The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 181

After returning from the Carmichael estate, Norton found himself lost in thought.

Three-year-old Citrine was a quiet, withdrawn child. In her tiny world, her father Sawyer was the only person she let in; she refused to let anyone else cross that line.

Sawyer, wanting Citrine to have friends her own age, had decided to adopt two children so she wouldn't have to grow up alone.

The first time Norton met Citrine at the orphanage, she was wearing a frilly princess dress, peeking out shyly from Sawyer's arms. Her big, innocent eyes were full of curiosity.

Back then, Norton was nine. He was locked in a daily struggle for survival, competing with the orphanage's dogs for food. That day, he let the dogs bite and scratch him as he wrestled a half-eaten chicken drumstick from their jaws—he was desperate, and the hunger gnawed at his insides.

When the dogs finally left, Norton carefully pulled the battered drumstick from his pocket and wiped it off on his sleeve.

Moving slowly, wincing from pain, he limped over to his little brother Clifford and held out the drumstick.

"Eat up, kiddo," he said gently.

Clifford turned his face away, swallowing hard. "You eat, big brother. I'm not hungry."

"You need it more. I'm not hungry," Norton replied, forcing a smile as he ruffled Clifford's hair. His head was spinning from hunger, but he didn't even glance at the food.

Clifford tried to refuse, but Norton insisted. Finally, the little boy gave in, clutching the drumstick and gnawing at it hungrily.

That was when Norton noticed the pink-cheeked girl watching him from a distance.

She was a rosy little thing, cradled in the arms of an elegant man who kept planting gentle kisses on her cheek—clearly a doting father.

It was obvious the girl had grown up surrounded by love, a world apart from the harsh reality Norton and Clifford knew. She was like a cloud—soft, untouched, unreachable.