The Stolen Life- My Mother Gave My Fiancé to Her Favorite Student novel Chapter 2

I used to fly off the handle at every snide little comment Lila made.

It was because the way Mom treated her made me see a side of her I’d never known–a gentle, maternal side.

Nothing like the harshness she reserved for me.

I was allergic to onions.

But Mom loved them.

To make me obey her every word, she filled the dinner table with nothing but plain pasta and onion–based

dishes for an entire summer.

She even threw a few onion slices into her chicken soup.

I grew up in a single–parent household and never met my biological father.

Mom never let me mention him.

I mean it–she’d slap me right away if I so much as said his name.

The mere mention of his name would earn me a slap across the face.

The only person who ever comforted me when I was hurt was Jax.

For a long time, I was utterly dependent on him.

I was ten when the “onion punishment” started.

Jax’s parents were away on business, so he asked his grandma to make grilled cheese sandwich for me.

After that, I became his little food lover.

His pockets were always stuffed with milk, strawberry cake, and cheese puffs, and he’d fill me up every time.

We made a promise: we’d go to Havenswood University together, get married as soon as we graduated, and

let Mrs. Cole hold her grandbaby soon.

That all changed when Mom brought Lila home.

Lila came from a poor family, having worked her way from a rural town all the way to Willowbrook.

Mom admired her resilience–so much so that she canceled my plano lessons and used the money for Lila’s

tuition and tutoring instead.

I hated Lila.

She always put on a pitiful act to win Mom’s sympathy.

I never spoke to her voluntarily.

Chapter 2

Jax would ruffle my hair and promise he’d always be on my side.

Until one day after school, he came across Lila squatting on the field, eating pickles with cold pasta.

His expression was complicated then–shock, yes, but also pity.

But back at my house, Mom made all kinds of pasta and bread for Lila–her favorites.

She was never going hungry.

Jax chose his words carefully, as if trying to be kind to me:

“Elara, don’t you think you’re being a little too petty sometimes?”

“Your mom is good to everyone else. If she’s only hard on you, maybe you should think about why.”

After years of Mom’s toxic parenting, I started to wonder if I was the problem.

Meanwhile, Jax would stand me up to tutor Lila, using Mom as an excuse.

He’d even skip my birthday celebration just because Lila said she’d never been to an amusement park.

I had no clue what was going on back then.

If I had, I never would have stayed in a four–year long–distance relationship with him.

Until graduation year, when I packed my bags and came home early.

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