The Luna Who Owed Them Nothing Chapter 02

The Luna Who Owed Them Nothing Chapter 02

Before I can answer, Mom gently strokes Eden’s hair.

“It doesn’t matter what college she goes to. You are the best.”

She pauses, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Besides, some people are rotten at heart. No matter how good a school they attend, they’ll always be a disgrace to the pack.”

I have always done better than Eden in school.

She has to spend a fortune to attend the prestigious high school for the pack’s elite, while I get in by ranking first on the entrance exam.

Even so, I still never earn their affection.

Throughout all three years of high school, they never attend a single parent-teacher meeting.

Whenever I rank first, I run home with my report card, eager to show them. They cannot even be bothered to look at it before tossing it straight into the trash.

“Aria, I’ve told you this so many times.”

Mom’s voice is cold and completely devoid of warmth.

“Ever since the day you stole that money, you stopped being my daughter.”

“We raise you until you turn eighteen because the law requires us to. Other than that, stop bothering us with every little thing!”

When she sees me standing there in a daze, Damon curses impatiently.

“What a mood killer.”

He waves over a server and asks for the check.

“Your total is $4,888.”

That is almost an entire year of my college tuition.

Dad does not even blink before paying with his card.

I sniffle and finally gather the courage to speak, “My college tuition is due soon, and I…”

“Money again?”

Mom immediately frowns and looks at me suspiciously, “Aria, take out your acceptance letter. Let me see it.”

The acceptance letter is still back at the pack house.

I hurriedly take out my phone and try to open the acceptance email, but my old secondhand phone chooses that exact moment to freeze.

No matter how many times I press the screen, nothing happens.

Mom’s face darkens instantly, “You didn’t get into college at all, did you? Are you seriously lying about something like this just to get money?”

She does not care that everyone in the restaurant is staring. Her voice gets louder and louder.

“You had sticky fingers when you were little, and now that you can’t steal anymore, you’ve learned to lie for money, haven’t you?”

Damon immediately nods in agreement, “Mom, why are you wasting your time arguing with her? She’s an adult now. Just kick her out and let her fend for herself.”

One contemptuous stare after another falls on me.

They feel like countless needles piercing my skin, leaving me nowhere to hide.

I no longer have the courage to stay.

I turn around and run out without looking back.

The summer afternoon sun is blinding.

Yet I feel as if I have fallen straight into an ice pit, shivering from head to toe.

I wander down the street like an empty shell, with no idea where I am going.

Every time I see a shop with a “Now Hiring” sign in the window, I immediately walk inside.

But without exception, I am turned away.

“Sorry, we’re looking for someone who can stay with us long-term.”

The diner in front of me is already the twentieth place I have walked into today.

The owner, Luke, is a Gamma from the neighboring pack.

A few years ago, he gets injured during pack training and has to quit his job as a warrior. He eventually opens this diner.

He looks me up and down before asking, “You’re so young. Why are you already looking for work? Your parents must be proud of you.”

My throat tightens.

I force back the sob rising in my chest, grab the mop beside me, and speak desperately.

“I can do anything. I’m not afraid of hard work! Please, just give me a chance. Let me work for three days first. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to pay me a cent!”

Luke freezes.

After a long pause, he finally asks, “Can you tell me why you’re in such a hurry to make money?”

“For my college tuition.”

“What about your parents?”

I press my lips together, not knowing how to explain. In the end, I lower my head and lie.

“They… went somewhere far away for work. I can’t get in touch with them.”

A hint of sympathy appears in Luke’s eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly says, “How about this? My daughter is on summer break, but I really don’t have time to look after her. You can take care of her and help her with her studies. I’ll pay you $200 a day. How does that sound?”

My eyes light up instantly, and I nod quickly, “Thank you! I promise I’ll work hard!”

There is still more than a month before college starts. If I work hard, I can earn enough for my first tuition payment.

When I return to the pack house that evening, the living room is still full of laughter.

Mom, Dad, Damon, and Eden are sitting on the couch, watching the latest series that just dropped on Netflix.

They do not even look up when they hear me come in.

I am already used to this kind of contrast.

I lower my head and quietly return to the cramped attic room, carefully placing the $200 I earned today into my wallet.

It is the first money I truly own, earned entirely by myself.

Just then, my bedroom door suddenly swings open.