3
I returned to the Hayes estate like a walking corpse.
The house was eerily quiet, the usual noise of the staff completely absent. The sprawling mansion felt colder and emptier than ever.
In the living room, my parents were locked in a tense confrontation.
“Richard Hayes,” my mother, Evelyn, said calmly, taking a sip of her tea. “I can cover for you this time, clean up the mess from Lila’s engagement disaster. But I’ll need 10% of the company’s shares in exchange.”
My father shot up from the couch, his face twisted with fury.
“Evelyn, don’t push me!” he barked, his voice echoing through the room.
She let out a sharp laugh, unimpressed by his outburst.
“Push you? You’re the one sneaking around like a fool, not even smart enough to hide your tracks. You couldn’t keep your mistress a secret from your own daughter. And let’s talk about who you picked–Mia? Really, Richard? Of all the women in the world, you chose her? Talk about desperate.”
At her words, my father’s anger melted into a cold smirk. Sitting back down, he ran a hand through his salt–and–pepper hair, regaining his
composure.
“Lila and Mia are close, aren’t they?” he said, his tone mocking. “All I’ve done is bring the family closer. A little bonding, if you will.”
My mother scoffed. “You’re disgusting, Richard. Just sign the papers. Are you giving me the shares or not?”
I stood frozen in the entryway, hidden in the shadows, tears silently streaming down my face.
In their eyes, I wasn’t their daughter. I wasn’t even a person.
I was just a tool.
All the love and privilege they’d showered on me over the years? It was nothing more than an investment. An animal fattened up for slaughter, ready to be traded for their benefit.
I wiped my tears and stepped into the room, my feet heavy but determined.
When they saw me, the air shifted.
<
My father’s smirk faltered for a brief moment, but he quickly masked it. My mother didn’t even flinch, her expression as unreadable as ever.
“So this is why you had me,” I said, my voice low and hollow. “Not because you wanted a child, but because you needed a tool. Wouldn’t adopting one have been cheaper?”
My father’s expression hardened. Reaching for the ornate ruler on the side table, he weighed it in his hand like a weapon, his gaze sharp and commanding.
“Lila,” he said, his voice cold. “Is that how
you
talk to
your father?”
My mother stood, uninterested in the unfolding drama. She sighed, clearly intent on leaving the room.
I ignored my father’s looming presence and turned to her instead.
“Mom,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You never loved me, did
you?”
All those years of soft smiles, gentle words, and careful lessons–they were nothing but calculated lies. Every decision she made in the name of “love” had been nothing more than a cold, strategic move.
She looked me over, her lips curling into a faint, pitying smile.
“Lila,” she said finally, “look at the state you’re in. You’re embarrassing.”
Her words hit harder than Cole’s slap earlier that day.
“Embarrassing?” I repeated, laughing bitterly as tears burned my eyes. “And what about Richard Hayes and Cole Parker? Is there anyone in this city more humiliating than them right now?”
My father rose slowly, his presence suffocating as he stalked toward me. His gaze was heavy with disappointment.
“Lila,” he said, his voice low and menacing, “you’ve forgotten your place. After everything this family has done for you, after all the effort we’ve put into raising you, this is how you repay us?”
I let out a hollow laugh, staring at him through a haze of tears. Even his disappointment was laced with cruelty.
“You’re right. I have forgotten my place,” I said, my voice breaking. “I was foolish enough to think I could have real love, real family. But I forgot -this family is nothing but monsters, and I’m just another pawn in your game.”
My father nodded, unmoved by my words.
“If you’re too stubborn to see reason, then it’s time for you to clear your head,” he said coldly. “Go to the chapel and kneel. And make sure they bring the red mat for you.”
My stomach dropped.
The red mat wasn’t just for kneeling–it was lined with sharp, jagged spikes. My father had used it to punish disobedient employees before, and the thought of being forced onto it made my blood run cold.
I stared at him in horror, but he only smiled.
“Lila,” he said, his tone mocking, “your father’s had a rough day. Do you really think you can walk away from this without consequences?”
Panic surged through me, and I tried to run. But the guards outside were already waiting.
They grabbed me by the arms, ignoring my screams and struggles, and dragged me to the chapel.
The moment they forced me down onto the red mat, pain shot through my knees like fire. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but tears poured down my face as I glared at my parents, who stood in the doorway, watching with cold indifference.
Through gritted teeth, I spat, “I will never marry Cole Parker. I will never stay in this house. As long as I’m alive, I’ll leave this family–and I’ll
never come back.”
M
