The Heiress They Exiled Chapter 02

The Heiress They Exiled Chapter 02

Lillian stands in the middle of the crowd, and her eyes immediately turn red.

“Harper, are you still angry with me?”

She bites her lip.

“It’s all my fault. I had to hold my birthday party today of all days, so when you came home, you ended up feeling like everyone was ignoring you…”

I look at her, but I feel nothing.

At school, I cry too. I say I want to go home, and the instructor presses my face into cold water, asking me over and over, “What is home? The people sent here are all people their parents don’t love. None of you deserve to miss home.”

Later, when the current runs from my wrists all the way to my shoulders and back, I lie on the floor, twitching uncontrollably. Only then do I finally learn that wanting to get close to someone is wrong, and wanting to be someone’s favorite is wrong too.

When she sees that I don’t say anything, she seems even more upset, tears welling in her eyes.

Graham’s expression darkens.

“Harper, that’s enough. No one is deliberately ignoring you. Who are you putting on this act for?”

I nod at him, “You’re right. It’s my fault.”

But after hearing that, Graham’s expression becomes even worse.

My fiancé, Weston, is the heir to the Valehart family, an old-money dynasty on the Upper East Side. He looks at me, his voice gentle, as though he is soothing a sulking child.

“Harper, I know you’re still upset. Sending you to that school wasn’t meant to punish you. Lillian had just lost her parents, and she wasn’t in a stable state of mind. Tabitha and Malcolm were only worried that she would suffer another emotional blow, so they wanted you to control your temper a little.”

I listen quietly, then nod, “I understand.”

He freezes.

In the past, whenever he said anything that favored Lillian, I would immediately ask him through tear-filled eyes why even he was taking her side.

But now, I simply nod obediently.

It’s not that I don’t feel hurt. I’m just too afraid to anymore.

Three years have taught me that emotions are the most useless thing in the world.

The more wronged I feel, the harsher the punishment.

The angrier I get, the longer the current lasts.

The more I try to explain myself, the harder the cane comes down on the places that hurt the most.

So I follow the manners Stonebridge teaches me and speak gently.

“You don’t need to explain. I understand. Lillian needs to be taken care of, so it’s only right that you take care of her.”

“As for me…”

I pause and put on the most polite smile I have practiced over these three years.

“I’ve already learned to control my emotions. I won’t overstep again.”

Early the next morning, the servants move things back and forth through the penthouse, while several plane tickets sit on the coffee table.

My mother is checking the hotel itinerary, my father is on the phone, and Weston is carrying Lillian’s white luggage bag for her.

Graham casually slides one of the tickets toward me.

“I got you an economy ticket. Once we get to Palm Beach, I’ll buy you that new bag you used to like. Just behave and don’t make a scene.”

I lower my eyes to the ticket but don’t reach for it.

I hate being placated with handouts like this. The old me would have sneered and torn the ticket apart right there.

But at school, I once asked, “Why should I?”

The next second, the cane came down across my mouth, leaving it bloody.

The instructor squatted in front of me, swinging the bloodstained cane as he told me, “This is what happens when you question us, talk back, or think you’re being treated unfairly.”

After that, I understood. I couldn’t fight.

I speak softly, “It’s okay. I don’t have to go.”

The living room falls silent.

Graham stands up, “Harper, what are you trying to do now?”

“Nothing. You guys go. I’ll stay home. I won’t get in your way.”

I say it calmly enough, even taking half a step back.

Because if I stand too close, they’ll say I don’t know my boundaries and make me kneel in the hallway while reciting the school rules over and over.

But Lillian suddenly walks over and holds out her first-class ticket to me, her eyes filled with guilt and innocence.

“Harper, let’s switch. You’re the daughter of this family. How can you possibly sit in economy? Don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

I instinctively step back, “That’s yours. I can’t take it.”

My father’s expression immediately darkens.