- 2.
All eyes turned to Chad, and, understanding
the situation, he pulled me aside, lowering his
voice.
“Hailey, what are you doing?
“Do you know how embarrassing this is for
Mia?”
Seeing the disgust on Chad’s face, I laughed.
Mia wouldn’t have been able to impersonate
me so smoothly without Chad’s help.
L
The Peterson family patriarch had once
helped my grandfather, and Chad and I had
an arranged marriage because of it.
But Chad was supposedly my fiancé in name
only. He constantly took Mia to parties and
social events, always making it clear how
much he loved her.
No wonder everyone thought Mia was his true
fiancée.
Last time around, he let Mia smear my name.
“So why did you always let her pretend to be the Smith heiress?” I demanded, shaking him
off.
“Without your support, how could she ever
dare to call me the charity case in front of
everyone?
“You’re worried about embarrassing her, but
not about me being slandered?”
“Chad, I’m giving you a chance.
“Either you set the record straight about me
and Mia, or our engagement is off!”
Grandma Peterson, seeing Chad’s hesitation,
snapped, “Chad, what are you waiting for?
“You’ve been betrothed since you were kids.
<
You do know your own fiancée, right?”
Mia grabbed Chad’s arm, playing the
supportive girlfriend.
“It’s okay, Chad.”
“Hailey’s probably just stressed out because
her criminal dad just got out of jail, so she’s
acting out today.”
“Just let her have her way. It’s not a big deal
if I get yelled at.”
A look of sympathy crossed Chad’s face, and he grabbed Mia’s hand without hesitation.
L
“Mia, what are you saying?”
“You’re the one I love. Why would I help
anyone but you?”
Then, gritting his teeth, Chad turned to me.
“Hailey, I know you don’t want your estranged dad to find you, because he’s going to try to
sell you for money.”
“If you just tell us how to find him, Mia and I will take care of it for you.”
“But you crossed the line by pulling this stunt at my grandma’s party and trying to falsely
<
my y‘
accuse Mia.”
C
་་ L
ת
དཕ་པཅ་་
“Mia is being understanding, but you need to
know your place.”
Hearing that, the crowd glared at me even
harder.
“A charity case is still a charity case, even after all these years.”
“If her own father is going to try to pimp her out, she must be trash.”
“If you ask me, she deserves to be sold to an old man. Call it taking out the garbage.”
L
Grandma Peterson slammed her cane on the
floor again, sneering.
“Chad said you’re not a Smith. Now what do
you have to say?”
“Chad visited the Smith household before you
were even adopted.”
“For years now, Chad has been bringing Mia
to the Peterson house.”
“Just because they took you in doesn’t mean
you’re a Smith.”
I almost choked on a laugh at Chad’s
audacity and his grandma’s ignorance.
“Being a Smith doesn’t make you a Smith?”
“You’re the last person that should be
talking.”
“Anyone with half a brain knows that my Dad is nothing more than a son–in–law to the
Smith family.”
“He is just a nobody, how could he ever make the only heir of the Smith family take his last
name?”
“You all keep saying my Dad took pity on me by letting me take on the Smith family name, but what makes you think a guy with a
<
Dul vital arts you in a yuy will a
Will
different last name gets to decide?”
For years, that fact had been deliberately
buried, but as soon as I mentioned it, everyone started to remember.
Mia, realizing that things weren’t going her
way, put on her sweet voice.
“Hailey, I know you’re upset that Chad and I
་་
called you out.”
“But Mom always wanted to marry Dad, despite her family’s objections. What does a
last name even matter?”
<
“Even if I’m not a Smith, I still have Smith
blood.”
“You can’t just deny my identity because of
that.”
As she talked, Mia started to fake–cry.
