The money hadn't been paid, so the attending physician refused to approve An Che's transfer to the VIP ward. Watching him grow weaker, An Ruo's heart was consumed by a surge of fury.
She tucked the blanket around An Che. There was no time to waste—she had to return to the An family estate to demand justice and reclaim that life-saving money!
The moment she stepped into the An family villa, she ran into An Qing and Madam An, the mother-daughter duo, dressed to the nines and ready to go out. They caught sight of An Ruo, first surprised, then launching into a barrage of nasty taunts.
"Oh, isn't this our family's maid? Why are you back alone? Where's that blind man? Didn't he come with you?" An Qing raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Oh, I almost forgot—he's not just blind, he's also a cripple, stuck in a wheelchair all day."
What was there to laugh about? If it weren't for her taking the marriage, today it would be An Qing herself being mocked for marrying Shen Xiaoxing.
Madam An's tone was even more ruthless: "Didn't I warn you before you left? Once you marry into the Shen family, don't even think about coming back. From now on, whether you live or die, it has nothing to do with the An family."
This mother-daughter pair had completely turned their backs on her!
An Ruo had endured their cold mockery since childhood and was used to their venomous words. She pressed her lips together and said, "You promised that if I took Miss's place and married into the Shen family, you'd give me a dowry of five hundred thousand. The master himself agreed to arrange a doctor for An Che's surgery, but now..."
Before she could finish, Madam An cut in coldly: "I've asked around. Even with surgery, his illness will only let him live five more years. Since he's going to die either way, why throw so much money at him? Do you really think the An family is a charity?"
Just mentioning the two siblings made Madam An's blood boil: "Back then, it was only because the old lady felt sorry for you that she took you in. You've been eating and drinking for free, getting an education all these years, and now you expect us to keep supporting that sickly brat!?"
An Ruo was an orphan. As far back as she could remember, she'd lived in an orphanage, where she and An Che, also from the same home, relied on each other. Kind-hearted Grandma An brought them to the An family, gave them names, and granted them a new life.
In the An family, only Grandma An treated them like family.
An Qing sneered arrogantly: "You little wretch, Grandma favored you two for years out of sheer bias. What's wrong with you making a small contribution to the An family?"
She knew that mentioning Grandma An would make An Ruo obey any unreasonable demand. An Ruo owed the An family a debt of gratitude for raising her, a debt that could never be repaid.
"What's so bad about marrying the eldest Shen son? If you hadn't latched onto our family, you'd never have had the luck to marry such a good husband! I'm honestly jealous of you, sis."
"If Miss is so jealous, why didn't you marry the eldest Shen son yourself back then?"
An Qing's face stiffened, as if she'd touched a nerve, and she immediately raised her hand to strike her. "You little wretch, how dare you talk to me like that?"
An Ruo's head was knocked to the side, her cheek stinging with pain.
In the An family, slaps were routine. With no one to back her up, she could only bow her head and endure.
"Do you really think marrying into the Shen family makes you a phoenix risen from the ashes?" An Qing sneered. "You're nothing but a dog raised by the An family. Even married to Shen Xiaoxing, you'll live under my name. You'll always be nothing more than a stand-in!"
"..."
"I think you two are a perfect match—one's a useless outcast in the Shen family, the other's a bastard who doesn't even know who her parents are. A pair you couldn't find even with a lantern."
Madam An watched coldly from the sidelines. "Once you walk out that door, you're no longer part of the An family. Don't come running back here anymore, or you'll dirty my eyes."
When Grandma An was alive, she loved to protect the two siblings, while An Qing, her own granddaughter, would always get the cold shoulder from her. Madam An had long harbored a deep hatred for them.
Now that Grandma An was dead, if it weren't for the eldest Shen son's disability and the pre-existing marriage contract between the Shen and An families requiring An Ruo to take An Qing's place, they wouldn't have kept her around this long.
Seeing the mother and daughter about to leave, An Ruo stepped forward to block them, pleading desperately: "Madam, if An Che doesn't have this surgery, he'll die. I beg you, please give me that five hundred thousand. I promise I'll never come back to the An family again..."
"What five hundred thousand dowry? I don't know anything about that." Madam An shoved her aside. An Ruo stumbled a few steps, slipped on the snow, and fell to the ground. Several servants in the yard poked their heads out to watch, but no one helped her.
As if she were born to be bullied like this.
What had An Che done wrong? He just wanted to live, and she only wanted him to survive.
An Qing lifted her foot, the hard leather boot stomping down hard on An Ruo's hand, grinding it viciously as if for good measure.
Back when Grandma An doted on them, An Qing had been plenty jealous.
An Ruo stared blankly at the ground. She had already agreed to marry into the Shen family, and now the An family was going back on their word, treating a life as a joke?
Her heart was consumed with rage, and she barely felt the pain in her hand.
An Qing leaned down slightly, her smile haughty and triumphant as she showed off the leather boot on her foot: "Let me tell you the truth—I asked Dad for that five hundred thousand to buy these shoes. The ones I'm wearing right now. Pretty, aren't they?"
That five hundred thousand could save An Che's life, but she used it to buy shoes.
It was just like their lives—forever meant to be trampled underfoot.
An Ruo's eyes locked onto those high-end leather boots. They were exquisite, clearly expensive at a glance, but this... this should have been An Che's lifeline.
Why? Why was heaven so unfair? They just wanted to live—was that so hard?!