Chapter 2 2

Damon froze, completely thrown off guard.

His eyesight had always been poor due to an old injury, especially in the dark. Now, with poison clouding his mind, everything seemed fuzzy. He couldn't make out Elena's face at all, but he felt her lips brush against his. They were impossibly soft, with a hint of sweetness that lingered.

Without thinking, his lips moved ever so slightly. That tiny reaction was all it took. Elena shot up like she'd been zapped, scrambling away from him, her cheeks burning. "You... you jerk!"

She wiped her mouth hard with the back of her hand. For a second, she wanted to slap him, but remembered he was injured. So, still fuming, she spun around and stormed off.

Just her luck, really.

She'd tried to save someone and ended up losing her first kiss to a total creep.

Damon lay on the ground, watching her blurry figure disappear into the rain. He held a small object tightly in his hand and murmured, “I'll find you.”

Drenched from head to toe, Elena trudged down the mountain carrying her medicine basket. She reached the front gate of the Walsh family's old house, only to spot a mud-splattered figure standing up from near the wall. The man rushed toward her, grinning from ear to ear. "Miss! I've finally found you!"

Startled, Elena dodged to the side as the muddy man nearly collided with her. He stumbled, then flashed an awkward, toothy smile. “Sorry, Miss. Didn't mean to scare you."

Elena eyed him warily. "Who are you?"

Before he could answer, a woman's impatient voice rang out from inside the house. "Elena, you're not a Walsh anymore. Your new surname is Holmes. He's here from the Holmes family to pick you up. Go with him.”

Elena looked up and saw two figures standing at the top of the steps: Kayla, the real Walsh family heiress, and Rebecca, Elena's adoptive mother.

Two months ago, her pampered 'brother' had gotten into a car accident that left him with kidney damage. As the neglected daughter, Elena was the first to be tested for a match. But what the test revealed was far more shocking-she and her 'brother' weren't related at all.

The news blindsided everyone, including Elena.

Her adoptive father, Jenson, spared no expense or effort tracking down his true daughter. After two months of searching, he finally found her. Jenson's quest had made headlines everywhere, since he was the richest man in town.

Now that the real heiress had returned, Elena, who was never favored and was raised in the countryside by her grandmother, was kicked out on the spot.

She'd only lingered these last few days because her grandmother's bad leg had flared up in the damp weather, and Elena wanted to gather herbs and make medicine for her. The Walsh, though, assumed she was just refusing to leave.

Then yesterday, she got a call. Someone said they were her biological parents and would come get her today. Elena hadn't really believed it, but, unbelievably, here they were.

The muddy man took another step closer, grinning wide. "Miss, I'm Jack. Your parents sent me to bring you home."

Before Elena could say a word, Rebecca cut in again, voice cold. "There's five thousand dollars in this bag for you. It should last a while. We raised you for eighteen years, so don't come asking for more when you run out."

She tossed a black backpack at Elena's feet.

Just to be sure Elena would actually leave, Rebecca and Kayla had packed up her belongings while she was out picking herbs, ready to send her off the moment she came back. Rebecca didn't know much about Elena's real family, except that they came from a poor village up north, were out of work, had four unmarried sons and an elderly grandfather at home. It was obvious they weren't well-off.

The guy who came to pick up Elena hadn't even shown up in a car. He just hitched a ride on a tractor from the village. Rebecca looked at him and didn't bother hiding her contempt. If Elena thought she'd ever live a life as comfortable as she had with the Walsh family again, she was just dreaming.

Elena frowned a little and bent down to grab her backpack, but Jack beat her to it. He scooped it up, his eyes blazing with anger as he stared at Rebecca. "We thought you'd treat Elena with some respect. How could you try to get rid of her with just five thousand dollars?"

Rebecca shot back with a cold stare. "If it weren't for us taking her in, she would've frozen or starved out there eighteen years ago. And you can tell the Holmes family that we don't want anything for raising their daughter. We just want them to leave us alone from now on."

She was terrified the Holmes would try to latch onto them again, so she made sure to draw the line right then and there.

Jack was shaking with fury, pointing at Rebecca. “You... you're unbelievable! Mr. And Mrs. Holmes even wrote a thank you letter and—"

"Save it," Rebecca cut him off, her voice dripping with disdain. "I don't need it. If you both disappear from my sight, that'll be thanks enough.”

Elena spoke up, her voice calm but distant. "I'll leave after I prepare medicine for Grandma."

Rebecca just scoffed, "Don't bother. Your grandma's already asleep."

Kayla chimed in, her chin lifted high and eyes full of resentment. "Elena, if you know what's good for you, just get lost. There's no place for you in the Walsh family."

All those years, Kayla had blamed Elena for stealing her life, making her suffer in some backwater village. Letting Elena leave without demanding payback for those lost eighteen years was already generous in her eyes.

Elena's face looked almost ghostly pale in the rain. Her lips curled up in a faint mocking smile, and her dark eyes locked onto Kayla. To her, other expensive clothes, Kayla still looked hopelessly out of place.

Kayla felt a chill run down her spine under Elena's gaze, but she forced herself to scoff. "What are you staring at? I'm the real Walsh heiress. You're nothing."

Elena's lips parted, but Rebecca jumped in before she could speak. "Elena, how many times do I have to tell you? Leave."

Elena didn't bother arguing. She looked back at the house one last time, set her bamboo basket by the door, and turned away, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

Her grandmother's words echoed in her mind. "Lena, whether you're a Walsh or not, you'll always be my precious girl."

Rebecca and Kayla watched Elena finally walk out and exchanged, look of relief and satisfaction. They were worried she'd use grandma affection as an excuse to stay.

Jack glared at the two women on the steps, his voice trembling with anger. "You'll regret this, just wait and see."

Rebecca let out a laugh, shaking her head like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. “I've already done more than enough for her. What's there to regret?"

Jack wanted to say more, but Elena called to him softly, “Jack, let's go."

He swallowed his words and followed her, fury burning in his chest. The Walsh had no idea what they'd just thrown away. Mr. And Mrs. Holmes had prepared ten sets of priceless jewelry, ten luxury homes in the capital and a billion in cash as a thank you gift. One day they'd

realize just how badly they'd messed up.