Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I didn’t start elementary school until I was nearly nine years old.

In class, I was a nobody, a girl without a shred of presence. I loved reading, and I loved the teachers who spoke to me gently and showed me they cared.

After my father visited the school a few times, his appearance and vulgar language only made my teachers pity me more.

By the time I reached middle school, my personality led to me being isolated by my classmates. I could hear them whispering behind my back, badmouthing me. It didn’t matter. Growing up in that environment had numbed my emotions long ago.

My father’s demands grew more restrictive. I wasn’t allowed to wear skirts, shorts, or short-sleeved shirts. If I ever bought them in secret, he would tear them apart right in front of me, his face twisted with rage.

I had to come straight home after school. He had installed surveillance cameras; if I was late, I would be met with a barrage of crude interrogations the moment he returned.

It was a suffocating environment, yet I couldn’t escape it.

Paradoxically, he was also the reason I avoided physical violence in middle school. My silence and lack of reaction made people think I was an easy target-until my father had to come to the school for something. He stood behind me, glaring at my classmates like a literal demon.

After that day, their bullying stopped at words. No one dared touch me because I had a father who looked like he could commit murder at any second.

For high school, I chose a boarding school just to get away from him. Finally, I had a little room to breathe.

I tried to fit in with my surroundings and even made a friend I could talk to. Since I only went home once every two weeks, I didn’t have to see him often.

Then came the college entrance exams. Once they were over, my memory cuts to black.