Chapter 5

Victoria's face gradually turned pale, her expression finally settling into a resigned sigh. "You're brilliant, Ethan. Too brilliant for your own good. But what use is brilliance? You claim you don't care about wealth and luxury, yet everything you wear and use is high-end. Ethan Hale, without this family, you're nothing. You wouldn't even be able to put food on your plate."

I didn't even furrow my brow. I turned to her calmly and responded, "Mrs. Langford, everyone has to fight for themselves at least once in their life, don't they?"

She didn't reply, and I walked away to my bedroom. On the nightstand sat a new photo album. Inside was the only picture of my mother and me. Restoring this photo wasn't a challenge for someone with Victoria's resources. I pressed my lips together and silently held the photo to my chest, feeling the cold surface of the frame.

"What are you doing?" The door behind me slammed open. Lily stood there, stiff and glaring, her expression dripping with disdain.

"The staff downstairs are betting whether or not you'll actually leave," she sneered. "Looking at you like this, you're just trying to act pitiful so my mother will feel sorry for you again, aren't you?"

As she spoke, she walked to my wardrobe, yanked out my clothes, and tossed them to the floor, stomping on them with deliberate force. "Didn't you say you were leaving? Need my help packing? Stop pretending. You're disgusting and utterly pathetic."

The luxurious clothes lay scattered on the ground, crumpled and torn under her relentless steps.

I narrowed my eyes, studying the girl in front of me. She held her head high, proud like a caged canary, making no effort to hide her contempt. I sighed softly, my voice almost a murmur, more to myself than to her. "Lily, why do you hate me so much? You weren't like this before..."

The silence that followed felt endless. Lily awkwardly turned her head away as I stepped closer. The little girl whose head I used to pat with ease had grown tall, nearly reaching my height.

"Don't touch me." Sensing my approach, the ten-year-old straightened her back, masking her unease with icy indifference.

I bent slightly, meeting her eyes. "Why?"

I couldn't understand. How had the child I'd nurtured from her first steps come to despise me so deeply?

"Why?" I asked again.

Lily let out a cold laugh, as if I'd told her a ridiculous joke. Her lips curled into a sneer. "Ethan Hale, can you honestly say all the kindness you've shown me over the years wasn't just to replace my father? Can you honestly say you cared for me just out of genuine affection?"

Her voice was sharp and biting, her question laced with venom. I straightened, my tone calm. "What if I said yes?"

"Ethan Hale, you're such a liar," she spat. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll never believe you. Grandma was right—you're nothing but a disgusting substitute."

With that final remark, Lily stormed out.

She didn't need to say it. I already knew. In this house, everyone had spoken ill of me at some point. That included Beatrice and Victoria herself. Compared to the others, Victoria's words were mild. She only ever reminded Lily not to forget who her real father was. The rest was silence, but silence spoke louder than words.

I could understand everything, except why I had failed so miserably in raising her. Perhaps it was for the best. Lily's hatred made it easier for me to leave without hesitation. After today, we would never see each other again.

As I stepped through the Langford mansion's grand front doors, I could hear the staff whispering behind me.

"He's really leaving. Do you think he's planning some scheme to win Mrs. Langford over?"

"I doubt it. A man like that wouldn't give up the Langford fortune over something so trivial. He's just throwing a tantrum. Mark my words—he'll be back within three days."

The summer sunlight was blinding as I walked out, dragging my suitcase behind me. They were wrong.

I wasn't coming back.