Chapter 1 Not My Child!

• "Oh my God! Amara!" Dalia's scream echoed as her eyes fell on her only daughter, sitting in the middle of the living room, sobbing uncontrollably. Her face pale and her heart pounding, she rushed forward, flinging her bag aside. She pulled Amara into her arms, holding her tightly. The child's cries grew louder, her heartbreaking sobs piercing her mother's soul.
• While gently stroking her daughter's hair, Dalia's gaze landed on her mother-in-law, who stood in the corner of the room with sharp, anger-filled eyes. "What is going on here?" she asked, her voice trembling.
• But instead of answering, her mother-in-law smirked, her gaze dripping with disdain.
• The tension in the room grew as Dalia turned her attention to Dallen, her husband, who lounged casually in one of the chairs, his expression unbothered. "Dallen, what is happening here?" she asked, growing more confused.
• Like his mother, Dallen only looked at Dalia with a cold, dismissive stare, as if her presence was an embarrassment he was forced to endure. Dalia shook her head, bitterness swelling in her chest as she faced their constant disdain for her and their child. Her voice trembled with barely contained emotion as she finally spoke, "How long will you keep treating Amara like this? Can you really not accept her?"
• Her gaze locked onto Dallen's eyes, desperately searching for even a flicker of regret behind his cold exterior. "Dallen, Amara is your daughter. How can you be so heartless? When will you accept her?"
• But Dallen simply shrugged indifferently, his expression unchanged. "Don't expect too much. I've never considered myself the father of a disabled child."
• Those words struck Dalia like a dagger, igniting a long-suppressed fury within her. "Dallen, watch your mouth!" she snapped, her voice shaking violently.
• Amidst the overwhelming pain, Dalia felt her heart shatter into pieces. How could Dallen, the man who once loved her so deeply and treated her so tenderly, be so cruel to their child? In the past, even when his mother never fully accepted Dalia, Dallen was always there for her, a shield against every storm. But everything changed after Amara's birth. Dallen had gradually become a stranger—cold and distant. Even when Dalia struggled to care for Amara on her own, Dallen simply walked away, acting as if they no longer existed in his world.
• Dalia took a deep breath, trying to suppress the storm raging within her. She turned her face away, fighting back the tears threatening to spill in front of them.
• "Dallen… why have you changed like this?" she whispered, breaking the heavy silence between them. "It's been four years, and maybe… maybe I could accept it back then if you needed time. But now? You just sat there while our daughter was being beaten right in front of you. Did you not hear her cries? Did you not see her pain?" she asked, her voice low and trembling.
• She looked at Dallen with fading hope. "What made you so cruel, Dallen? What has closed your heart so tightly? You know this isn't the first time our daughter has been treated like this. Why do you stay silent, Dallen? Why!!"
• Dallen remained silent, not even bothering to open his mouth. His eyes were dull, filled with boredom and disgust at Dalia's words. Seeing his response, Dalia's heart completely shattered. Her dream of a warm and harmonious family evaporated in an instant.
• "Oh, stop acting! You love creating drama, don't you?" her mother-in-law snapped as she sat beside Dalia's father-in-law.
• "Acting? You're calling this acting and drama? Mother, Amara is just a child. How can you treat her this way? What did she ever do wrong?" Dalia retorted, disappointment etched in her voice.
• "So what? You have to be strict with kids from the beginning so they don't grow up spoiled and dramatic like you!" her mother-in-law shot back, refusing to back down and continuing to blame Dalia. "Honestly, you're lucky enough to live here and hold the title of an Oswald daughter-in-law. Stop overreacting. Amara's fine, isn't she? A little slap won't make her condition any worse!"
• As Dalia opened her mouth to respond, she suddenly heard footsteps descending the stairs. Her head instinctively turned towards the sound, and she saw a slender woman walking down. The woman's face was unfamiliar to Dalia, and a question lingered in her mind: Who is she?
• “Hey Gracie, are you done cleaning up? How’s the outfit? Fits well, doesn’t it?” greeted Dalia’s mother-in-law warmly, a wide smile on her face.
• Dalia’s eyes widened as she stared at the woman standing near Dallen. Not only was she shocked by the woman’s presence, but also by what she was wearing—a set of pajamas that Dalia had bought a few months ago. Dalia herself hadn’t even had the chance to wear it yet, as she’d planned to save it for her wedding anniversary getaway at the villa in a few weeks.
• “The outfit is really comfortable, Mom,” the woman replied in a sweet, childish tone. “Oh, do we have a guest, Mom?” she asked, turning her gaze toward Dalia.
• Dalia’s heart pounded harder, her curiosity growing about this woman’s identity. What unsettled her more was that the woman addressed her mother-in-law as “Mom.” In the four years Dalia had been a daughter-in-law in the Oswald family, she had never been allowed to call her mother-in-law that.
• “She’s not a guest,” Dallen replied casually. Hearing that, Dalia felt a moment of relief—at least Dallen seemed to stand up for her in front of this mysterious woman. “She’s the child’s mother.”
• Dalia’s heart sank once again. Just as she began to feel defended, Dallen’s next words crushed her.
• “Oh, I’m sorry, but your disabled daughter had to be punished earlier because she spilled soda on my clothes, bag, and shoes.”
• Dalia’s eyes widened in utter disbelief at the stranger’s words. After all the arguments and confusion, Dalia finally understood the reason behind the punishment Amara had received.
• “So, you punished Amara just because of something so trivial?” Dalia asked, her eyes filled with disbelief and disappointment.
• “Trivial, you say?” her mother-in-law retorted with a sarcastic tone. “All of Gracie’s belongings are imported, and they don’t cost hundreds of dollars—they cost thousands. Do you think that means nothing? Even if you worked day and night, you wouldn’t be able to afford them!”
• Dalia took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger surging within her. “You could have punished her in a different way, couldn’t you? And you, Dallen, how can you just stand by while your own child is treated like this? They even called her a ‘disabled child.’ Why are you staying silent?” she asked bitterly, her gaze fixed on Dallen, who remained completely unaffected.
• Dallen let out a small scoff, his words cutting deep. “Because she is disabled, isn’t she?”
• Dalia’s chest tightened, disbelief washing over her. Her own husband was agreeing with the insult. “Amara is not disabled!” she cried, standing up for her defenseless daughter.
• “What else would you call her then? Your child can’t even speak!” Dallen shot back coldly.
• “She’s your child too, Dallen! No matter her condition, she’s our responsibility!” Dalia yelled, no longer caring about the sharp glares or sneers from her mother-in-law.
• Dallen smirked, and his next gesture left Dalia frozen in place—he wrapped his arm around Gracie’s slender waist as she sat beside him. The intimate way he held her only deepened the ache in Dalia’s chest.
• “She’s not my child!” Dallen finally shouted, his voice dripping with disdain. “I don’t have a mute and sickly child like that!”
• “Dallen‼ What’s wrong with you? How can you say something like that?” Dalia demanded, her fury directed at him.