Chapter 3Silence Is My Last Defense

I didn't know why Barry spoke up for me.

Was it because my public humiliation would also be an embarrassment to the Miller family?

In that moment, a strange, hopeful itch began to bloom in my chest.

I slowed my steps, ears perked, listening as my father-in-law said,

"Take it away."

Then came a crisp sound, like the pen hitting the floor, but it felt like my own heart had fallen to the ground.

That night, I rode my e-scooter, tearing down the street.

The biting wind felt like a thousand tiny blades against my skin, whipping my tears in every direction.

I realized then, a person could truly die, silently, from the inside out.

When I finally got home, all my emotions stripped away, Barry was already there.

I tiptoed into the house, and Scarlett suddenly peeked out from an inner room.

"Aria, you're back?"

"I thought you probably hadn't eaten after running off like that, so I took the liberty of packing you some leftovers."

She suddenly covered her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Aria. I forgot you never eat leftovers. Unlike me... I was abducted and forced to live in poverty, starving most days, sleeping rough, and constantly facing abuse. Back then, I would have been so happy to have even a bite of leftovers..."

Her words were always laced with venom.

Stinging me, reminding me that I had stolen twenty-five years of her fairy-tale life, and for that, I deserved to die.

I used to jump to argue with her, to insist that I was innocent too.

To argue that even if I wasn't my parents' biological daughter, we'd still lived together for over twenty years, and they loved me just the same.

But those were always just my thoughts.

They didn't love me.

Barry's parents didn't love me.

Barry didn't love me either.

I stood in the hallway and politely thanked her.

"It's a shame to throw away perfectly good food."

"Just put it in the fridge; I can heat it up and eat it tomorrow."

Scarlett froze, her mouth agape, so surprised she forgot to even blink.

I turned and went back to the guest room, taking out cotton swabs and alcohol from a drawer, then carefully rolling up my pant leg.

The raw, gaping wound was still oozing blood with the slightest touch.

Barry walked in at that very moment.

I thought he was coming to question me, so I spoke without thinking.

"Sorry, I forgot to change my clothes today."

But he, contrary to his usual self, took the cotton swabs from my hand and personally began to clean my wound.

I was stunned.

I used to practically beg for a moment of his attention.

But now, my leg muscles tensed, and I felt a strange unease spread through me.

"Does it hurt?"

I blinked, about to shake my head.

But he answered himself.

"It must. You used to throw a fit over the smallest paper cut."

I didn't understand what was going on with him.

He looked at me.

"I had some drinks today, and Scarlett drove me home."

"There's nothing going on between us."

I pulled down my pant leg and nodded casually.

"She's your assistant at work. It's normal to have more contact; it's all part of the job."

His gaze at me began to grow complex.

I found it hard to decipher the emotions mixed within it, and I no longer had the energy to try.

He watched me for a long time, then finally pulled a black credit card from his pocket and placed it on my nightstand.

"Don't do those menial jobs anymore."

"I'll transfer your monthly living allowance to this card from now on."

"And stop eating leftovers. I'll make you some food."