Part 3The Princess and the Orphan

But I wanted to be a princess, too.

I remembered Arthur promising me that when I was little.

Back then, my mother was still alive. Arthur's company was just starting out, and our family of three was crammed into a tiny, two-bedroom apartment.

To support him, my mother secretly transferred the holiday money my grandfather gave me into Arthur's account.

"Harper and I don't need much. Don't worry," she would always coax him.

I loved to parrot her words.

"Daddy, don't worry! Harper will give you all her allowance..."

Before I could even finish, Arthur broke down. He pulled us close, pressing his face between ours.

Soon, scalding drops fell onto my chubby cheeks.

They tickled.

Looking back, those must have been his tears.

Before I turned ten, he would constantly tell me:

"When Daddy becomes successful and makes lots of money, my Harper will be a princess. How does that sound?"

...

See?

He promised.

But he broke his promise.

As I was lost in thought...

A snobbish, polite voice interrupted me: "Excuse me, maid girl? Why aren't you washing the car? Do you think just because I'm Chloe's classmate, you can ignore me?"

Chloe went to an elite private school.

Her classmates were all rich kids, naturally acting high and mighty.

But.

I wasn't a maid.

I glared at her, about to snap back.

But the next second...

Arthur's cold voice cut through the air, directed at me. "Why aren't you going?"

Why aren't you going?

Hearing those words felt like taking a sledgehammer to the chest.

How could I forget? In Arthur's eyes, I was just a maid.

"Right away."