novelnext Chapter 5
Chapter 5
"Stop pretending to be nice!"
Oliver's high-pitched voice dripped with venom.
"If you walk out that door, never come back!"
The Lego bullet whizzed through the air, propelled by childish defiance.
I sidestepped, but it still grazed my arm.
Blood welled up instantly, stark against my pale skin.
"Ah!"
I stumbled off the hoverboard, my knees slamming onto the marble floor.
Chaos erupted in the living room.
Maids rushed over in panic, while Oliver froze, his face drained of color.
Gritting my teeth, I stood and snatched the rubber baton from the security guard's belt.
The cold metal in my grip steadied me.
"W-what are you doing?"
Oliver took two steps back, his voice trembling.
He'd never seen me like this.
With a sharp crack, the baton struck the protective charm off his wrist.
The red string snapped, and Oliver burst into tears.
Footsteps descended from the second floor.
Ethan appeared at the staircase, impeccably dressed in his suit, Victoria clinging to his arm.
His brow twitched almost imperceptibly at the sight of my bleeding arm.
"Go to the hospital," he ordered.
I tore off a strip of my shirt and wrapped it around the wound.
Blood soaked through the fabric, blooming crimson against the light material.
The housekeeper wrung her hands.
"Miss Williams, why must you do this? Mr. Carter has been nothing but generous to you!"
Her gaze flicked meaningfully toward Victoria.
"Countless women would kill to be in your position..."
To them, I was just a lucky social climber—Ethan Carter's executive secretary, the "stepmother" of his heir, a trophy for my family to flaunt.
These labels had caged me in this gilded prison.
No one knew I'd once ridden a motorcycle across the northwestern deserts or watched countless sunrises by Erhai Lake.
Those vibrant memories were fading within these opulent walls.
Kneeling, I placed my beloved succulent by Snowball's empty bed.
The little one was gone, just like the youth I'd lost.
"I couldn't even take care of a dog. How could I ever be a mother?"
My throat tightened as I brushed the plump leaves.
"Ten years, and all I've taught Oliver is how to be spoiled."
When I stood, blood smeared my skirt.
Without looking back, I strode toward the door.
The housekeeper's cry followed me: "If you leave now, you can never return!"
Ethan's voice was glacial.
"You'll regret this."
The roar of the engine drowned out any further pleas.
I yanked out my hair tie, letting the wind tear through my hair.
In the rearview mirror, the mansion that had imprisoned me for a decade shrank until it vanished around the bend.
Freedom, long denied, burned like whiskey in my chest.
I pressed the accelerator, the speedometer needle lurching right.
A designer bag tumbled off the backseat, and for the first time in years, a genuine smile curved my lips.