Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 59

The last gift
With nothing to do, Ari closed her eyes and went to take a nap. She had been working hard for years before she worked hard for her family and her school fees. Later on, she started to work hard for her husband and his family, with not a single opportunity to take a break, Ari did not know what it meant to take it easy.

Now that she was away from the Nelson house and no Madam Nelson to shout at her for lazying away, she drifted close to sleep. However, as she closed her eyes, a memory from the distant past came crawling in her mind.

It took her back to the time when she was ten, and it was her mother’s birthday.

‘Mom, look at this,’ Ariel hugged their mother’s arm as she handed her a small gift. ‘I brought it with my part-time salary.’

Ari, who was cooking in the kitchen, turned around and looked at her mother and sister. Everyone in the family was sitting around the small table that had a cake in the centre and yet, she was grilling herself in the kitchen.

She thought that if she worked hard for her mother and did everything that her mother told her, Ari would be accepted into the family. She was. As a servant.

‘Oh my, what did you buy for me?’ Madam Harlow asked with a smile on her face. She did not show that smile to Ari, who had cooked all her favourite dishes from the evening until the night. With her fingers moving carefully, as if afraid to even crease the gift wrapping, Madam Harlow undid the wrapping.

Inside sat a small pendant box, in which an artificial pendant was placed in between the earrings.

‘How pretty,’ Madam Harlow exclaimed just as Ari walked out of the kitchen and placed the roasted chicken on the table. ‘Ariel, you must have worked hard for this, right?’

‘As long as mother is happy, this is nothing,’ Ariel said to her mother with a smile. However, when Ari turned and looked at the pendant box, her eyes widened because that was her gift!

Ariel had stolen the gift from her room and then presented it as her own.

‘That’s mine!’ Ari exclaimed, catching the attention of everyone in the room. ‘I was the one who bought it for Mama!’

Ariel’s eyes widened as she looked at Ari before her eyes turned red, and she bit her lips. ‘Mom, this—-‘

She did not say anything to justify herself or put the blame on Ari’s head, which caused the entire family to feel wronged by her.

Madam Harlow placed the pendant on the table heavily. Her face twisted in anger as she screamed at Ari, ‘Can you not stay quiet for a single day? Will you only feel happy after you have created drama in the family?’

‘But I am speaking the truth, mama! I was the one who worked at the tea store and saved enough to get this gift. I even have the bill——’

SLAP!

Ari felt a sharp sting on her cheek. She raised her hand and looked at her mother, who now stood in front of her with shock in her eyes.

‘Mama…?’

Madam Harlow looked down at her contemptuously and sneered, ‘Ari, do I have to spell it out for you? Everything that you have belongs to Ariel. Do you know why? Because when you were born, it was your sister who suffered the most, including me and your daddy!’

‘When you were born your sister had to give up her piano recital and tuition classes, she did not even say a word. And just because your sister, presented your gift to me, you have to quibble with her over something small? Can’t you make way for her a little? Your sister just wanted to feel happy for a while. Is it too much for you to do?’

‘If your sister had not given up on the things that she loved… you would have died. You owe her your life, so what’s wrong with her taking something so cheap from you? Anyway, you were born to suffer as you are a jinx! You can do heavy work but your sister cannot, is it too big of a loss for you to make a fuss?’

Ari looked at her mother, who was supporting her sister even though she had stolen her thing, and felt tears fill her eyes.

‘Why? Why do you support her instead of me? I am your daughter too!’ Ari questioned angrily. As a child, she could not understand why her mother treated her so differently.

Madam Harlow stared down at her with her arms crossed before her lips twisted in a mocking sneer. She answered, ‘Because you are an unwanted child! I did not want you and wished you would die on the surgery table. I even went as far as to starve myself….but you… you were like a f*cking leech! You survived, while I was the one who almost died.’

‘You were never supposed to exist, Ariana. So it’s better if you act like a shadow of your sister and keep your presence to a bare minimum.’

A gasp escaped from Ari’s lips as she opened her eyes. She looked at the ceiling that was covered with an orange hue, while sweat dripped from her forehead. She sat up in the bed and touched her cheek, only to find something warm and wet.

Even after so many years had passed by Ari thought that she had gotten used to the treatment at home. However, her heart still ached because of the words that her mother spoke to her, even though her mother acted as if nothing happened the following day. The words were firmly imprinted in Ari’s head.

‘A shadow, huh?’ Ari thought as she wiped the tears on her cheeks and dropped her hand. Her fingers clenched.

The next day, when the sun was burning passionately in the sky, Ari headed out of the house to the hustle and bustle of the street. Since her mother’s birthday was tomorrow, she had to purchase a gift for her. However, this would be a gift like no other as it would be the last.

However, instead of heading to a mall—— Ari headed down to the black market.