Chapter 6

To others and Chloe, it seemed I had lucked out with a once-in-a-century good stepdad.

He always looked at me with righteousness, never overstepping as a stepdad, and worked hard to strictly educate me for my future.

But if they knew that I could never appear at home with exposed wrists and ankles, what would they think?

Even more terrifying was that mom was lovesick.

Stepdad's voice caught mom's attention.

She came out of the room, and the first thing she saw was the underwear on me.

Stepdad pointed at me, as if he had found backup: "Emma is not a little girl anymore, how can she still be so careless? Hanging such private clothing openly on the balcony, what will others think of me? I'm a professor!"

I was bewildered as I processed stepdad's words, momentarily speechless.

And I thought mom would help me.

She definitely wouldn't blame me.

Unexpectedly, after hearing stepdad's words, mom also turned her resentful gaze towards me.

Then, she launched her first humiliation against me.

"Emma, put away your dirty things!"

"Is this how I taught you? If I see you displaying these things again, don't blame me for getting physical!"

I stammered, wanting to speak, but didn't know how to defend myself.

I was just a 13-year-old girl!

What kind of things are these things? Now that I have a stepdad, do I not even have the right to wear underwear? Am I that indecent?

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

I even started to be brainwashed, wondering if I had really crossed a line?

So from then on, I avoided public areas when drying my clothes.

I thought, this way stepdad and mom wouldn't be uncomfortable, right?

But it wasn't like that.

Similar things kept happening over the next ten years.

When I had my period and went to the bathroom frequently, stepdad saw the tissues I threw in the trash can and made a fuss, calling my mom to look.

He accused me: "Who told you to put these things here? What will I think when I see them? Emma, you really have no manners!"

Mom chimed in: "You're a girl! Girls should know how to respect themselves. Your uncle is a professor, isn't it disgusting for him to see these things?!"

I talked back at the time: "Mom, you're a woman too, and so is uncle's mother. Tell me, what does this have to do with self-respect?"

The next second, a loud slap landed on my face.

This slap was actually from stepdad.

I covered my face, tears gushing out.

Mom just watched, unmoved.