Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was caught in the crossfire of a blended family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My parents were a blended family, each bringing a child into the marriage with a solemn vow: they\u2019d love\u00a0<\/p>\n
each other\u2019s kids like their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But my sister Chloe Bennett couldn\u2019t care less about school and was ready to take off with her deadbeat\u00a0<\/p>\n
boyfriend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My brother Mason Bennett spent his days hanging around losers, smoking and drinking all day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My dad David Bennett couldn\u2019t stand to watch Chloe throw her life away. My mom Sarah Bennett couldn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
stand watching Mason waste his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So they had me-a buffer, a pawn designed to keep their firstborns in line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when it came to disciplining their own blood, they didn\u2019t pull any punches. They used me as the whip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first time Chloe came home caked in makeup, Dad shoved me outside at dawn in a miniskirt. I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
seven years old. He made Chloe watch me stumble back in, my clothes torn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Mason started flashing money around town, Mom told him she was handing me over to a stranger to\u00a0<\/p>\n
raise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mason dropped to his knees and begged her not to. But Mom was dead set on teaching him a lesson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cActions have consequences. Don\u2019t you ever forget Lily is gone because of you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took fifty dollars and pulled him away. She never once looked back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom! Mom, I don\u2019t want to leave you!\u201d I screamed after her. She kept walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom thought she\u2019d hired an actress to scare Mason into behaving. But the woman locked me in a basement\u00a0<\/p>\n
the moment Mom left. She didn\u2019t come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom!\u201d I shrank back when mom grabbed me. She yanked me out into the light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mom\u2019s friend Ruby Vance looked me over like livestock at an auction. She grabbed my face and yanked\u00a0<\/p>\n
my mouth open, checking my teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom kept a death grip on Mason\u2019s hand. He stood there, frozen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby took her time with the act. Finally, she spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s old enough to remember now. If I was the one raising her, I couldn\u2019t promise she\u2019d even take to me. So let\u2019s be clear. If I take her in and feed her, I\u2019m her mother. She never sees any of you ever again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
11.11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was when it hit me. Mom was really giving me away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panic tore through me. I started sobbing. \u201cMom, I won\u2019t be a burden! Please don\u2019t give me away. I\u2019ll be good, I\u00a0<\/p>\n
promise!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to run back to Mom, but Ruby\u2019s hand clamped around my arm like a vise. Mom didn\u2019t even look at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She just shoved Mason\u2019s head down and forced him to look at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMason, get a good look at your sister. This is what you get for flashing money around. Lily is paying for\u00a0<\/p>\n
you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mason stiffened. A second later, he started shaking. He\u2019d never liked me, but he hadn\u2019t wanted this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he saw Ruby starting to pull me away, something in Mason snapped. He started crying too, tears and\u00a0<\/p>\n
snot streaking down his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I\u2019m sorry. I won\u2019t show off again. Please don\u2019t send Lily away, okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom smiled. Her stubborn son had finally apologized. Hope flared in me. Mason had said he was sorry. Did\u00a0<\/p>\n
that mean I could go home now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Mom\u2019s smile vanished. Her face went cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Actions have consequences. You wanted to show off? Well, show\u2019s over. You\u2019d never learn your lesson\u00a0<\/p>\n
otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t the one who\u2019d done anything wrong. I said it out loud anyway, but Mom didn\u2019t even flinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re his sister. You didn\u2019t stop him, did you? That makes you responsible, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grabbed the door handle and held on tight. I was terrified.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mason dropped to his knees in front of Mom. His face was beet-red.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, you can have all my allowance. Please, I\u2019m begging you. Don\u2019t send Lily away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He started slamming his forehead into the pavement. Blood started to bead on his forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, Mom couldn\u2019t help it. She laughed. That laugh sounded wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. You know you were wrong. But you need to suffer the consequences, or you\u2019ll never really learn. Ruby, take Lily away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers slipped. Ruby dragged me into the van.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second we were inside, Ruby shoved a rag Into my mouth. I tried to fight back, but she slapped me hard\u00a0<\/p>\n
across the face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mom doesn\u2019t want you anymore. Move again and I\u2019ll toss you out on the street. You\u2019ll be starving in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
gutter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
11.11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t want to end up on the street. I froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLily! Lily!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I twisted around to look back and saw Mason running after us. His shoes slipped off. He kept running.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ran until he tripped and hit the ground hard. The van pulled away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
11.11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Mom, I don\u2019t want to be stuck in the middle anymore by Mark Twain 1 Chapter 1\u00a0 I was caught […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sweet-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}