After Falling for My Adopted Elder Brother

I was the adopted daughter of the wealthy Phillips family. I fell in love with my foster brother when I was young.

However, my secret was exposed and I became the laughingstock of the elite circles.

My adoptive mother, who always treated me like her own, scolded me for being delusional and shameless.

Even my once-affectionate foster brother looked at me with disgust.

He sent me back to a remote village and left me with my aunt's family to discipline me.

Later, when he found out my cousin was using me as a cash cow to serve the village's old men and widowers, he was furious and lost his mind.

...

It was my third year in Roberts Village.

Dylan finally remembered me.

He sent the butler to bring me back.

At the time, I was struggling to lift a bucket of pig slop to feed the pigs.

My aunt's family had over a dozen pigs. Every day, before dawn, I had to go to the fields to cut grass for them.

Then, I had to chop the mountain of grass into small pieces, cook it, and pour it into the troughs.

My hands were already calloused, and my arms were so sore that I could hardly lift them. But I couldn't stop to rest.

I had to keep working nonstop, or I'd face my aunt's scolding.

"Lazy girl! Are you still that pampered rich miss who never had to lift a finger?

"Mr. Phillips told me to make sure to toughen you up. If you drop dead from exhaustion, that's your problem!"

She raised the thin bamboo stick in her hand and struck me hard.

The old wounds that hadn't yet healed tore open, staining my ragged clothes with blood.

The pain made me shiver, but I didn't dare utter a single complaint.

When Dylan threw me back to my rural home, I naively thought he was angry at me for disgracing the Phillips family.

I believed that once he calmed down, he would definitely come to take me back.

When I stepped into my aunt's house, I first got a loud slap across the face.

"You useless thing! You managed to get into a wealthy family and couldn't even keep a man. And here I was, counting on you to help your cousin in the future!" she snapped.

My aunt took everything valuable from me, even the clothes on my back.

She then tossed me some old, moldy-smelling clothes.

"Clean the yard, then go make dinner. I don't need freeloaders!"

My aunt worked me to the bone.

If I dared to say a word in protest, I'd get a beating and be punished by being denied food for two days.

Once, I was so hungry that I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the boiling hot pig slop and shoved it into my mouth.

My aunt caught me and twisted my ear so hard that it bled.

My cousin watched coldly from the side and suddenly said, "Mom, be careful not to mess up her face."

At the time, I didn't understand what he meant by that.

It wasn't until the next night, when he brought three burly men into my room, that I understood.