The Real Heiress’s Sharp Words Unveil Her Pain Chapter 01

Chapter 1 The Habit of Talking Back
I had a habit of talking back. No matter what anyone said, I had to fire back.
The day my wealthy family took me in, the pampered fake daughter, Noelle Monroe, cooked a huge spread just for me. My biological parents, Braxton Monroe and Alana Monroe, said I should be grateful.
Naturally, I argued.
“You call this exhausting? I was cooking for my whole family at six. This is nothing.”
Braxton and Alana froze. They looked at my callused hands and didn’t say another word.
On her birthday, Noelle got gifts from everyone but me. She cried that I was rejecting her, and my parents scolded me for not accepting her.
I scoffed. “Why should anyone get gifts just for having a birthday? Somebody clearly didn’t get hit enough if she’s got the nerve to ask people for things.”
The whole family went quiet. They stared at the scars covering my body, then lowered their heads and wiped away tears.
Later, my sister Lindsey Monroe came all the way home to back Noelle up. She walked in and immediately found fault with me for not giving up the biggest bedroom.
I sneered. “She’s lucky she got a room at all. Back home, girls slept in the stable. If they complained, their legs got broken.”
My parents stared in disbelief at my slightly misshapen calves. Their hearts broke, and they clung to each other and sobbed.
Lindsey tried to say more, but Noelle rushed to cover my mouth.
“Please stop! If you say any more, Dad and Mom will only feel worse!”
…
On my first night with the family, Braxton and Alana looked me over with stern, searching eyes.
Noelle walked up to me. “I’m so sorry, Carley. I filled all the rooms with my things by accident, and I haven’t finished clearing them out. Could you sleep on the floor just for tonight?”
She kept apologizing, timid and careful. My parents pulled her into their arms, pained to see her act so humble. My younger brother, Jacoby Monroe, glared at me and silently ordered me to agree.
Naturally, I argued.
“Seriously? You can’t even finish this little bit of work? In my village, you’d have been whipped for that.”
Noelle couldn’t hide her embarrassment. She looked to our parents, but they were too busy staring at the whip marks on my hands.
“People got beaten where you came from?”
“Of course. People and livestock both had to work. If you did a bad job, you got whipped.”
My parents’ lips moved soundlessly. Jacoby gasped.
They comforted the sobbing Noelle for a while, then agreed to let me clear a room.
Upstairs, I went straight into the biggest bedroom and started tossing everything into the hallway. It was packed with stuffed animals and dolls. I piled them up in disgust and tied them into an oval bundle, like a bale of hay.
Noelle screamed. “How could you treat my babies like that?”
My parents frowned. “You can’t bully Noelle like this!”
I didn’t get it. “How is cleaning her room bullying? This place is such a mess I can barely look at it. Back home, she would’ve been slapped already.”
Noelle stared at me, hurt. “You want to slap me?”
“Dad! Mom!” Jacoby shouted. “She’s going to hit someone!”
My parents rushed over to stop me, but I hadn’t moved. I just crossed my arms.
“I’m not allowed to hit anyone. Back home, only the elders could. Even if I wanted to slap you, you’d have to take it on your knees.”
Noelle was still sulking, but my parents barely noticed. They had just seen my face, slightly red and swollen. They froze, and their voices shook.
“Were you beaten before you came here? Does it hurt?”
I shook my head. “It was only two slaps. Why make a big deal out of it? I’m lucky they didn’t knock my teeth out.”
My parents stared at me, speechless.
Noelle still didn’t want me in the big bedroom, but this time my parents scolded her.
“That’s enough. Carley suffered so much in your place. Let her sleep here for now.”
I got the room I wanted, but I still couldn’t help arguing. “A bed is a bed. What’s there to fight about?”
Noelle was so angry that I’d gotten my way and still acted smug that she nearly fainted.