mom was uneducated, slow-witted, and completely oblivious to my dad's affairs. "Then why did you endure it for three years?" Three years of the silent treatment! My dad came home less than twenty times a year. When he did, he would just pack a few clothes, shove two thousand dollars into my hand, and rush back out the door. "Peach, Mom didn't want you to be sad, so I kept it a secret. I didn't want you to know your father was that kind of person. I didn't want you to grow up with an inferiority complex." "So, you suffered for three years... for me? "Just to maintain the illusion of a happy family, you lied to yourself like that?" My mom looked a little guilty under my stare, her hands clasped together, nervously rubbing her fingers. 4 Honestly, what right did I have to judge my mom?! In my past life, I was such a rebellious brat. Whenever my mom sat up late under the desk lamp, looking heartbroken, I called her dramatic and said she was just bored because she didn't have a job. When my dad hung up on her countless times, I would make snide comments, saying she was a failure as a woman because she couldn't even keep her own man. Whenever my mom left the house, it was never for more than an hour—just quick trips to the supermarket or the grocery store downstairs. But my dad? When he left, it was for a week minimum. He went to Dubai for business trips, he attended conferences at the World Trade Center... he was so important! I expressed more than once that Dad was way more important than Mom. So, my mom enduring three years without asking for a divorce... was truly entirely because of me! Thinking about this, I wanted to slap myself across the face. I looked at my dad, unable to suppress a cold laugh. "William Vance, do you see now?! Mom and I both knew about you screwing around! "Think about how arrogant and smug you were acting in that courtroom just now. Isn't it hilarious? You looked like an absolute clown!" My dad was already feeling guilty. Hearing me lay it all out stripped him of his usual intimidating aura. He stood frozen in place, looking like a deflated balloon. 5 I linked arms with my mom, turned around, and hailed a cab to go home. "Peach, I'm so sorry. Because of me, you won't be able to live in the big house anymore." My mom looked at me guiltily, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Your dad bought that house before we got married. The law protects pre-marital assets now. I couldn't get a single piece of it." I comforted her, telling her it was fine. We could rent an apartment. Even though she didn't have a college degree, she was incredibly skilled at making handicrafts. I could help her start a social media channel. We definitely wouldn't starve. But I still felt a knot of anger in my chest. My dad cheated during the marriage; he was clearly at fault! But in the end, he didn't lose a single thing. He kept the house and the cars. Mom and I walked away with absolutely nothing but child support. And that child support would end the second I turned eighteen. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Sensing my frustration, my mom said, "Proving infidelity is incredibly difficult, especially since your dad is resourceful and hid his mistress very well. Why did he give me the silent treatment instead of just asking for a divorce? He wanted to drag it out until I was completely emotionally drained, so he could eventually file for divorce citing 'long-term separation'." "I know. But Mom, don't worry. I am confident that even though we didn't get those assets, I will never, ever let him and Chloe's family enjoy them in peace." My mom smiled and said, "Alright! I have two working hands. I won't let you suffer." "Yeah! The best days for us girls are still ahead!" My mom happily started packing our bags. There was a sense of profound relief and joy radiating from her. But not me. In a corner she couldn't see, I glared at my parents' wedding photo on the wall, my face contorted with dark, vicious hatred. My mom didn't know what I went through in my past life, and I didn't want to tell her. In this life, she had let it go. But I would never easily let William Vance and his pathetic new family off the hook. 6 A few days later, I gathered all the necessary documents and went to the police station to legally change my last name. My mom said I didn't actually need to go this far. Even though they were divorced, the blood relation between me and my dad couldn't be severed. But I was adamant about changing it. His last name disgusted me. Just as I finished filling out the application form, I saw two familiar faces walk in. "What a small world. Is this the only police station in the entire city?" The voice was sickeningly sweet and coquettish. It was Chloe Summers. She walked in arm-in-arm with my dad. When she saw me, she dramatically rolled her eyes. My dad asked, "Peach, what are you guys doing here?" I waved the name-change application form in my hand and said, "Changing my last name, obviously. I explicitly stated this in court." Hearing this, my dad's face immediately darkened. "Do you have to take things to such extremes? I let your mother down, yes, but how did I ever let you down? Why do you insist on changing your last name?" "Why? Because it feels dirty!" I glanced at the hand Chloe had wrapped around my dad's arm. A massive diamond ring was already sparkling on her finger. I remembered when my mom first married my dad, he was just a broke kid. Forget a diamond ring; their entire wedding was incredibly bare-bones. My dad promised that once he made it big, he would definitely buy her a proper wedding ring. Yet here I was, fourteen years old, and I had never seen this legendary "Emperor's Diamond Ring." One time, my mom finally brought it up, but my dad immediately shut her down with a few harsh words. "You don't even work! Do you have any idea how much a diamond ring costs? Does my money grow on trees? "Besides, you're a housewife doing chores all day. Wearing a ring would be inconvenient anyway!" My mom didn't argue, and she never brought up the wedding ring ever again. 7 "The ink on the divorce decree isn't even dry yet, and you've already got the wedding ring on. Dad, exactly how desperate are you? Can't go a single day without a woman in your bed?" My dad looked incredibly uncomfortable, but Chloe snapped back first: "You're only fourteen! Where did you learn such filthy language?! You act like a little street thug!" "Shut your mouth!" My mom stepped forward, blocking me. "A homewrecking mistress has no right to lecture my daughter!" My mom intentionally said the word "mistress" very loudly, drawing the attention of quite a few people in the busy station lobby. I saw my dad tug on Chloe's hand. He was somewhat of a public figure in this city, and he clearly didn't want to make a scene. Unfortunately for him, I absolutely did. I was just a fourteen-year-old girl right now. I had nothing to be afraid of. I immediately activated my Oscar-worthy acting skills and started bawling in the middle of the lobby. "Dad! Your mistress is yelling at me! Did you give her permission to do that?! "I thought my dad, William Vance, was a real man who stood tall and protected his family! But you're just standing here letting your mistress bully your wife and daughter in a police station!" I screamed my dad's full name as loudly as I could, and surprisingly, a man in the lobby actually recognized him. "Oh hey, isn't this CEO Vance?" Seeing this, my dad had to force a calm expression and greet the man. The man looked at my mom standing next to me, then looked at Chloe standing next to my dad. His expression was incredibly complicated, but he still walked toward my mom. "Mrs. Vance, are you here running errands with the kid?" My mom engaged in polite, elegant small talk with the man. Her demeanor was graceful and poised—she didn't look at all like the stereotype of a housewife who only knew how to do chores. My dad also joined the conversation, discussing some business matters with the man, completely leaving Chloe hanging on the side. I shot a sideways glance at Chloe. Her face was cycling between green and white. She looked incredibly uncomfortable. 8 In my past life, I lived with my dad and had to live under the same roof as Chloe. She constantly criticized me. She complained that I only picked the meat out of the dishes at dinner, she complained that I used too much toilet paper, she complained that I didn't tutor her son with his homework. She said, "Peach Vance, can't you see? In this house, you are the outsider." Now, she was the one who was the unwanted outsider. "William, they called our number." Chloe tugged on my dad's sleeve, and the two of them walked to the counter under the contemptuous stares of everyone around them. I remembered my dad came to the police station to update the marital status on his household registry document. He had to change it to "Divorced" before he could legally marry Chloe. In my past life, I threw tantrums for days over this and even hid his registry document just to stop them from getting married. That made Chloe hate me with a burning passion, which led her to hire human traffickers to sell me into the mountains. This time, how could I let them get what they wanted so easily? I picked up my iced coffee, popped the lid off, and slowly walked up behind my dad. The exact moment my dad opened the registry booklet and presented the page to the clerk, I deliberately "tripped" and splashed the entire cup of coffee directly onto it. Then, amidst the gasps of the crowd, I frantically used my sleeve to "wipe" the coffee stains off the page. But I rubbed it incredibly hard, scrubbing the official document until it dissolved into a soggy, pulpy mess of wet paper. My dad roared, "Peach Vance, are you crazy?!" I replied coldly, "Watch your phrasing. My name is now Peach Sterling." "You did that on purpose?!" "Of course!" My dad raised his hand, fully intending to slap me, but my mom reached out and blocked it mid-air. My mom gripped his wrist. He twisted and pulled for a long time but surprisingly couldn't break free at all. "William Vance, never underestimate the physical strength of a stay-at-home mom. Especially a woman who has to carry a child and mop the floors every single day. Her arm strength is terrifying." With a sharp flick of her wrist, my mom shoved William back several steps. The clerk yelled, "Hey, hey, hey! This is a police station! No fighting in here!" William quickly asked the clerk if he could get a replacement registry document, but was told the printer was out of official paper and he would have to wait until tomorrow. Chloe stomped her feet in frustration. Even though she desperately wanted to go crazy, she was intimidated by my mom's presence and didn't dare lay a hand on me. Seeing her expression made me want to laugh. "What's wrong, Auntie Mistress? Are you in that much of a hurry? You finally managed to push out the original wife, and now you're terrified that delaying your marriage license by one day will ruin your master plan?" Chloe muttered a few more curses before my dad dragged her away. After they were out of earshot, my mom finally asked me, "Peach, what was the point of doing that?" I knew full well that doing that was essentially useless. Even if I stole the document, I couldn't stop those two scumbags from getting married. All I wanted to do was draw Chloe's aggro. I needed her to view me as a massive threat so she would resort to the same drastic measures against me as she did in my past life. 9 A month later, I officially became Peach Sterling. Shedding the "Vance" name felt like taking a breath of fresh air. It was liberating. Calculating the timeline, today was the exact day Chloe would make her move. Today also happened to be her son Leo's birthday. In my past life, when the three of them celebrated his birthday, I didn't want to be a third wheel, so I asked my dad for some money, planning to eat out and come home late. Before my dad could even reach for his wallet, Chloe surprisingly jumped in, enthusiastically shoving a hundred-dollar bill into my hand. Smiling brightly, she told me to treat my classmates and that it was perfectly fine if I came home late. Whenever things are unnaturally perfect, there's always a demon lurking behind the scenes. And just like that, I got kidnapped. This time, I was fully prepared. I wasn't afraid of whatever tricks she had up her sleeve. I told my mom in advance that I was going to a classmate's house after school to do homework, so she shouldn't wait up for me for dinner. I also deliberately called my dad to ask for allowance money. Chloe, you better be smart about this. I practically handed you the perfect opportunity on a silver platter. You absolutely must make your move. After school, I slipped something into the deepest inner pocket of my jacket and started wandering the streets. Small alleys, dark side streets... wherever it was dark, I went. Wherever it was deserted, I slipped in. Finally, the pair of dark hands I had been eagerly anticipating arrived. Two men clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me toward a waiting van. I put up a token struggle for a few seconds, then found a comfortable position and let them restrain me. Once in the van, the three traffickers started chatting. "Boss, I feel like something isn't right." "What's not right?" "This little girl was way too easy to grab." "That bitch said this kid is only fourteen. How hard could she possibly be to grab?" Two of the traffickers glanced back at me. I quickly stifled a yawn and continued to perform my best impression of a terrified, trembling victim.
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