Chapter 1891

The car came to a stop outside the Stone family home. Karina took a deep breath, unable to suppress the nervousness that crept up on her.
Her anxiety peaked when Mrs. Stone opened the door.
“It’s you?” Mrs. Stone’s expression twisted with displeasure, and without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Voices drifted from inside-it sounded like Mr. Stone was asking who had come. The conversation abruptly stopped as Karina stepped inside.
Mr. Stone sat cross-legged on the sofa, his expression dark and unwelcoming. “Hmph, you’ve been gone
so long, I thought you’d died somewhere out there. That would’ve been better-at least then you wouldn’t be back here to annoy us.”
Mrs. Stone chimed in, her tone equally harsh. “Exactly! After everything you did to ruin us, just look at the state of this house now. We’ve been reduced to nothing!
“If people didn’t know better, they’d think we were your sworn enemies in a past life instead of your foster parents!”
Their words weren’t far from the truth. The Stone family’s current situation was indeed bleak.
In the past, even though they were never wealthy, they could still afford a set of rosewood furniture, and
the living room once had a large fish tank. Mr. Stone had a penchant for tea and used to stockpile expensive tea leaves.
Of course, all of those luxuries had been purchased with Karina’s money.
But after Kieran’s troubles and his time in rehab, all of it was gone. Now, the living room was barren, with nothing left.
Karina looked around and smirked. “Well, isn’t this how it should’ve been all along?”
Mrs. Stone glared at her with hatred. “You! You’re nothing but bad luck!”
Karina remained unfazed.
In the past, such words would have cut her deeply, but now, after enduring so much in the outside world, they barely scratched the surface. Compared to the betrayals and struggles she had faced, this was nothing.
Seeing Karina’s indifference, Mrs. Stone tried to hurl more hurtful words.
But before she could continue, Kieran appeared, cutting her off.
“Mom! She’s finally come back. Why are you saying such awful things?”
Both Mrs. Stone and Karina were stunned.
Karina even wondered if the man in front of her was truly Kieran. Since when did he defend her?
Even Kieran himself wasn’t entirely sure why he spoke up. Ever since that day at the orphanage, when he saw Karina’s radiant, happy smile, it had fingered in his mind like an echo.
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It struck him like a bolt of lightning.
In the past, his focus had always been on himself. He assumed Karina’s quiet compliance meant she would accept whatever came her way.
After all, wasn’t she like a shadow in the family? Always there, invisible, and obedient. He had grown used to her meekness, believing she found contentment in it.
But that smile shattered his assumptions.
Stealing a complicated glance at Karina, Kieran quickly looked away. “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s the anniversary of my sister’s death, after all. She liked you a lot
she was alive. You’ve net
when
come
back. She wouldn’t want things to get ugly between us.”
Karina followed his gaze to a black-and-white photograph on the wall.
In it was a young girl, frozen in time with a bright, radiant smile, as if she were still alive.
But the monochrome tones of the photo were a stark reminder of reality: she was gone.
The realization stabbed at Karina’s heart, the pain sudden and sharp.
The meal was a quiet and somber affair. No one spoke as they ate, the weight of the past hanging heavily in the air.
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