Chapter 223 A Horrible Childhood 3

"SHE'S ADOPTED! THAT LITTLE WRENCH IS ADOPTED!"

Inna winced slightly as she recalled the horror she felt when she first heard those words. She paused her little story-telling, hesitating whether to continue and divulge everything or to play it off as nothing.

This was the point where her scars would be revealed. She never told anyone about this, not even her parents.

Well, especially not her parents.

But seeing the genuine concern and curiosity in Raghnall's eyes, she felt far too cruel to back out from the story now. So, with a small cough to clear her throat and muster up some resolve, she continued on.

"At… first, I didn't think much of it. After all, it's not like she lied about it. I really was adopted and I was never told to keep it a secret anyway. But then, I failed to realize that that phrase alone changed their view of me so much."

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But she still felt unsettled talking about such a sensitive topic so she began to gently traced lines on her wrist with her thumb again. And after releasing a big huff of air while doing so, she smiled dimly as proceeded to talk.

"And just like back then, the whispers started again. The following days, different stories suddenly erupted about how I was a charity case, how I was adopted from a beggar's family, and how I lived a fake Cinderella life. They talked about the fact that I was a fake princess, that I don't deserve everything I had, that I only had a pretty face, and that the reason why I was studying in this school instead of being homeschooled was that my parents needed to dump me somewhere while they work. They also said stuff about my parents regretting taking me in an--"

Raghnall's eyebrows shot up in disbelief as he exclaimed.

"That's not true! How can they say such cruel things?"

Inna jumped slightly in shock from his sudden outburst.

And seeing her startled expression, Raghnall apologized immediately to which Inna brushed off with a small yet sardonic laugh.

"Well, the reason why these rumors were so 'cruel' was because someone carefully planned them to directly attack me."

With an idea of the identity of the perpetrator coming into mind, Raghnall narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he drawled out slowly.

"That psycho girl…"

Inna nodded as she continued to tell her story.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious who it was. After all, she's the only one who would have the guts to do that. And so, it doesn't take a genius to know that it was her who conjured them up and spread it around. Heck, it spread around pretty fast as well because, apparently, she already had 'friends' in our class that seemed to do her bidding. And with them on her side, whatever shit she had on me would be spread in no time at all."

But despite having the right idea, Raghnall still looked at Inna with confusion.

"I had a feeling it was her but… was she not punished since she was dragged away by your teacher? How can she cause trouble so easily again?"

Inna snorted.

"Her parents probably came to her rescue and intimidated the principal into letting the issue go. After all, she was just given a stern warning and was let go pretty quickly compared to what was written in their school rules."

Raghnall nodded slowly as he finally understood.

He speculated that it might be so but he didn't think that Inna's country and his country, despite being so different, held so much in common, especially when it comes to the human's nasty need to oppress and be above others.

So now, he was even more curious as to how the story would unfold--as to how Inna turned from such a shy little girl into the crazy shameless one he knew now.

And as if sensing his hidden curiosity, Inna decided to continue on with her story.

"And so, as soon as the next day arrived, she was able to easily have the rumors spread across the different levels of the school with each level nearly having their own version to the story. Heck, even teachers were gossiping about it as well. It was, after all, a big issue."

"The child of the ones who owned the biggest corporations in that city was adopted."

Inna held a sarcastic tone as she emphasized that statement as though it was an interesting headline in the news. Then, after a humorless snort, she continued to talk.

"They must've seen it as a big scandal. And it was only a matter of time before the media would sniff this story out. So, with all these half-truths out and spreading like fire, I knew I had to do something about it before it spread outside the school and hurt my parents' reputation. But… that wasn't my only motivation of ending the rumors, y'know. And I hate to admit it but I had to end it because… it hurt me, as well. But not in the way you're thinking of."

"I already knew I was an orphan way before. I found out about it by myself before I entered that school. How? Well, I overheard my parents talk about it as they argued about how they didn't want the public to have the opportunity to know about me and make me a target to get to them. And well, knowing I was adopted wasn't quite a shock. After all, they barely acted like decent parents so I pretty much was numb towards it. I just saw it as a title, an accessory title I can ignore because truthfully, it's not like it can really change anything in the present."

"But what hurt me was the fact that it made people define me differently than before."

Inna unknowingly clenched her hand into a fist but her other hand continued to draw lines on her wrist, albeit this time, it was no longer gentle but instead slightly erratic.

"What's wrong with not being the biological child? Am I still not the same child as I was before? Heck, even if my parents had children, who's to say they wouldn't treat him or her any less than they have treated me?"

"I tell you, even if I was just a measly kid, I had enough sense from watching all those TV shows to know that being adopted shouldn't make people view you any different than before. It's just not right… Many would argue that they were just children and that they didn't know what they were doing nor thinking. But even so, their parents, or even the teachers as well, should've made them understand how it is. They should've taught them to hold a different kind of mindset, a mindset that's not shallow and narrow in the first place. Heck, it should've been passed as common sense. But it's just maddening how this shallowness was even coming from the adults that were supposed to be the one teaching the children in the first place."

"The teachers and parents of the different children began to greet me differently. They, too, joined along with the whispers which I found quite irritating and heartbreaking at the same time. I thought my enemy at that time was just the students. I thought that the rumors wouldn't really affect me much and that I can still rely on my teachers whenever shit hits the fat, y'know? But in a week, I saw how they began to treat me differently… I saw how they changed and began to behave like everybody else--whispering while I had my back turned on them. That was when I realized that I had no one else in that school that thought of me as the 'me' before. I wanted them to see me as 'me' or even the 'spoiled brat' they thought I was. But no matter what I do, or what I say, or whatever version the rumor came to be, I always ended up being the 'unwanted adopted child.'"

"Every day. Every. Fucking. Day. They were constantly reminding me of my adoptive status… And it hurts…"

Inna blinked furiously as she tried to keep her emotions at bay.

"… because I knew that no matter what, the title of 'adopted' would always change the way they see me."

Inna sighed with a heavy heart as she leaned on Raghnall's side.

Talking about this stuff physically tired her out so she decided to close her eyes in the meantime as she talked.

"And for the second time, it was me against everyone yet again."