After my family abandoned me—I sold my emotions for 800,000 Chapter 04
I should have been overcome with terror the second Graham said those words.
After all, I had loved him more than anything, and dreamed of nothing but walking down the aisle with him.
Graham had once been my only salvation in this world.
We first connected on the campus forum.
Back then, my parents had cut off my allowance entirely because they were furious with me over an incident involving Yvonne, so I picked up a part-time shift at Starlight Lounge to make ends meet.
Soon, countless malicious posts targeting me popped up on the forum.
[“Hazel works at Starlight Lounge as a hostess. Y’all know what that means, right? Won’t say it out loud to save face~”]
[“Tsk, I heard she has tons of sugar daddies in their 50s and 60s.”]
[“50s and 60s? That’s older than my dad. How can she even stomach that? She’s so gross and shameless.”]
[“Oh, that tracks. Wasn’t she abducted and taken to the Blackpine Mountains a while back? People buy girls there as child brides all the time, and in those backward hick villages, multiple men share the same wife, y’know…”]
[“Wow, no wonder she’s so easy. That explains literally everything!”]
Amidst all the jeers and mockery, only one account spoke up for me.
[“Spreading rumors is free, huh? If any of you actually bothered to go to Starlight Lounge once, you’d know Hazel works there as a waitress. Since when is someone’s trauma a valid excuse to dogpile on them?!”]
That was the first time in years anyone had stood up for me.
I shot that user a private message to thank him profusely.
That was how we started talking.
We chatted about everything under the sun: cafeteria meals, the wild ducks bobbing around Lover’s Lake, and Pablo Neruda’s poetry.
I wrote, [My profile quote is his line—On my barren soil, you are the last rose.]
He went radio silent for ages.
Just when I thought he wouldn’t reply that day, he sent a message.
[Come to Lover’s Lake.]
When I sprinted to Lover’s Lake, I spotted a boy in a crisp white shirt, holding a bouquet of red roses, grinning brightly at me.
That day, I learned that the person I had been talking to for so long was Graham, the student council president.
In that single instant, Graham really did plant a blooming rose in the barren wasteland of my life.
He loved me so much. After listening to my story late at night, he would kiss away my tears and say, “Hazel, don’t be afraid. I’ll give you a new home.”
When did things start to change?
It all shifted the day I bought his favorite limited-edition figurine and rushed to find him, giddy with excitement.
Only to stumble on him sitting in a corner café, Yvonne perched across the table from him.
They were having the time of their lives, chatting away. Yvonne was bubbly and bright, and Graham was cackling nonstop at her jokes.
When they saw me, both of their smiles vanished at the same time. Yvonne stood up, looking terrified of being scolded by me, “Sis, I just ran into Graham here when I was buying coffee. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
In her panic, she knocked over the coffee on the table, and the scalding latte spilled all over her skirt.
Yvonne cried out in pain, her eyes turning red, but she didn’t bother to wipe it off. She just looked at me pitifully and said, “You’re not going to misunderstand me again, right?”
Graham told his assistant to buy burn ointment, then handed it to Yvonne.
He didn’t look at me the entire time.
That night, I shattered completely, which was rare for me.
I sobbed as I confronted Graham, “You know the truth! You know she’s bullied me more times than I can count! You know…”
Graham was smoking on the balcony, his face half-hidden in the haze. He said, “Hazel, maybe you’re the one who’s misunderstanding her. And… the things you told me are just your side of the story. Can you guarantee all of them are true?”
I will never forget the icy, bone-deep dread that flooded me when Graham narrowed his eyes and stared at me with clear, unmistakeable suspicion.
He stepped over and pulled me into a hug a second later, murmuring, “Alright, I don’t doubt you, okay?”
The coldness in my bones didn’t fade at all.
I knew my world would veer off course from that point on.
Just like how Mom always says “both of you are my girls,” but her actions always, always favor Yvonne, every single time.
