She Outshines Them All

She Outshines 104

Maria did not expect her to have such a reaction and was stunne

After a while, she stuttered, “You, you are not surprised? No, no, are you not surprised?”

“I am not,” Athena said honestly. My brothers and I resemble Mion and Dad, but you do not look much like them. You are the same age as Alaric. Mum could not have given birth to you and Alaric in the same year.”

“Also, you said that you lived in the mountains when you were young and your family was impoverished. I guessed that you were not our biological sibling. You probably did not live in this house when you were young

Maria looked at her in shock, not knowing what to say.

Athena patted Maria’s head. “Do you think that you are adopted by your family and I am their biological child? Are you worried that I will suspect you might want to fight with me and have a problem with you?”

Athena shook her head. “What you are worried about will never happen.”

“I used to be an only child. I did not have any siblings, and my adoptive parents did not care much for me. So I am glad I have an older and younger sister.”

“Besides, I am wealthy. The kind that cannot be spent in three lifetimes, she emphasized seriously. “I do not need to fight. anyone for property at all. If you heed money, I can give it to you.”

Maria was utterly stunned.

A large teardrop hung at the corner of her eye, about to fall.

She realized that Athena had already said everything that needed to be said, and there was nothing more to add.

Athena looked at her for a while and said, “If you are fine, I will go back to my room”

“Athena” Maria grabbed Athena’s sleeve. “You, you do not hate me, or are you not angry with me?”

Athena pointed at her own eyes and said seriously, “Do you see any sign of hatred or anger in my eyes?”

Her eyes were clear and bright, sincere and deep. Maria did not feel any hypocrisy or malice.

“Thank you, Athena. Maria lowered her head and calmed down a lot. “I wanted to tell you that I was adopted, but I was afraid you would not be able to accept me.”

“Also, we were not familiar with each other before, so I did not dare to say much to you.”

“Yes, I understand.” Athena patted her head gently. “A person’s secrets and stories can only be shared with those they trust most and consider most important

Maria was stunned again. The teardrop at the corner of her eye finally fell

“Previously, our family’s financial situation was not very good. The house I lived in was old and small. No one would say that I was after the family’s assets. Maria explained. “But it is different now. We have moved into a villa worth hundreds of millions. Father has become the top management of a company Mother is preparing to open a high–end restaurant. You will certainly make a name for yourself in the future. Brandon is also preparing to return to China.”

“Our family will probably become very wealthy, and at that time many people will certainly say that I want to steal the family’s assets. I do not want you to misunderstand.”

“So this is what you are worried about. Athena smiled. “Then why not work hard to become wealthy yourself?”

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Maria let out a stunned expression and blinked at her, unsure what to think

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Athena patted Maria’s shoulder. “You are only twenty years old. You are hardworking and diligent, and you have the support of your entire family. You will be able to earn a lot of money in the future and become rich. This way, you will not have to worry about such things.

Maria was

as taken aback for a moment, “Yes, that makes sense…

However, something seemed to be amiss.

Before she could think it through, Athena continued, Is there any other problem? If not, do not let your imagination run wild in the future.

Maria hesitated momentarily before saying, “I should tell you why my parents adopted me.”

Athena nodded. “Alright, go ahead. I will listen.”

Maria let go of the corner of her clothes and hugged her knees. She looked at her toes indifferently as if she were talking about her previous life.

“I was born a poor child in the mountains and am a girl. No one in that family cared about me.”

“In our hometown, girls are born for only one purpose: to help with household chores and take care of younger siblings when they are small, and when they grow up a bit, to get married, either to trade for money for the family or find a wife for the brothers.”

When I was young, my biological mother helped my parents take care of the children in this house. Later, she brought me

over.”

“My parents and brothers treated me well, even better than my Inological parents. No, my biological parents did not ever treat me well at all. My parents even sent me to school. I am very happy in this family.”

“I do not ever want to return to the mountains or that house

again.

Athena could tell from Maria’s choice of words that Maria’s “Dad and Mom” or parents‘ were her adoptive parents.

“But later…” Maria lowered her eyes, her face filled with sadness. Something… unfortunate happened at home. We fell into pain and poverty. My biological mother took me away from this home and we returned to the mountains.”

Athena’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that.

Athena wondered what “unfortunate things referred to

It was not just about the hospital fire incident and the mix–up with the children back then. But she did not ask anything

Maria did not mention anything about what happened to the Donovan family, only talking about herself: “I felt like had fallen from heaven to hell. Every minute, every second, I wanted to leave that house and return here.”

“But, there was no way. I did not have the right to make the decision.

“Not long after I returned to the mountains, my biological mother abandoned me and ran away. That family despised me

even more

“Where I come from, girls usually get married when they are fourteen or fifteen. They rarely get a marriage certificate. It was the same for my biological parents.”

“A year later, I was only about eight years old. My biological father wanted to marry a second wife, so he accepted twenty thousand dollars from a family in another village and gave me to them as a child bride.”

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Athena was knowledgeable, and she had heard of such things before. However, her pupils constricted when she heard this, and shock and anger flashed in her eyes.

For twenty thousand dollars, Maria’s father sold his eight–year–old daughter’s life to someone else. She could not believe it.

In the eyes of those people, the girl was probably no different from a cow or a horse.

“If I had lived in the mountains and never seen life in the city, I might have accepted my fate. Speaking of the past, Maria still had lingering fears, and her voice was filled with fear.

“But I have lived with this family for a long time and have even attended primary school. I could not accept the fate of being locked up in the mountains for the rest of my life and reduced to a fertility and work tool.”

However, no matter how much she cried and begged and even knelt until her knees bled, her biological father was determined to sell her.

Moreover, she was very young at the time. The mountain village she lived in was three to four hours away from the nearest town by mountain road, and the town was another two to three hours drive from the county. She had no way to escape.

She thought about ending her life. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

But when she contemplated death, she thought of her adoptive parents. They were her only hope.

She pretended to comply with the family’s arrangements and requested to go to town to buy new clothes. The family agreed.

When she got to town, she quietly bought some envelopes and stamps, put her written plea for help inside an envelope, and dropped it into a mailbox.

She did not know if her letter would be sent out, nor did she know if her adoptive parents would be able to rescue her, even if they received it.

She could only pray day and night, praying that her adoptive parents would come and save her.

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“I thought the chances were slim. It was like the sand in my hand, no matter how tightly I gripped it, I could not hold on,” Maria said in a low voice.

“My adoptive parents are good people, but at that time, the family was struggling a lot…”

“My adoptive parents could barely take care of themselves. How could they possibly have had the means to save

Thad already prepared myself

“If no one came to save me on the day I was sent away, I would have jumped off a cliff on the way”

Athena slowly raised her hand, wanting to pat Maria’s head, but he did not.

At this point, Maria burst into tears and smiled.

“But I never imagined that on the very day the buyer came to pick me up, my adoptive parents would actually show up.”

They seemed like gods descending from the sky. They took out twenty–four thousand dollars and gave it to my biological father. He signed the document, and then they took me away.”

“I felt like I had died and been reborn that day.”