Chapter 4

I spent the entire day like a statue, silent.

After school, I stayed alone in the empty classroom, sitting until the night slowly fell.

The clock was nearing 7:30.

“—Household Rule Number Six: You must not return home later than 7:30 PM.”

This was a rule Arthur Vance had set.

After my mom remarried Arthur Vance, this suffocating life became omnipresent.

My mom always told me to bear with it, that she would divorce soon, but later, she left me and ran away.

And then, I endured many years alone.

No one knew that the beating I got yesterday was simply because I was a few minutes late getting home.

“Luna, check the time yourself, what time is it?”

Arthur Vance stood up from the couch and slowly approached me, pulling the belt from his waist.

“Dad, I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

I controlled my trembling, trying to stand tall.

“You were wrong? Wrong about what? Recite those twenty-eight household rules for me.”

He sneered, standing before me, wrapping the belt around his hand.

“Take off your pants. Go, lie down on the couch.”

I instinctively recoiled.

“Luna, don’t make me say it a second time.”

“Dad, after school today, the teacher gave us extra lessons, that’s why I was late, please don’t…”

Before I could finish.

Arthur Vance roughly yanked my entire body towards the couch, pressing his knee hard against my shoulder.

I fought back with all my might, but my pants were still forcefully and violently ripped down.

I struggled like a madwoman.

“No! No!”

The disparity in strength between a man and a girl was too great; I couldn’t escape.

“I told you to recite the rules! Why aren’t you reciting them?!”

Crude words mixed with curses, he swung the belt in his hand repeatedly, putting all his strength into each heavy strike against my buttocks.

The man’s suddenly sharp, high-pitched voice echoed through the living room.

I was drenched in sweat from the pain, clinging desperately to the couch cover, refusing to utter a word.

Those twenty-eight household rules repeated endlessly in my mind:

Rule One: The bedroom door must not be locked at night.

Rule Two: You must drink any beverage Daddy gives you.

Rule Three…

What was Rule Three again?

Arthur Vance was breathing heavily beside me, like a beast.

And my body below was long numb from the pain, my memory beginning to blur.

I had thought countless times, if Arthur Vance hated me so much, why didn’t he just beat me to death?

—The memory ceased.

The clock before me finally stopped at 7:30.

I calmly stood up and walked towards the rooftop.