Part 2From Rags to Riches: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, and Redemption

I'm an orphan. I was abandoned at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was still a baby. The kind-hearted director took me in and raised me. Some charitable people sponsored my education.

But because I had no parents, I was often bullied at school. The other kids would gang up to mock me for wearing patched clothes, saying I was an uncultured wild child without parents.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I told the teacher, but they didn't care. I couldn't even afford the school uniform fees and often had to work part-time jobs or collect recyclables for pocket money, which led to poor grades.

So those bullies became even worse. They were like a pack of wolves that had found a weak rabbit and felt excited. They would pour ink on my books, my desk was always covered in messy graffiti, and after school, I'd be cornered and forced to hand over my pocket money.

That day, I was cornered again. Their tall shadows loomed over me, making me feel terrified.

Suddenly, an angry voice came from behind: "What are you doing?"

That was the first time I saw Daniel. He threatened to call the police if they bullied me again.

Only then did they reluctantly disperse. Daniel asked me with concern, "Are you okay?"

The boy's clean shirt smelled of laundry detergent. At that time, he was full of righteousness, with gentle features. He was a model student at school, shining like a deity in my eyes.

Later, I started to frequently "bump into" him. I deliberately created every opportunity to meet him.

He said, "Emily, you're very pretty."

He kissed my eyes and held my hand on the playground. So we naturally became a couple.

Everyone said I was lucky that Daniel liked me, but this made those bullies target me even more.

However, Daniel's family suffered a setback and fell on hard times just as he was about to start college. I stepped up, just as he had once saved me: "Daniel, I'm not going to continue studying. My grades are far worse than yours, and we can't afford to support both of us."

So I started working several jobs a day to support his studies. He would always hug me tenderly, whispering sweet nothings that made me willingly fall into his honeyed words and devotedly give everything.

He said, "Emily, when I graduate and find a good job, I'll marry you."

He was good-looking, and when we were in a long-distance relationship, many girls at his school liked him. But he said he only liked me and wanted to be with me forever.

Now I see it was all just sugar-coated bullets. He just needed a fool to pave the way for his future.

I deleted everything related to Jack and hid in a hotel, slowly accepting the fact that I had been betrayed. On the third day of my stay in this city, I suddenly received a payment in my account, along with a text message from an unknown number.

[The money has been repaid. Don't come looking for Jack again. You're not good enough for him. He's my boyfriend now.]

It was that rich girl. I could only laugh. Looks like another girl fooled by Jack's sweet talk.

I was feeling like a lost goose, not knowing where to go, when I suddenly received a call from the orphanage director.

"Emily, there's a couple here who say they're your birth parents."