Chapter 2

Just like in our previous life, we waited at the most visible spot in the neighborhood. Vanessa had chosen it before because she wanted everyone to see me humiliated. Unexpectedly, the opposite happened instead. Now she'd done her makeup carefully, sure that all those eyes would be on her instead.

She and our parents kept watching the road for Nathan. A bright red sports car finally pulled up nearby. Vanessa lit up and hurried toward it. Mom and Dad followed after a moment's hesitation.

Nathan got out, and people immediately stopped to look. He was strikingly handsome, with an easy polish and a cool, distant gaze. He was in no way inferior to celebrities or models.

"You're here, sweetheart!" Vanessa stepped close to him, cheeks flushed.

Our parents straightened awkwardly.

"Well, the Harts struck gold," someone nearby said. "How did Vanessa land a guy that handsome and rich?"

"I wish our family were that lucky."

"She's always known how to get along with people. No wonder her parents prefer her. And now look at her boyfriend. How could Elise possibly compare?"

Our neighbors kept gossiping. Dad and Mom smiled proudly at their words, just as they had in my previous life. Vanessa sent me a victorious look. She completely missed how Nathan frowned when he looked down at her.

The crowd kept glancing from the red car to Vanessa, and she seemed to love every second of it. She thought the same neighbors who had once been meant to laugh at me were now witnesses to her success. Mom and Dad were just as eager to believe it.

He took her out in his car while the neighbors watched with envy. My parents stood a little taller.

See? Vanessa was meant for a life like that, unlike some people, who are fated to be poor their whole lives.

Mom looked me over. "She's going to marry Victor Stone anyway. She might as well move out earlier. It'll save us from having to look at this eyesore all day."

They'd barely finished when a heavily built man walked up.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Vanessa said you're ready to have Elise move in with me. I came to pick her up."

It was Victor Stone, the man I was supposedly going to marry. A lecherous gleam flickered in his eyes as he scanned my body.

My parents looked confused and immediately called Vanessa. She answered flippantly.

"Dad, Mom, you know she's a jinx. I finally found a wonderful boyfriend. What if having her around ruins my chance to marry him? She's going to marry Victor anyway, so why can't she move in early?"

Mom and Dad looked at each other, finding her logic sound.

"Elise, pack your things and go with Victor," Dad told me.

I stared at them, not at all surprised by their decision.

Victor rubbed his hands together. He was relatively well-off, and his favorite hobby was abusing women. Two of his wives had already died because of him. However, he was cunning, only ever marrying women who weren't favored by their families. Once they were gone, he could pay off their relatives to keep them from going to court.

That was why he'd noticed me while his last wife was still in the hospital. Everyone knew my parents hated me. He thought he could do whatever he liked to me once the door was shut and nobody would step in.

...

Victor took me to his house. The instant the door shut behind us, he dragged an assessing gaze over my body.

"Your looks aren't too bad, but I wonder if your body will be able to handle me."

I met his eyes without a word.

He went into his room and returned holding something. "Put these on. Then get down and lick my feet clean."

He threw the clothes at me, took off his shoes, and settled on the couch. Immediately, a disgustingly foul stench permeated the air. I looked at the scraps of fabric, then smiled at him.

He raised his eyebrows, pleased. "Seems like you're well aware of your circumstances, unlike all those bitches who start wailing like a family member died when I ask them to do anything. They deserved every beating I gave them for being so annoying."

I nodded and walked toward him.