Chapter 3 She Deserves to Be Beaten up

As soon as I saw this scene, my heart trembled. Just as I wanted to figure out what was going on, my father came to the front and slapped me, making me hit against the wall. Before I could come to my senses, I heard him cursing angrily, "Charlotte Archer, we have been raising you for three years. And is that how you should repay us?" There was a smell of blood in my mouth. And I was also in a trance. Trying my best to stand up straight, I looked at my father as I asked, "What..." "How come you have the nerve to ask me any questions? Do you assume that we don't know what you have done? You schemed against your sister, fed her sleeping pills, and attended the wedding for her! If we hadn't found it out earlier and took Caroline to the hospital to have a gastric lavage, I don't even know if she would be alive now!" After that, my father raised his hand and gave me aother hard slap. This slap was even more vicious than the previous one. I was in a trance for a moment and fell to the ground. Although my eyes were blurred, I was exceptionally sobered! A few days ago, my parents said that Caroline had fallen in love with Denny Faris, someone from their company. But they dared not go against Patrick, which was the reason why they asked me to marry Patrick on behalf of Caroline. I personally sent Caroline to the airport and watched her go through the security check the day before yesterday. "In the end, how did it become that I set up Caroline?" My mind was in a mess. Some things gradually dawned on me, which I didn't want to believe. My father, who seemed to haven't gotten over his fury, picked up a wooden bench from the side and smashed it at my head! I was so scared that I tried to hide, only to be hit in the back! "It hurts!" I was in great pain. But I held myself back from crying or screaming, which I had usually done in the orphanage. At that time, even if I was sick and felt unwell, I didn't have anyone to accompany me. Nor did I have anyone to share my sorrow with. As time went by, however painful I was, I wouldn't reveal my feeling with ease. Seeing that I didn't cry, my father was still angry. And he hit me a few more times, making me bite my lips tightly. Finally, my mother couldn't stand it anymore. She grabbed the stool and said, "It's enough. You'll beat her to death if you keep hitting her!" My father threw the stool away and said angrily, "She deserves this!"  Only after I heard the sound indicating that the stool had fallen to the ground did I dare to stand where I was. I looked up and saw Caroline in Patrick's arms. But she was looking at me and said, "Patrick, look, my parents have hit her. So is it okay that you just spare her? After all, she grew up in the orphanage. And it's inevitable that she has learned something bad." Although her tone was sympathetic, I could see clearly that she didn't look at me with sympathy but with a shrewd calculation! The look in her eyes certified my guess! I squatted in the corner and said nothing. Because my spine was in great pain at this time. I was afraid that my father would hit me again. In that case, my spine would be broken. Patrick glanced at me. To my surprise, a hint of complex emotion flashed through his black eyes. After a long while, he said, "Let's talk about it later." After that, my parents, Caroline, and Patrick all sat in the living room. When my father saw me, he scolded, "Go f**kingly upstairs hurriedly. I'll beat you again if you are still here!" I saw that Caroline was sitting next to Patrick while holding his arm intimately. The two of them held each other's hand with their fingers intertwined. This was how a couple should look like... Enduring the pain, I bent my back. A dozen steps in front of me were like a ladder in the air for me. Every time I climbed up a stair, the ache in where I had been hit made me break out in a cold sweat. However, compared to the physical pain, I was more psychologically painful! I thought, "Although I don't know why things have come to like this, I am clearly innocent. And I have been trapped."  Caroline's coquetry, Patrick's doting words, and her parents' words indicating their concern for her rang behind me. I knew that I, who was nobody but a clown, would never fit in their world. Nor have I ever fit in.