I lowered my eyes, ignored the rotting wooden sign and bowed deeply and said, "Vanessa, Declan, I'm sorry. I didn't understand the rules, but please don't destroy my flowers. I'll clean everything up ..."
Vanessa looked uneasy because of my bow.
Declan suddenly began to trembled and said, "Vanessa, I feel so dizzy..." His trembling voice snapped Vanessa out of it.
She waved her hand and commanded the gardener, "What are you all standing around for? Do it!"
The lush lavender got sucked into the shredder, turning into a swirl of purple juice.
"No!" I lunged forward like my life depended on it, I grabbed anything I could.
Startled, Vanessa let go of Declan, who slammed into a tree trunk.
"Do you wanna die?" Her eyes were red as she yanked me back, only to suddenly notice a lavender flower in my palm and that rotten wooden sign. She puzzled, "You ..."
My tears burst out, "You said you couldn't sleep well ... That's why I planted the lavender my dad gave me, to help you rest."
The wooden sign crumbled as it unfolded. I said sadly, "Vanessa, I don't have a home anymore."
She froze, she reached out as if she wanted to fall into my arms. But just then, Declan let out a scream.
From the birdhouse I had made with my own hands, a bunch of caterpillars fell onto him. Vanessa's eyes turned sharp. She quickly rushed over and pulled Declan away.
Those insects were mildly poisonous. Even so, she used her bare hands to pick them off his collar.
Then she turned back to me, her face full of disgust when she said, "Almost had me fooled with your little act. You like bugs, huh? Fine. You three, shove those bugs into his clothes!"
The maids obeyed and started picking up the caterpillars. Meanwhile, the gardener pinned me down tightly.
I tried to break free and shouted, "I didn't do it! Why would I?"
Vanessa sneered and said nothing. Of course. She no longer believed me.
Otherwise, in the last life, she wouldn't have accused me of rigged the blind draw without even ask.
I used to hold on to the Shelby Family's kindness for taking me in and I even wanted to warn her that Declan was hiding a secret.
But now I regretted it. I wanted to see her go insane when she found out the truth.
So I gave up resist, I let the caterpillars crawled all over me. Wherever they touched, my skin swelled, itched unbearably.
Declan calmed down and tugged Vanessa's sleeve and said, "Isn't this too much, Vanessa? I'm fine now."
"Declan, you're too kind. That's why people bully you. Come, I'll take you to see a doctor." She walked past me while held Declan's hand.
Freed from the gardener's grip, I collapsed onto the ground.
I forced myself to endure it, my fingers had dug deep into the soil, covered in black mud and blood. Because of Vanessa, no one would help me.
So I had to swallow the nausea and pain and pick off the caterpillars myself, then staggered off to find the family doctor.
Just as I stepped inside, I saw Vanessa behind the curtain applied ointment to Declan. It was clearly just medicine, yet I could hear her gasp and moan.
When she pulled back the curtain, Declan was panting heavily behind her and her face was flushed. Her fingers were stained with ointment.
Vanessa glanced at the red, inflamed skin on my neck, then tossed the medicine at me.
I was a second too slow. The glass bottle shattered on the floor and the ointment spilled everywhere.
She sneered, "You're not allowed to see the doctor. Trash like you only deserves dirty things."
In the Shelby Family and all of Los Angeles's elite, she was like a goddess. If she said I couldn't see a doctor, no doctor would look my way.
Half-knelt on the floor, I used a hand smeared with black mud to apply the remained ointment. When I looked up, I saw Vanessa tenderly disinfected Declan's hands.
