She Outshines 104
Maria did not expect her to have such a reaction and was stunne
After a while, she stuttered, “You, you are not surprised? No, no, are you not surprised?”
“I am not,” Athena said honestly. My brothers and I resemble Mion and Dad, but you do not look
much like them. You are the same age as ric. Mum could not have given birth to you and ric
in the same year.”
“Also, you said that you lived in the mountains when you were young and your family was
impoverished. I guessed that you were not our biological sibling. You probably did not live in this
house when you were young
Maria looked at her in shock, not knowing what to say.
Athena patted Maria’s head. “Do you think that you are adopted by your family and I am their
biological child? Are you worried that I will suspect you might want to fight with me and have a
problem with you?”
Athena shook her head. “What you are worried about will never happen.”
“I used to be an only child. I did not have any siblings, and my adoptive parents did not care much
for me. So I am d I have an older and younger sister.”
“Besides, I am wealthy. The kind that cannot be spent in three lifetimes, she emphasized seriously.
“I do not need to fight. anyone for property at all. If you heed money, I can give it to you.”
Maria was utterly stunned.
Arge teardrop hung at the corner of her eye, about to fall.
She realized that Athena had already said everything that needed to be said, and there was nothing
more to add.
Athena looked at her for a while and said, “If you are fine, I will go back to my room”
“Athena” Maria grabbed Athena’s sleeve. “You, you do not hate me, or are you not angry with
me?”
Athena pointed at her own eyes and said seriously, “Do you see any sign of hatred or anger in my
eyes?”
Her eyes were clear and bright, sincere and deep. Maria did not feel any hypocrisy or malice.
“Thank you, Athena. Maria lowered her head and calmed down a lot. “I wanted to tell you that I was
adopted, but I was afraid you would not be able to ept me.”
“Also, we were not familiar with each other before, so I did not dare to say much to you.”
“Yes, I understand.” Athena patted her head gently. “A person’s secrets and stories can only be
shared with those they trust most and consider most important
Maria was stunned again. The teardrop at the corner of her eye finally fell
“Previously, our family’s financial situation was not very good. The house I lived in was old and
small. No one would say that I was after the family’s assets. Maria exined. “But it is different now.
We have moved into a vi worth hundreds of millions. Father has be the top management of
apany Mother is preparing to open a high–end restaurant. You will certainly make a name for
yourself in the future. Brandon is also preparing to return to China.”
“Our family will probably be very wealthy, and at that time many people will certainly say that I
want to steal the family’s assets. I do not want you to misunderstand.”
“So this is what you are worried about. Athena smiled. “Then why not work hard to be wealthy
yourself?”
12-27 Sat, Oct 12 ti
Maria let out a stunned expression and blinked at her, unsure what to think
? 372%廠
Athena patted Maria’s shoulder. “You are only twenty years old. You are hardworking and diligent,
and you have the support of your entire family. You will be able to earn a lot of money in the future
and be rich. This way, you will not have to worry about such things.
Maria was
as taken aback for a moment, “Yes, that makes sense…
However, something seemed to be amiss.
Before she could think it through, Athena continued, Is there any other problem? If not, do not let
your imagination run wild in the future.
Maria hesitated momentarily before saying, “I should tell you why my parents adopted me.”
Athena nodded. “Alright, go ahead. I will listen.”
Maria let go of the corner of her clothes and hugged her knees. She looked at her toes indifferently
as if she were talking about her previous life.
“I was born a poor child in the mountains and am a girl. No one in that family cared about me.”
“In our hometown, girls are born for only one purpose: to help with household chores and take care
of younger siblings when they are small, and when they grow up a bit, to get married, either to trade
for money for the family or find a wife for the brothers.”
When I was young, my biological mother helped my parents take care of the children in this house.
Later, she brought me
over.”
“My parents and brothers treated me well, even better than my Inological parents. No, my biological
parents did not ever treat me well at all. My parents even sent me to school. I am very happy in this
family.”
“I do not ever want to return to the mountains or that house
again.
Athena could tell from Maria’s choice of words that Maria’s “Dad and Mom” or parents‘ were her
adoptive parents.
“Butter…” Maria lowered her eyes, her face filled with sadness. Something… unfortunate
happened at home. We fell into pain and poverty. My biological mother took me away from this
home and we returned to the mountains.”
Athena’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that.
Athena wondered what “unfortunate things referred to
It was not just about the hospital fire incident and the mix–up with the children back then. But she
did not ask anything
Maria did not mention anything about what happened to the Donovan family, only talking about
herself: “I felt like had fallen from heaven to hell. Every minute, every second, I wanted to leave that
house and return here.”
“But, there was no way. I did not have the right to make the decision.
“Not long after I returned to the mountains, my biological mother abandoned me and ran away. That
family despised me
even more
“Where Ie from, girls usually get married when they are fourteen or fifteen. They rarely get a
marriage certificate. It was the same for my biological parents.”
“A yearter, I was only about eight years old. My biological father wanted to marry a second wife,
so he epted twenty thousand dors from a family in another vige and gave me to them as a
child bride.”
72%
Athena was knowledgeable, and she had heard of such things before. However, her pupils
constricted when she heard this, and shock and anger shed in her eyes.
For twenty thousand dors, Maria’s father sold his eight–year–old daughter’s life to someone
else. She could not believe it.
In the eyes of those people, the girl was probably no different from a cow or a horse.
“If I had lived in the mountains and never seen life in the city, I might have epted my fate.
Speaking of the past, Maria still had lingering fears, and her voice was filled with fear.
“But I have lived with this family for a long time and have even attended primary school. I could not
ept the fate of being locked up in the mountains for the rest of my life and reduced to a fertility
and work tool.”
However, no matter how much she cried and begged and even knelt until her knees bled, her
biological father was determined to sell her.
Moreover, she was very young at the time. The mountain vige she lived in was three to four
hours away from the nearest town by mountain road, and the town was another two to three hours
drive from the county. She had no way to escape.
She thought about ending her life.
But when she contemted death, she thought of her adoptive parents. They were her only hope.
She pretended toply with the family’s arrangements and requested to go to town to buy new
clothes. The family agreed.
When she got to town, she quietly bought some envelopes and stamps, put her written plea for
help inside an envelope, and dropped it into a mailbox.
She did not know if her letter would be sent out, nor did she know if her adoptive parents would be
able to rescue her, even if they received it.
She could only pray day and night, praying that her adoptive parents woulde and save her.
1
“I thought the chances were slim. It was like the sand in my hand, no matter how tightly I gripped it, I
could not hold on,” Maria said in a low voice.
“My adoptive parents are good people, but at that time, the family was struggling a lot…”
“My adoptive parents could barely take care of themselves. How could they possibly have had the
means to save
Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.
Thad already prepared myself
“If no one came to save me on the day I was sent away, I would have jumped off a cliff on the way”
Athena slowly raised her hand, wanting to pat Maria’s head, but he did not.
At this point, Maria burst into tears and smiled.
“But I never imagined that on the very day the buyer came to pick me up, my adoptive parents
would actually show up.”
They seemed like gods descending from the sky. They took out twenty–four thousand dors and
gave it to my biological father. He signed the document, and then they took me away.”
“I felt like I had died and been reborn that day.”