Aria’s POV

    I stormed out of the store, furious.

    55 vouchers

    I felt yed. Manipted. Beforeing, I really thought she wanted to bond with me properly. Maybe exin why she left all those years ago.

    If she’d been sincere, maybe I could have forgiven her. Maybe we could have started over.

    But no. She was still the same fake, vain, rude woman I first met. Nothing had changed. The only new thing I learned about her was that she’s a great liar. Maybe as good as I.

    Damn it, I never should havee with her in the first ce.

    The sharp click of heels sounded behind me. Then my mother rushed in front of me, blocking my path.

    “Where are you going?” she demanded, flustered.

    “Home,” I said coldly.

    I tried to step around her, but she grabbed my hand.

    “You were supposed to back me up in there! Let that whore Laura see how well I’m doing now! Do you know how humiliating it was when you walked away in front of her-”

    “And what does that have to do with me?” I snapped. “Seriously? You can’t handle a little embarrassment? Do you have any idea what my life was like before? Do you know what it’s like to go hungry, be afraid of getting hit, and live in despair every day? Try that beforeining about fucking embarrassment!”

    Her expression froze.

    Then she forced an awkward smile. “Oh, darling, Aria my baby… I know you have suffered. But Mom’s back now. You’ll never have ito /ilive like that again. I just need you to do me a small favor…”

    I cut her off. “You’re right. I’ll never have to live like that again, but it has nothing to do with youing back. It’s because I’ve grown up. I don’t need you anymore. I can take care of myself. And what you want means nothing to mei. /iNow get out of my way!”

    I pushed past her, ignoring her darkening expression, and headed for the exit.

    But before I could take more than a few steps, she suddenly screamed sharply behind me:

    “-Aria! Do I have to do this for you to forgive me?!”

    What?

    I instinctively turned around. And then widened my eyes in shock.

    …

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    God! She had dropped to her knees to me right there in the middle of the walkway. IN PUBLIC!

    I was stunned. This was the busiest area of the mall. Everyone passing by was staring at us with shock and

    confusion.

    “What are you doing… Get up!”

    I rushed back to pull her up, but she stayed firmly on her knees.

    “No, I won’t get up. My own daughter won’t forgive me. I might as well be dead.” In the blink of an eye, tears were streaming down her face. “I know you hate me. Do you feel better now? Making your mother kneel to you–is this what you wanted?!”

    “I–what are you talking about? Get up now!” I said sharply.

    She wrapped her arms around my waist and cried even louder. “What happened to my sweet, sweet daughter? Just look at you now… giving your own mother the cold shoulder like I’m your enemy. What did I do to deserve this punishment?”

    What did she do?

    She knew exactly what she did!

    I wanted to scream at her, but too many people were watching. I couldn’t bring myself to say what she’d done to me out loud.

    “Get up!” I hissed at her again.

    Just then, a middle–aged woman–probably just a passerby–walked over. She looked at me disapprovingly. “Hey, no matter what your mom did, she’s still your mom. Making her get on her knees to you in public? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

    The crowd around us murmured in agreement. Seriously? Now I’m the viin?

    “You have no idea what’s going on here! This has nothing to do with you…”

    “Of course I do! I have a teenage daughter too!” the woman cried indignantly. “Honestly, what’s wrong with young people these days? Does making your mom beg like this really make you proud or something? Shame on you!”

    My face flushed with anger. My mother sobbed loudly, “Th–thank you for your help, really… but please don’t make my daughter angrier. I don’t want her to hate me more.”

    But that only made people side with her more. More using eyes turned toward me.

    “She risked her life to bring you into this world. What more do you want from her?” someone in the crowd scolded me.

    Someone even pulled out a phone and started recording. I had no doubt this video might end up online. I didn’t need more attention.

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    “Get up.” I hissed at my mother quietly. “I’ll go back to the store with you. Isn’t that what you want?”

    A look of triumph shed across her face. “Really? You don’t hate me anymore, Aria? You’ll spend some decent time with me?”

    Every word felt forced through my teeth. “Yes. Now get up!”

    She scrambled to her feet instantly, smiling and thanking the woman who’d “helped” her. I did my best to hide my face, grabbed her arm, and quickly dragged her back into the luxury store.

    Of course, I was still furious inside. I felt used and manipted. “Are you happy now? Kneeling to me in public just to make mee back and pay for everything you want–was it really worth it?!”

    “What are you talking about, darling? I was really scared you hated me. I’m so d you changed your mind.” She clung tightly to my arm, pulling me into the store, grinning. “Nowe on. I saw ia /ifew pieces earlier that would be perfect for you.”

    She dragged me back inside. She loudly demanded the staff to clear out any other customers, then asked they bring us champagne and afternoon tea.

    The saleswoman named Laura appeared again. I could only guess she was my mother’s nemesis. She looked at us with disgust. “Back again? I told you not to cause trouble in my store.”

    “Trouble? We’re VIP customers here to spend money! Show us some fucking respect!” My mother lifted her chin arrogantly.

    “Stop with the bragging. With what you make at the strip club, you can’t even afford a scrap of fabric here,” Laura sneered.

    My mother turned ito /ime and ordered, “Aria, show her your credit card.”

    I hesitated, then pulled out the ck card that had no spending limit and handed it to her.

    “Don’t go too far with it…” I warned.

    But my mother snatched the card, strode forward, and pped it right against Laura’s face.

    “Open your damn eyes and take a look, bitch. It’s a fucking ck card! Unlimited! Happy now?” she shouted triumphantly, giggling.

    Laura stumbled back from the p. Then she saw the card clearly, and her eyes widened. “What the hell…”

    “Now you know, bitch?” Mom giggled.

    The other staff watched in silence. Their stares made my cheeks burn. I’d never been so embarrassed in my

    life.

    “Aren’t customers supposed to be treated like gods? O do things operate differently in this store? Or should I make ain to your manager?” Mom raised her voice again. “Bring me every shoe on that wall. I want to try them all.”

    :

    Laura took a deep breath. “Please have a seat. I’ll bring them right away.”

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    Soon, every shoe in the store wasid out before us. Mom sat on the sofa, sipping champagne, looking as

    smug as a queen.

    “Learn from this, Aria. This is how rich people should live,” she told me.

    “It’s how you want to live. Not how I want to live,” I replied coldly.

    She scoffed. “Oh, you’re too young to know what you want. But don’t worry–Mom will teach you.”

    She kicked off her shoes and stuck her foot out toward Laura. “I want ito /itry those silver heels.”

    Laura took a deep breath, picked up the shoes, and bent down to help her. But Mom kicked her hard in the chest, sending her stumbling back. “Kneel down to put them on for me!”

    “Mom!” I eximed.

    She immediately turned to me with a smile. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s what they’re supposed to do. We’re VIPs now, and they’re practically servants–almost like ves. I bet we can even get them on the floor and bark like dogs if we want.”

    Laura let out a sharp breath. Mom red at her. “What? You disagree? Or do you want to get yourself fired? Remember who’s in charge of your fate now.”

    “…I… that’s not what I meant,” Laura said stiffly, her face pale. “But this isn’t your size, ma’am. Let me find a better fit for you.”

    She scrambled to her feet and hurried into the back room.

    I left Mom sitting on the sofa, sipping more champagne and bossing everyone else around, and followed Laura into the stockroom.

    I found her holding a shoe box, her eyes red. When she saw me, she quickly wiped her tears. “Is there anything else you need, miss?”

    “Look, I don’t agree with what my mother is doing. But I can’t stop her. So… I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

    She looked at me. After a moment, her expression softened slightly, and she let out a bitterugh. “Well, someone like Jolene should never get rich. She’d make life hell for everyone who ever crossed her. I don’t think we had some huge feud. The only thing was an old customer of hers chose me over her. It’s not exactly a deep hatred, is it? But look how much she hates me now–she wants to destroy me.”

    “That’s it? And it happened so long ago,” I asked in disbelief.

    She shrugged. “Well, that’s Jolene. And I’ve got to say, sweetheart, you’re nothing like your mother. She’s a fucking cunt. And you have a gentle soul.”

    That reminded me.

    “How long have you known my mother?” bI /basked.

    …

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    “Believe it or not, I’ve known her since she was a teenager. We worked at the same club back then. Why?”

    I swallowed.

    I knew the DNA test had been done. But the more time I spent with this woman, the more my intuition told me something was wrong.

    This woman who’d appeared out of nowhere was theplete opposite of the blurry image in my memory. Sometimes I didn’t know if I was idealizing my memories or if this woman’s identity was really in question.

    Laura had known her for years. Maybe she knew something.

    So I stepped closer to her and lowered my

    voice:

    “So… is her name really Jolene? And did she really disappear for the past few years and only recentlye back? And… did she ever mention to you… that she had a daughter named Aria?”

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!