My dad had a respectable job and always talked about taking responsibility. My mom didn't have much education and was timid. So, when they divorced, I decisively chose my dad. Not long after, my dad remarried. My stepmom sold me to human traffickers. My mom traveled across mountains and rivers to find me in a remote village and bring me back. The moment we met, my mom held me, tears streaming down her face: "Mia, I'm sorry, Mommy didn't protect you well!" My dad, to pay for my stepbrother's private school tuition, forced me to drop out of high school. My mom couldn't win back custody of me, so she could only secretly slip me the tuition money she had saved up. I was pushed off a balcony to my death by my stepbrother, and my dad testified in court: "That girl committed suicide." After I died, I floated in the air and saw my mom kneeling at the courthouse entrance, holding up a sign that read "Injustice," refusing to get up... When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn back to the day the judge asked me to make my choice. 1 In the courtroom, the judge called me in. "According to family law, for a child who is fourteen, we must respect their true wishes. "You are already fourteen, and you understand your parents' situations. Who do you choose to live with?" I had just been reborn, and my mind was still a bit foggy. My mom thought I was hesitating and hurriedly said, "Mia, live with Mommy. Mommy can take good care of you." My dad showed a look of disdain and said, "Take care of what? Are you going to feed my daughter scraps from now on?" "I've already found a job, I can support Mia!" "How much can you earn with your education? Every penny you spent for the past dozen years was mine!" I gradually woke up amidst their arguing. In my previous life, I was a fourteen-year-old pubescent girl, right at my most rebellious stage. My mom restricted me a lot. She wouldn't let me pierce my ears, dye my hair blonde, or skip class to date. I found her incredibly annoying. Conversely, my dad rarely came home and basically ignored me. When he did come back, he would give me money and tell me to take my friends to KFC for a family bucket. So, when they fought over my custody, I chose my dad without thinking twice. Hearing my decision, my mom started shedding tears continuously, soaking her clothes. Her hair, her lips, her eyes were all covered in tears. My mom called my name as she watched my dad smugly take me away. Now, this scene was repeating itself. Both my parents were looking at me eagerly, waiting for my decision. "I choose Mom." My mom's eyes showed pleasant surprise, while my dad looked in disbelief. "But I have one condition! "I want to change my last name! I want to take Mom's last name!" 2 Outside the courthouse, my dad grabbed me. "Mia! What's wrong with you? My situation is far better than your mom's, and you've always been a child who knows how to weigh the pros and cons!" "Yes, exactly because I know how to weigh the pros and cons, I wouldn't choose you!" In my previous life, my soul floated in mid-air, and I watched my blood-covered body being loaded into the ambulance. My dad fake-cried and knelt on the ground, telling the police that I had too much pressure from the SATs and committed suicide out of depression. What absolute bullshit! I scored a 1550 on the SATs, what pressure did I have? It was clearly his cheap son whose scores weren't even enough for community college, who pushed me off the building out of jealousy. If his son was the murderer, then he was an absolute accomplice. Under the scorching sun, my mom knelt at the courthouse entrance holding an "Injustice" sign, ignoring the people taking pictures and gossiping around her. She scraped both her knees raw, refusing to leave no matter who tried to persuade her, just to get justice for my death. In this life, if I chose him again, I'd be looking for death. "Mia, what do you mean by this?" "What do I mean? Don't you understand?" My provocative gaze made my dad's hair stand on end, and my mom didn't understand what was going on with me either. "Arthur Sterling, let me remind you. Chloe Davis, know her?" My dad's originally firm gaze became a bit evasive. "Who, who is that?" I sneered inwardly. Why is he pretending? 3 Chloe Davis was his college goddess. My dad chased her for four years and loved her for four years. After graduating from college, the Davis family didn't agree to their marriage and made Chloe marry into a wealthy family. My dad, introduced by his family, married my mom. Later, Chloe and her son were kicked out by the wealthy family, leaving with nothing, and no one knew the reason. My dad, this devoted simp, resolutely took over. He gave my mom the silent treatment for three years, forced my mom to divorce, and then had a flash marriage with Chloe. My mom might not know the name Chloe Davis, but my dad certainly knew it perfectly well. "Mia, I know this person. She's your dad's college classmate. I saw her when I picked your dad up from a college reunion. Let's not mention this irrelevant person, let's go home!" My mom pulled me, wanting to leave, but I didn't want to let my dad off so easily. After parting today, I didn't know if I'd have a chance to see him again. If I didn't make him suffer a bit, I'd be doing a disservice to my tragic death in my previous life. "Mom! Are you stupid? Chloe Davis is his first love and his mistress!" My mom froze, but her expression wasn't surprised. "So you knew?" I always thought my mom wasn't highly educated, a bit slow, and couldn't tell my dad was cheating. "Then why did you endure it for three years?" Three years of silent treatment! My dad came home less than twenty times a year, and when he did, he just grabbed some clothes, shoved a few hundred bucks at me, and left in a hurry. "Mia, Mom didn't want you to be sad, so I kept it a secret. I didn't want you to know your father was such a person and feel inferior later on." "So, you endured three years for me? "Just to maintain the illusion of a reunited family, you deceived yourself like this?" My mom felt a bit guilty under my glare, folding her hands and rubbing them secretly. 4 Actually, what right did I have to judge my mom! In my previous life, I was too rebellious. Whenever my mom looked sad under the desk lamp at night, I thought she was being dramatic, and even said it was because she had nothing to do since she didn't work. My dad hung up on her countless times, and I made sarcastic remarks on the side, saying she couldn't even keep her own man and was a failure as a woman. When my mom went out, it was never for more than an hour, at most just browsing the downstairs supermarket and the farmers' market. But when my dad went out, it was always for at least a week. He went to Dubai for business trips, went to the World Trade Center for meetings, so respectable! I expressed more than once that Dad was more important than Mom. So, the reason Mom endured for three years without divorcing was really because of me! Thinking of this, I couldn't help but want to slap myself. I looked at my dad and couldn't help but sneer. "Arthur Sterling, you see that! My mom and I both know about your affair! "Think about how you were throwing your weight around in court just now, isn't it ridiculous? You look like a clown!" My dad was already feeling guilty. Hearing me say this, he suddenly lost his usual flair and stood there stunned like an eggplant beaten by frost. 5 I hooked my arm through my mom's, turned around, and left, taking a taxi home. "Mia, I'm sorry, causing you to not be able to live in a big house anymore." My mom looked at me with tears in her eyes and guilt. "This house was bought by your dad. The law protects personal property now, I can't get a share." I comforted her, saying it was fine, we'd rent an apartment from now on. Although my mom wasn't highly educated, she was very good at making crafts. In the future, I would help her do social media, so we wouldn't have to worry about a livelihood. But I still felt stifled in my heart. My dad was clearly the one at fault for cheating during the marriage, but he didn't suffer any loss in the end. The house and car were all his. When my mom and I left, besides child support, we got nothing. The child support would stop when I turned eighteen. The more I thought about it, the more suffocated I felt. As if seeing through my thoughts, my mom said, "Cheating is very hard to prove, especially since your dad is capable and hid the mistress very well. Why did he give me the silent treatment instead of directly asking for a divorce? Because he wanted to drag me down until I didn't have the energy to fight him, and finally divorce as soon as possible under the guise of long-term separation." "I know, but Mom, don't worry, I'm confident that even if we didn't get a share of these assets, it won't be easy for him and Chloe's family to enjoy them in the future." My mom smiled and said, "Alright! I have hands and feet, I won't let you suffer." "Yeah! The good days for us mother and daughter are ahead!" My mom happily packed our luggage, radiating the joy of relief. But I wasn't. In a corner she couldn't see, I glared viciously at my parents' wedding photo on the wall. My mom didn't know what I went through in my previous life, and I didn't want to tell her either. In this life, she has let it go, but I won't easily let the Sterling family off the hook. 6 A few days later, I prepared all the documents and went to the police station to change my last name. My mom said I actually didn't need to go this far. Even though they divorced, the blood relation between me and my dad couldn't be severed. But I firmly wanted to change my last name; this last name disgusted me. I had just finished filling out the application form when I saw two familiar people walk in. "It really is a small world, is there only one police station in Seattle?" The voice of the person speaking was coquettish, it was none other than Chloe Davis. She came in holding my dad's arm, and rolled her eyes when she saw me. My dad asked, "Mia, what are you guys doing here?" I waved the name change application form in my hand and said, "Changing my last name, of course. I said this in court." Hearing this, my dad's face changed. "Do you have to be so extreme? I did your mom wrong, but what did I do to wrong you? Why must you change your last name?" "Why else? Because it feels dirty!" I glanced at Chloe's hand holding my dad's arm; she was already wearing a diamond ring. I remembered when my mom just married my dad, my dad was still a poor boy. Let alone a diamond ring, even the wedding was simple. My dad promised that when he got rich, he would definitely make up for my mom's wedding ring. But I've grown this big, and I still haven't seen this "Emperor's New Ring." Once my mom asked for it, but my dad choked her back with a few words. "You don't make money, do you know how much a diamond ring costs? Did the wind blow my money in? "Besides, you're a housewife doing chores all day, wearing a ring is inconvenient!" My mom didn't say anything and never mentioned the wedding ring again.
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