Chapter 2

"I'm leaving, Mom."

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Mama sitting in the living room with a bottle of wine in her hand. There is nothing new there. She's like this every day. but sometimes it's tiring to see her like this with each passing day.

She stood up and looked at me with wide eyes from drunkenness. She staggered toward me. I waited for her to come closer before I spoke.

"It's early, but you're drunk again." I said. She was already drunk at nine o'clock in the morning. But as I said, there is nothing new to her.

"You know why I'm drunk? Because of you." She raised her hand and stuck her index finger on my forehead. She pushed me with her index finger.

I didn't move, and I let her push my head. I bit my lower lip to stop the emotion that wanted to escape from my chest.

"Can you not come back? I don't want to see your face." She said this and gently slapped my cheek. I shook my head.

"This is my only house." I said it in a soft and low voice. I can't count how many times we've talked about it, but we've talked about it over and over again. Maybe because she's drunk, that's why she always forgets what we're talking about.

"Ask your demon father for money. So you can move and I won't see your face anymore!"

I sighed. I know exactly where this is going. I brace myself for whatever she will do to me when I see the anger in her eyes.

And I wasn't wrong. Just for a few moments, I felt the strong application of her palm on my cheek. My head was thrown to the side because of her hard slap the strong application of her palm on my cheek. My head was thrown to the side because of her hard slap. She wasn't satisfied yet and slapped my other cheek.

"You ruined my life! You two and your demon father! You are demons! Animals!" She shouted while slapping me again and again.

I didn't move from where I was standing and just let her slap me. I accepted each touch of her palm on my cheek, and I didn't try to fight. I was just bending over and biting my lower lip hard.

It looks like I'm going in again with bruises on my cheeks.

Mama was not satisfied and violently pulled my hair. I pressed harder on biting my lip so that no noise would come out of it. She will get even more angry when I say something, so I should just be quiet, even though I feel like my hair is separating from my scalp.

"Beasts! Demons! Die!" She continued to say while still tweaking me.

"Clarita! That's enough!" I heard Manang Rosi say it and grabbed Mama's hands that were tightly clinging to my hair. "You're hurting her!"

I tasted blood on my lips as I bit down harder on it. Manang Rosi tried to remove Mama's hands from my hair, so it was more than that. I feel like my scalp is bleeding. I just breathed a sigh of relief when Manang Rosi completely removed Mama's hands.

"They ruined my life, Manang! They are demons!" I heard Mama say it, and she started crying while Manang Rosi held her hands. Little by little, Mama sat on the floor as if she had lost her strength. "They are demons!"

My eyes were emotionless as I looked at Mama. I'm numb. I couldn't even feel my scalp as well as my cheeks that he slapped again and again.

"Alright, Daphne. Come in. You might be late for your class," said Manang Rosi, who is now letting Mama. I nodded and picked up my shoulder bag that I had dropped earlier when Mama was tweaking me.

"I wish I had aborted that demon's child!" I heard Mama say this as I walked out of our house.

I got in the car and drove like nothing happened. But even though I try to forget what happened earlier, I still can't help but feel heavy in my chest. The corners of my eyes started to heat up, and my breathing became deeper.

"Don't cry. Don't cry. You're strong, so don't cry.

I don't care if something bad happens to me. I hate my life anyway.

My mom was raped, and I was the result. My mom can't do anything about that guy because he's rich. And I have said several times that she should not accept the money that man is giving if she has any dignity left. But she said that there has been nothing since that man raped her. After all, her dignity has just run out, so she accepts the money. It is also said to be payment for raising her me.

I never met him. That guy. And I have no plans to meet him. All I know is that he is British. My mom was a waitress in London back then. She has a boyfriend, and their relationship is long-distance. That man tried to persuade Mama, but because she had a boyfriend at the time, she refused. But that man did not stop, even though he was rejected several times. Until he ended up raping Mama.

Yes, I hate that guy. I can't even accept him as my father. I can't call him my father. Mama is mad at me because of him. Mama tortures me every day because of him.

And yes. I am also angry with Mom. I mean, why did she even give birth to me if she just hates me? I would have been happier if she had just aborted me.

I freaking hate my life.

Unfortunately, nothing bad happened to me. I arrived safely at our university. Before I got out of my car, I checked my appearance in the mirror. Little by little, the bruises on my cheeks from her slapping me earlier started to show. It will probably only be a matter of time before everyone notices it.

I didn't even bother to cover it, and I got out of the car. What's the use? Not a week goes by without a bruise on my body. And besides being Miss Prim and Proper, everyone knows me as a clumsy genius.

"Daphne!"

I looked at the person who called me, and I automatically smiled when I saw Artemis running towards me. It looks like she just got to university.

"Good morning!" She said to me with a smile. I tried to smile widely, but I felt pain in my cheek, so I couldn't do it.

"You're happy, aren't you? How's your date?" I asked her instead.

"It was awesome! Joshua did—" she stopped and stared at my face. "What happened to your face?" She asked worriedly, so I immediately averted my face from her.

"I tripped and fell down the stairs. first face." I lied and laughed a little, as if something funny had happened to me.

I saw Artemis looking at me intently. She stared at every bruise on my face. I know she doesn't believe every lie I tell every time I have bruises on my body. But she didn't ask. She probably knows that I won't tell her the truth either.

I was a loner. When I first came to university, I was always alone. Others tried to make friends with me, but I knew they were only doing that to get high grades. To be able to copy me for every exam.

not until Artemis sat with me in the library while I was busy doing an assignment. She had an annoyed look on her face that day. I knew her from the beginning. Besides being my block mate, she is another Gallagher. The famous Gallagher siblings that I think everyone knows at that university Rich and of good race. Especially those beautiful blue eyes.

We became friends. like me because it seems that others only use Artemis. If not to gain popularity, she is used to getting them closer to her male brothers. I know the feeling of being used, so I agreed to be friends with her.

I came to my senses when I heard her sigh loudly.

"Are you okay?" There was concern in her eyes when she asked that. She held my hand before smiling at me. "Just, Daphne. I'm just here, huh? Don't be shy to tell me."

I nodded and smiled back at her. Sometimes I envy her. It's like her life is so fun. Not like mine.

And I thought about it once too. How does it feel to live as Artemis Gallagher?