Chapter 3Spring Breeze Caresses the Wild Grass

Eventually, the police followed a lead and found us. They rescued my mother and me.

My mother's sanity came and went. But when she was lucid, she was in agony. The moment she saw me, she would shrink away, trembling. "I don't know her. She's not my child."

My grandfather was so enraged he had a heart attack. He refused to let me in the house.

"The Wentworth family has no place for such a mongrel. To think that scum is even associated with our family."

My cousin, Connor, threw me out.

I had nowhere to go, but I was too worried about my mother to leave. I squatted by the front gate for two days until I finally fainted from hunger on the steps.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital with an IV in my arm.

My grandfather stood by the bed, leaning on a cane, his hair completely white. "Child, don't blame us. Neither your mother nor the Wentworth family can accept you. It's not your fault, but you have his blood. We will pay for your schooling, give you the best education possible. But beyond that, you're on your own."

I didn't blame them. I understood. I was that man's daughter. It was a stain that could never be washed away.

I didn't dare ask if they could give me something to eat. I was starving. But I knew they were all suffering. My mother, my grandfather. Just being able to continue school was more than I could have hoped for. That man had planned to pull me out after elementary school, just so I could learn a few words and fetch a higher price when he married me off.

And so, I was sent to this school.

They seemed to have paid for all my tuition, but they must have forgotten about living expenses. Since returning to the Wentworths, I hadn't eaten a single meal. The only thing in my stomach was the glucose from the IV drip.

My cousin Connor wasn't at this school, but he had already spread the word to his friends here: My father was a human trafficker, and they should "take care" of me.

To be able to eat my fill, and to eat so well, with so much meat I’d never even seen before… I was deeply grateful.

Being "taken care of" was a wonderful thing.