Chapter 1 The Outcast Daughter
“You have only two months left.”
***
Valérie Horton left the hospital with her diagnosis. She stood in the yard of the hospital idly and mocked herself inwardly, her face pale.
She remembered how happy she was yesterday when she went home after work with a piece of birthday cake.
The second Valerie ate the cake, she felt intense pain, as if her internal organs were twisted together. She passed out in the rented room due to the agony.
She was used to feeling this pain after experiencing it for two months. At first, she was worried. Yet, she didn’t go to the hospital as she thought it was nothing and she needed to save money. She had no idea it would cost her more.
On her 20th birthday, Valerie received the diagnosis of a terminal illness…
Despite being an optimist, she was at a loss about the shocking news.
She didn’t remember how she got on the bus and returned to her cheap rented room.
As Valerie saw the dirty walls, she finally snapped out of her trance.
She put down the diagnosis and started cleaning up quietly…
“Knock, knock. Valerie, are you home?”
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“Yes, Susie.”
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Valerie rubbed her red–rimmed eyes and opened the wooden door. Susie Walton, Valerie’s landlady, was standing outside with a friend. She beamed when she saw Valerie.
“Valerie, I’m here for the rent.”
“Sure. I’ll transfer the money to your account now.”
Valerie quickly snatched her phone and made the money transfer.
Susie’s smile grew wider as she confirmed it on her phone.
“Good. Valerie, remember to come to me if you need anything.”
“I know, but I don’t need anything at the moment. Thank you, Susie.”
After a few conventional remarks, Susie left and slammed the door shut.
Susie’s friend immediately grabbed her arm and leaned in.
“What’s going on? Why would a young girl live in this kind of place? This room was just a shabby warehouse. Why did you rent it to her?”
“Hey. I wasn’t the one who initiated it. That girl begged me, and I had to give in. The 25 dollars is her utilities.”
Susie glanced at the door and leaned closer to her friend.
“Well, it’s a secret. Don’t tell others. That girl is the outcast daughter of the Horton family.”
“What? The Horton family? That Horton family?”
Susie hastily covered her friend’s mouth.
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Susie thought, “I knew it. She’s such a big mouth.”
“Quiet! Don’t you remember that a daughter of the Horton family has gone missing? It’s said that Mrs. Horton missed her girl so much that she lost her mind. The Horton family blamed the elder daughter for not taking good care of her sister and claimed she did it on purpose. So, they kicked her out.”
Susie nodded at the door, gesturing to her friend that she was talking about Valerie.
They both knew how that story ended.
It was the news of Capstead as one of the wealthiest families had lost a daughter and kicked out the evil elder daughter.
Susie’s friend frowned.
“But she seems meek. I don’t think she’s capable of such a hideous crime.”
“Beats me. We’re just regular citizens. How would we understand rich people’s thinking? She is their daughter, yet they hate her so much. Maybe she’s a love child.”
Although the two women were gossiping in each other’s ears, they forgot how thin the door was and how loud they were.
Valerie heard every word.
She picked up the diagnosis, lost in her memories.
She was just a teenager then. When Zoe Horton, her younger sister, made a fuss about wanting to go outside and asked Valerie to accompany her, Valerie had no choice but to sneak out of the house with her.
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She couldn’t say no to Zoe’s request.
On the exact same day, Zoe went missing. Valerie searched the entire block, yet Zoe was nowhere to be found. She didn’t stop walking for a second despite the blood blisters under her feet.
Valerie was so afraid.
She was afraid that Zoe would be in danger. And she feared her family would hate her more because of it.
However, Valerie couldn’t cover the news. Once the Horton family learned about Zoe’s missing, they exploded with rage.
“Where’s Valerie? Ask her to come to my study immediately!”
That night, Valerie sat on her bed in the attic. The blood blisters had broken and her feet were bleeding. Yet, the pain was nothing in comparison to her heartache.
Valerie was shaking as she bit her fingernails. Full of fear, she opened the door of Reese’s study.
The four men of the Horton family were all inside.
As the door closed, Valerie’s heart sank…
Little Valerie felt suffocated as she faced the endless scolding and curses. Her family never gave her a chance to explain herself.
Jerking out of her trance, Valerie clenched the diagnosis. Her throbbing heartache echoed with the constant pain of her internal organs. She gasped like a fish out of water.
She would never forget it.
That night, Reese’s gaze at her was filled with disgust.
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How ridiculous! She was loathed by her own father.
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Faced with Reese’s cruelty, little Valerie had forgotten about the intense pain in her feet. She could only feel a chill down her spine.
The next day, they kicked Valerie out, though her feet were hurt and there were grazes on her body.
They didn’t even hesitate.
Later, Valerie went to an orphanage. Instead of a warm welcome, all she got were humiliation and ridicule. And they lasted even until
now…
Because she was the outcast daughter of the Horton family.
Valerie thought if she didn’t let Zoe out that day, maybe she could grow up like an ordinary child. She could go to school and find a job, even form a family…
Her headache got worse as she pondered.
Valerie quickly stopped herself from indulging in the negative thoughts, adjusting her breath to case the pain.
After a long time, Valerie felt the urge to cry.
She covered her eyes hastily and bit her lip as she sobbed.
Valerie had tried her hardest to muffle her cries.
She couldn’t cry out loud.
She didn’t have a reason to cry her heart out.
Because she couldn’t start her life over by crying. It couldn’t change her life, and it couldn’t make her live longer.
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Chapter 1 The Outcast Daughter
Crying would only make Valerie realize how pathetic she was.
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After sobbing for a few minutes, Valerie sat on the broken chair idly, ignoring the tears and snot on her face.
After a while, Valerie wiped her face forcefully and took out a piece of torn paper and a fountain pen from her stonewashed canvas bag. The pen almost ran out of ink.
She froze in place before dropping the torn paper and the fountain pen. Then she took out a new sheet of paper and a better pen from her bag. They were too precious, so Valerie was unable to bear to use them before.
Switching on the light, Valerie started writing seriously…..
One month later, Valerie quit after getting that month’s paycheck. She also canceled her lease.
With a shabby backpack and all her money, Valerie did what she always wanted to do.
She traveled around the country without a care.
This was the last month of her life, so Valerie wanted to live for herself
once…
Two years later, a lumberjack in a beautiful scenic village discovered a dead body on a mountain. He immediately called the police.
The government was alarmed, and reporters swarmed in the village.
The reporters got the pictures of the dead body with the government’s permission.
The dead body was lying on the ground peacefully with her hands on her chest.
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The police found three sheets of paper in her clothes.
One was a hospital diagnosis, and one was written full of travel plans.
The reporter’s tears welled up as he saw the last sheet of paper. It was torn and had only one sentence in fine handwriting.
“I don’t need another life.”
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