The Heiress's Comeback - Chapter 4 - - Playing mind games

After a near death experience thanks to his own mother, Jake Hollander has an adverse reaction to people, baseball, and family. His feeling of abandonment is slowly lost thanks to his foster family, The Atkins. They take him in and change his mind about everything. He becomes more open, better at baseball, and craves for family. Slowly all wishes are granted.

Instagram: @writerhalf_empty

https://www.patreon.com/half_empty ~~The Last Curve can be found there, a short story about Rhys


**Names, faces, and places aren’t real. A work of fiction. Nonetheless, it is my work of fiction so please don’t post it without permission. *I have used school names that do exist though, but I would like everyone to know that I have no affiliation with them. Nor do my views reflect their views.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Tell you what, Richard? What would you have done?”“I don’t know. Apologized sooner? Bought you a burger to make up for it?”Her eyes lit up with fire, “You think what you did to me… you think a burger can make up for it?” her eyes twinkled like she was fighting tears. Did I hurt her that badly? I was just a foolish teenager.“Nita, I am sorry. I was young, I was stupid. I wish I could take it all back and tell you how I feel instead of being a constant jerk to gain your attention.”“How did you feel that would justify what you did to me?”I paused for a minute, finding the words. “I had a huge crush on you at the time. And I didn’t know how to express myself. I was full of myself, I was the school’s ladies' man and the one girl I had eyes for didn’t even care if I existed,” “And that justified what you did to me? Richard, you broke me. I can forgive you for ‘accidentally’ spilling your ice cream on me, or throwing my due assignment in the toilet, or the gum in my hair, or the glue in my chair but tell me how can I forgive you for what you did that night? Tell me!”“What night? Nita, what are you talking about?”“Remember when you asked me if I knew who sexually assaulted me?”I nodded, but what does that have to do with anything? The more we spoke, the more confused I became.“You did and I cannot believe that you would stand there and pretend like it didn’t happen!”Nita has spent years trying to forget the torment she endured at the hands of Richard. When her family’s financial ruin forces her into an arranged marriage, she is horrified to find out the groom himself was her bully.Richard, a charming and successful businessman meets the first woman to be repulsed by him. Intrigued, he proposes a deal of a one year marriage of convenience.Navigating life as a couple, old wounds reopen, buried memories surface. As Richard learns more about his wife, he finds that he has enemies that followed him from his past to continuously cloud his wife’s judgement.Will Nita believe the truth and bury old wounds or will the pain of the past prove too strong to heal?

[Female Protagonist Synopsis]:Mia Ginger experienced a trial marriage.Before the trial marriage--Dad said: “Koa Jackson is a postdoctoral fellow, watch your words and deeds.”Mom said: “Since you don't like him anyway, why not let your sister have him.”Brother said: “Shameless, stealing big sister's beloved.”Sister said: “Why didn't you come back a month later!”Mia Ginger didn't understand, she was already seventeen years late, late enough that the whole Ginger Family completely forgot her existence, late enough that the adopted sister occupied seventeen years of affection, late enough that the man she was betrothed to almost became someone else's groom, how much later should she be?Mia Ginger curved her lips: “Grandpa Jackson, I will strive to be worthy of Brother Jackson.”She thought it was out of spite, unaware that upon meeting him again, she discovered he was the big brother lingering in her heart for nearly ten years.At two years old, she got lost, falling from a Rich Family's Daughter to a street beggar, picked up and raised by a masseuse for seventeen years, and upon returning home, she was determined to become the first socialite in upper-class society.[Male Protagonist Synopsis]He is Koa Jackson, the third son of the Jackson Family, elegant and upright, with outstanding looks, the youngest neurosurgery professor in the domestic medical field, known by all.Simply because, at twenty-seven, he remains single.All young ladies want to marry into the Jackson Family, unaware the nobleman was betrothed since birth.In his entire life, he need only remain pure, waiting for one girl to grow up.Before the trial marriage, Koa Jackson had seen his future bride twice.The first time, he was eight, she was eight months. He stood by the bed watching her crawl with her little bottom, finding it amusing, he wrote his name on her sole and said with a smile: “Brother will stamp you.”The second time, he was eighteen, she was ten. He stood by the road watching her sneakily stealing, feeling pity, he took her hand and gave her a hundred yuan, helplessly saying: “Not stealing is a good child.”He's always remembered the first time, long forgotten the second.Unexpectedly, the little girl whose foot he tickled at home always regarded the second time as her life's salvation.[He couldn't partake in her turbulent past, but wholeheartedly takes on her prosperous future; companionship is the most touching confession.]

My memories of my past life returned when I hit my head on a rock. I am Katarina Claes, the eight-year-old daughter of a Duke. While I was struggling with a high fever, it was decided that I would become a prince’s fiancée. I have now realized that this is the world of an otome game I played in my previous life.

I also realized that I had become the villainous noble girl who got in the way of the protagonist and her capture target… if the protagonist got a good ending, I would be exiled from the country with only the clothes on my back, while in the bad ending, I would be killed by the capture target… where’s my good ending!? Do I only get bad endings!?

I want to overcome all the destruction flags somehow and reach old age!