As Aurora’s cold voice rang out, Ivy began to feel that something was amiss. “Who are you?” she asked tentatively.
The girl in Zachary’s arms was still oblivious to what the siblings were thinking and wanted to show off in front of them.
“She’s just a bitch. Ivy, let me teach her a lesson,” the girl declared as she approached Aurora.
Aurora’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “Can you?”
Provoked by Aurora’s contemptuous smile, the girl reached out and slapped towards Aurora’s face, shouting, “Get down on your knees and lick RIvy’s boots to apologize!”
Such acts were not unfamiliar to her. The girl did them quite smoothly, chewing gum arrogantly.
Aurora easily grabbed the girl’s wrist with a strong grip, causing her to scream out in pain.
“Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much.” Little did she know that this seemingly unsophisticated woman had such strength.
Yet, this was not the worst pain. Aurora sneered inwardly, thinking if she was still the pushover who used to be bullied three years ago.
Drugged and dragged away, now she could handle even grown men without trouble, albeit only in one-on-one situations.
She kicked the girl’s knee, causing her leg to uncontrollably smash into the cement floor, bringing tears from the pain.
The girl used to have many tricks up her sleeves for handling other women, not imagining that today she would be thwarted by this shabbily dressed woman.
“Zachary, save me! Take care of this vile woman,” the girl cried out.
“Whoever you are, dare to touch her, and I’ll let you…” Zachary couldn’t stand seeing his girlfriend treated this way by Aurora.
He charged at Aurora, who simply used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. The clean move earned cheers from the onlookers. Ivy swept her gaze over them, and everyone, respecting her family background, quickly shut their mouths.
Aurora stepped on Zachary’s hand. She recalled how Zachary, as a child, often bullied her since Aurora didn’t have a mother and their father doted on him more.
Once, while Aurora was doing homework, Zachary took a compass from her pencil case. “Aurora, what’s this?”
He was always supercilious in front of her. Aurora, good-natured, didn’t mind much.
“It’s a compass. You shouldn’t play with it. You might hurt yourself.” Aurora quickly tried to take it back from him, fearing he would injure himself.
How could Zachary not know what it was? He was only half a year younger than Aurora.
“Aurora, do you think I’m that stupid?” he sneered. Before Aurora could react, he stabbed her hand with it.
The pain brought tears to her eyes, while Zachary stood by, smugly enjoying the mischief. “See? Using it to stab people is more fun.”
“I’ll tell Dad,” Aurora declared, unable to endure their overt and covert torment any longer.
“Go ahead. Have you forgotten the last lesson? Who do you think Dad will believe?” Zachary said, playing with the compass in his own hand.
If Aurora dared to complain, Zachary could immediately break his own hand with a compass and falsely accuse Aurora of stabbing him. Aurora had fallen victim to this tactic numerous times. Although she was always the one wronged, she ended up being the one punished. From then on, the two became even more brazen in bullying her. Though they were the same age as Aurora, they knew much more.
Their shrewd mother had instilled certain ideas in them from a young age, telling them that without Aurora, they would rightfully be the Montgomery family’s heirs, not illegitimate children. The Montgomery family business would also be theirs to inherit in the future. Aurora was just an obstacle, hindering their good life.
Growing up with such teachings, how could they not become ruthless, stopping at nothing to drive Aurora out of the house? They even resented Aurora in their hearts, wondering why she had to exist in this world, taking away everything that should have belonged to them.
The events of those years were vivid in her mind. How cruel Zachary had been with his compass then, was how cold her heart was now. She ground her foot hard on Zachary’s hand, regretting not wearing high heels that day, which would have hurt him more.
Seeing Zachary defeated by Aurora with one move, Ivy spoke up, her face ashen, “Aurora, you’re back!” Onlookers were guessing their relationship. Some began to speculate about Aurora’s identity.
“What are you looking at?” Ian, seeing everyone crowded around something, quickly squeezed in. “Ian, look. Your deskmate is not as simple as she seems, daring to hit Zachary Montgomery. She probably won’t have an easy time at school from now on.”
Amidst the crowd, everyone was talking, but only Aurora remained calm, occasionally increasing the pressure as she ground her foot on Zachary’s hand, causing him unbearable pain. “Ah! It hurts!” Zachary, a man, cried out heart-wrenchingly.
The louder he screamed, the bigger Aurora’s smile grew. “Pain? Do you know the pain now? When you were carving words into my hand with your compass, you seemed to be enjoying it.”
“Let him go! He is your brother after all.” Ivy, feeling the iciness of this changed woman, was afraid. She dared not act rashly, only speaking out to stop her. However, her words meant nothing to Aurora, who responded indifferently, “Now you acknowledge me as his sister? You never treated me as your family.”
Her words shocked everyone around, who whispered incessantly, wondering how such a tacky person could possibly be a “Miss Montgomery”. Only Gemma and Ian knew her true appearance, especially when she came to buy a villa, dressed and poised with elegance.
Gemma had initially thought she was being kept by someone, not realizing she was a legitimate heiress of the Montgomery family, raised in luxury. Aurora slowly removed her glasses and swept her bangs back behind her ears. When her face was fully revealed, no one could doubt her identity any longer.
Her classmates, who had been in the dark, were stunned. Had they known she was such a beauty, they would have pursued her long ago. Aurora’s lips slowly curved into a smile as she said, “Dear sister, I’m back.”