Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 62: Clarissa – Biased

For the past two months, the bullying against me had only gotten worse. And all of it was because of Edwin.

At first, Edwin had been judged poorly for being violent toward his own sister. But somehow, another rumor spread, one that everyone chose to believe.

The rumor said Edwin had not hit me that hard.

It claimed I was the one who slammed my own body into the door. That the blood on my lips was not from his slap, but because I had bitten myself.

How ridiculous!

From Tessa, I learned that Darren was the one spreading the rumor among his friends. Those friends then told their younger siblings and relatives who also studied at the academy.

Darren had the image of a kind and fair older brother. Everyone believed him without question.

Just like that, Darren cleared Edwin’s name. But he never once tried to clear mine.

Instead, he made my reputation even worse.

What was I even expecting?

While enduring the bullying, I tried to escape again and again.

I no longer cared that I was officially still registered as a member of the Alpha Green family. Once I turned eighteen, or once I had enough money, I would return and deal with everything properly.

What mattered now was leaving this family.

I tried every possible way to run away. None of them worked.

I tried escaping during class hours. Before class even ended, Alpha Green’s bodyguards had already found me in the forest.

I tried asking to stop by the market to buy something, then slipping away. But it was as if they had eyes everywhere. They found me before I had even walked twenty meters away.

I even tried tricking them. I paid someone else, switched clothes with her, and told that person to walk away while I hid in an inn. But they immediately knew the one leaving was a fake.

I asked the driver, who was Larry’s man, to help me escape. But he told me that as long as we were still within Green Pack and Black Pack territory, there was no way out.

So when Luna Eileen began preparing the birthday celebration for Shannon’s eighteenth birthday and mine, I immediately suggested holding it at one of Grandma’s beaches in Grey Pack.

Seeing me talk to her again made Luna Eileen very happy, and she agreed without hesitation.

Everyone in the family who could go left for Grey Pack one day before the birthday, including me.

Alpha Will and Darren were busy and would follow the next day.

Shannon went to enjoy the beach view with Adrian. Edwin was nowhere to be seen.

That left only me, having lunch with Luna Eileen at the villa.

"Clarissa, do you really not have any friends to invite?" Luna Eileen asked anxiously.

I only shook my head. I had only two friends, Nadia and Tasha. But I could not invite them just so they would know I had managed to escape this family.

"Clarissa, mother is begging you. Please don’t cause trouble tomorrow. Maybe some of Shannon’s friends would want to befriend you if you act friendly toward them," she said, as if I were the troublemaker.

I did not respond.

She continued rambling on her own. "Mother truly hopes for this. I want to give you something, another increase in your allowance, but yours is already much higher than Shannon’s and Edwin’s. If Darren finds out, he’ll only get angry again."

The spoon that was about to reach my mouth froze in midair. I placed it back on the plate and looked at Luna Eileen in confusion.

"What allowance?" I asked.

From the way she spoke, it sounded like every time we fought or every time I asked for something, she increased my allowance, to the point Darren had scolded her for it.

But I had never received any allowance.

Could it be...

I straightened my posture and asked seriously, "Have I been receiving an allowance all this time?"

Luna Eileen looked hurt by my question. "Even if you’re not satisfied, can’t you at least appreciate what I’ve given you?"

I frowned, which only made her look even more dejected.

"I’ve never received any allowance," I said quickly, trying to avoid her crying. "It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. I truly didn’t receive anything. You mentioned allowance once before, and I thought you would give it to me, but nothing was ever given."

"That’s impossible!" Luna Eileen exclaimed. "I even receive monthly reports from the bank about how that money is used."

From her confident expression, it was clear she really had given the allowance. Just not to me.

I went to my room and grabbed the bag I always carried everywhere. I emptied its contents in front of Luna Eileen, even showing her the pockets, which were empty except for my com-orb.

My wallet contained nothing but my student card.

Luna Eileen looked stunned. She shook her head like someone who had lost all sense of direction.

I stared at her coldly.

"You don’t even know who has been using the money you’ve been giving out all this time? Are you sure all the accusations and thoughts you have about me are true? Are you sure all the problems they say I caused were really caused by me? Have you ever tried finding out the truth on your own, instead of just asking Darren, Edwin, Alpha Will, or anyone else who only heard gossip instead of seeing it themselves?"

Luna Eileen’s shoulders slumped, like someone who had lost a battle. She glanced around, as if searching for help, but there was no one here except the two of us.

Luna Eileen was always like this. She could never stand on her own.

"Luna, think again," I said, staring straight at her, not allowing her to avert her gaze. "What has this family actually given me? Are you sure this family truly gave it to me?"

Her shoulders trembled, her lips pale, like a deer caught in a trap. "Clarissa, Mother—"

"This family always says they’ve given me so much," I said, my voice calm but heavy with emphasis. "But in reality, all this family has ever given me is pain."

"I didn’t know..." she began to cry, her shoulders shaking, returning to the habit she always had when her mistakes were laid bare.

BAM!

The door flew open with a loud noise.

Edwin stormed in, his face red with anger. "How dare you make Mother cry!"

I only glanced at him briefly, choosing not to respond, and continued putting my belongings back into my bag.

He walked over to Luna Eileen and gently patted her shoulder. "Mother, you don’t need to worry. The one using that allowance money isn’t anyone else."

He turned to look at me.

"It was me."

...