Chapter 1923

I knew I was a mistake from the moment I was born. My mother would stand by the window for hours, waiting for my father to come home. He often left early and returned late. For some time, they just lived like any other ordinary couple. For years, we lived like rats burrowed in the dark, hiding in a house that never saw the sun. That house wasn't just a prison for my mother—it was a cage for me too. I remember that day vividly. My mother took me to the market. She was dressed in one of the elegant dresses my father had given her. Before she met him, she had been a dancer—graceful, mesmerizing, like a butterfly caught mid-flight. She was breathtaking. But the people in the market were unkind. People whispered as we passed. "That's her—the mistress. She had a child out of wedlock." "She used to be a nightclub dancer, then clung to some rich man and quit. Look at her, all dolled up—probably out to seduce someone else now." My mother said nothing. She only reached down and gently co