Mirabelle's POV
The day I got my college acceptance letter, the silver arowana we’d been raising in the aquarium for five years suddenly died, its scales bursting open.
That evening, over dinner, I announced I wanted to cut ties with my father completely, and the whole table went silent.
My grandmother slapped me across the face before I could even take a breath.
“Ungrateful brat! Have you lost your mind? Your father treats you so well, and now that you’ve made it into college, you turn around and betray him?”
My aunt stared at me in disbelief, her tone half-admonishing, half-bewildered. “Your family’s mines connect to more mines. You’re basically sitting on a mountain of cash. Your dad has no other children, so the whole inheritance would be yours one day. And you want to sever ties now? Are you stupid?”
But I stayed firm. I was going to cut ties with him, no matter what they said.
——
Grandma’s mouth curled down into a permanent frown as she scolded me. “Do you know how hard it’s been for your father to raise you?”
Even as she cursed me out, she kept sneaking glances at my father’s face, afraid he might get upset. Well, she had her reasons, as my father’s wealth was her long-term meal ticket.
My aunt joined in the chorus of insults, but halfway through, her voice shifted into something more pointed. “Girls are always outsiders in the end. Mirabelle’s barely gotten into college and she’s already thinking of running off. Surely, once she’s married, she won’t even be part of this family anymore. Manfred, I think you should remarry and have a son of your own flesh and blood—”
But the sound of glass shattering cut her off as my father had slammed his cup down hard enough to crack it.
“Enough! Don’t say another word! Mirabelle is my flesh and blood. I will never marry again!”
He turned to me then, his tone softening so quickly it was almost jarring. There was even a trace of pleading in his eyes.
“Mirabelle, did I do something wrong? Tell me.”
I pointed at the now-empty pond beside us and answered, “Because the silver arowana died.”
Grandma’s eyes went wide, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. “You jinx! What nonsense are you spouting? If the fish died, we’ll just buy another one! But if you drive your father away with this attitude, I swear I’ll skin you alive!”
I didn’t argue. I just sat there, letting her insult me.
Because she wasn’t wrong. I really was about to play the role of an ungrateful daughter.
But my father let out a long sigh, clearly thinking I was just being childish.
“Oh, so that’s all this is? Fine, I’ll buy another one exactly like it.”
Yet I shook my head slowly, locking eyes with him.
“No. There’s no such thing as another fish exactly like it.”
His expression froze. His gaze sharpened, almost flinching, as though my words had burned him.
The truth was, the man sitting across from me wasn’t my biological father at all. He was my stepfather.
My real father had been murdered by a serial killer when I was three years old, but the killer was already caught two years later. And that same year, my mother met my stepfather.
At the time, Grandma worried he wouldn’t want me and even suggested my mom send me away to someone else. But unexpectedly, my stepfather had always treated me well.
Back then, my mom was still young, and my stepfather had luck on his side. When he started a small business, it turned into an overnight fortune. Soon, he bought several copper mines, and with favorable policies at the time, the profits poured in.
In just a few short years, he’d earned enough to keep our family comfortable for generations.
Once the money came, my mom worried he might change and tried to convince him to have more children. But he refused every time. Holding me close with a smile, he said, “Mirabelle is my lucky star. She’s the reason I became wealthy. She’s the only daughter I’ll ever have in this life.”
And he meant it. Back then, he treated me like a princess. A single diamond he gifted me would be worth millions. Luxury cars and mansions were also nothing unusual.
But life didn't always go the way you wanted it to.
A few years ago, my mother died in a sudden car accident.
