Ten Reasons to Leave

I wanted to tell Chester that a few months ago, nurses at the hospital had repeatedly attempted to hand me a critical illness claim form for Luna.

I wanted to tell him that I'd called him countless times back then, wanting him to come visit Luna for the last time.

And yet, he had said to me, "Is the little witchfaking her illness again? What kind of new lie have you come up with this time? Even if you want me to go back, there's no need to wish death on your sister, is there?"

Luna passed away that same night, marking the death of my only blood relative in this world.

Chester could no longer threaten me.

I met Chester's confident gaze and said indifferently, "Whatever. I'll see you at the courthouse."

I then picked up the luggage I'd packed up beforehand and left without a backward glance as everyone watched.

The musty odor of the cheap apartment unit I'd procured blended in with the scent of the sycamore trees outside the window. The resulting smell was actually more pleasant and refreshing than the smell of incense that always seemed to cling to the Ford residence.

I was lying in bed that night when my phone suddenly rang.

The word "Dad" displayed on my phone screen was such an eyesore. After a brief hesitation, I answered the call.

"Yuna Sutherland! Have you gone insane? How dare you bring up divorce with Mr. Ford? Get back here right now!"

I clenched my hands around the corners of my blanket. My nails were digging into my palms.

When I opened the door to my family's home, I was assaulted by the stench of alcohol mixed with cheap perfume. My father, Carl Sutherland, closed in on me while waving the wine bottle in his hand.

"Without the Ford family's funding, who's going to pay for your sister's medical expenses?" he bellowed.

Before he had even finished speaking, he slapped me so hard I could feel the accompanying wind.

I stumbled and knocked over the coffee table. The sound of shattering glass reached my ears.

I braced myself against the wall. My throat was tight as I said stubbornly, "I want my sister's cremation urn."

After Luna passed away, Carl kept the news a secret so that he could continuously receive money from Ford Group. However, now that I'd filed for divorce, that source of funding was gone.

"You filed for divorce because you wanted to cut off my means of survival now that your sister is dead! How am I going to keep gambling in the future without any money? I know you're trying to drive me to death! You're just a heartless ingrate!"

My stepmother, Jessica Price, couldn't resist chiming in. "You're in the wrong here, Yuna. Mr. Ford is the president of a major company. Ordinary people don't even have the privilege of marrying him."

I ignored them and just walked straight toward my room. "I don't need you concerning yourselves with my affairs. I'll be leaving as soon as I get what I came for."

The urn I'd placed at my bedside was gone. When I turned around, I saw that Luna's cremation urn was in Carl's hands.

I hurriedly walked over to him with a stormy expression on my face. "Give it to me. That belongs to Luna. You don't deserve to hold—"

Carl smashed the urn against the floor with a loud bang, scattering grey-white powder everywhere.

"I don't deserve it, you say? How dare you say those words to my face?" he yelled.

I rushed at him hysterically and gave him a hard shove. "That's your biological daughter! How can you call yourself human?"

That short question ignited Carl's anger. He picked up a beer bottle next to him and smashed it vehemently against my forehead.

Blood started flowing out of the wound, staining my white shirt red.

Jessica couldn't help but scream, "Carl! Stop! She's going to die!"

I raised my head, looking toward Carl with blood still streaming from my forehead. He also looked like he was at a loss.

He stared at me for several seconds. There wasn't a trace of pity or guilt in his eyes. On the contrary, he strangely seemed to be pleasantly surprised.

Then, he took out his phone and started snapping a few close-up photos of my injured face.

A second later, he made a phone call with a fawning smile on his face. "I heard that my daughter hasn't been behaving sensibly, Mr. Ford. Please calm down!"

He directed his phone camera toward me, showing off my miserable state. "Look at how thoroughly I've taught her a lesson! So, please have mercy and forgive her this once.

"The two of you started dating when you were still students, after all. You've been married for ten years now, so how could you two so casually divorce each other? Moreover, I was the one who failed to recognize your greatness and forced her to break up with you back then.

"Speaking of which, back when you were involved in that traffic accident, it was my daughter who—"