Chapter 6

Alex eyed me up and down. I instinctively hid my injured hand behind my back.

His brows furrowed into a deep V. "A few days out on your own and you've made a mess of yourself. I'm embarrassed to even say you're a Davies."

Here we go again.

Next would be—

"You're both Davies daughters, but how can you be so different from Serena?"

"Did you feed everything you learned in etiquette class to the dogs?"

Mom's eyes welled with tears. "Charlotte, just come home."

"You and Serena are sisters, you should help each other."

Help?

I swayed for a moment, understanding her meaning, a sharp pain shooting through my wrist wound.

Alex crossed his arms, a flicker of irritation in his eyes.

"Mom, don't spoil her."

"Is the Davies home a hotel? You can just leave and come back whenever you want?"

"You can come home, but first, you apologize properly to Serena."

"I'll arrange the kidney donation. That way, Serena will surely forgive your past mistakes."

My body stiffened, my face expressionless. "What did I do wrong? Why should I apologize?"

Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose hard, a look of impatience and exhaustion on his face, as if he'd reached his limit of tolerance.

"You leaked company secrets and tried to climb into Daniel Chen's bed, Serena's fiancé. Do you have no shame?"

I opened my mouth, my throat dry. "I didn't do that."

Alex laughed, enraged. "Enough! Caught red-handed, you think we're all blind?"

"If Daniel hadn't recognized you in time and prevented a major disaster, Serena's lifelong happiness would have been utterly ruined by you."

"How could the Davies family have given birth to such a manipulative daughter like you?"

"I'm truly grateful Mom and Dad brought Serena home that year, not you!"

Alex's eyes held no warmth, looking at me the same way he'd look at trash on the street.

My mind went blank, and I helplessly looked at Mom.

Mom's expression had flattened. "Charlotte, Serena was generous back then, she pleaded for you, otherwise, if this had blown up, you would have gone to jail."

"Listen to your mother. Give Serena a kidney."

"Whatever happened before, right or wrong, will be completely wiped clean."

My nails dug deep into my palms, a cold chill running through my body, my voice coming out raspy and despairing.

"Mom... I didn't do any of that. Why don't you believe me?"

Suddenly, someone pulled me behind them.

Julian glared at them, angry and anxious, then looked solemnly at me. "Charlotte Davies, your body is your own."

"Not even your own mother has the right to force you to do anything!"

He finished speaking and pulled me, intending to leave.

Mom shouted, stopping me. "Charlotte, where are you going?"

Alex's arm muscles tensed, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Charlotte Davies, Mom and I have said all the nice things we can."

"If you leave today, the Davies family will consider you no longer their daughter!"

My steps faltered, my lips trembling slightly, all the blood in my body rushing backward. My gaze finally landed on the brightly lit room in the distance.

I once thought that was my forever home.

I fiercely squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back the tears brimming in my eyes, and finally, gave a liberated smile.

"Fine. I don't care about being a Davies daughter anyway!"

Julian took me to an observatory by the sea.

I gazed blankly at the sky dotted with stars, feeling as if I were immersed in a galaxy. "It's beautiful."

Julian's face showed a rare, boyish, proud smile. "I knew you'd like it."