The Daughter He Denied

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My dad had another daughter.

And today was that girl’s birthday.

She was wearing a crown, smiling like a perfect little princess beneath the lights.

My birthday was only ten days away.

But that girl—Natalie Sterling—had already become the only daughter Graham Sterling acknowledged in public.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

A new post had gone up in the class group.

“Happy birthday!”

After that came a long string of comments and fawning replies.

I looked down.

The photo was from the birthday gala.

In the picture, Graham Sterling stood beside Natalie at the center of the room, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Behind them was an absurdly expensive multi-tiered cake, and the people around them were all smiles.

For a moment, the group chat exploded.

“So jealous.”

“Natalie’s dad is amazing.”

“That cake is gorgeous.”

I stared at the screen until my eyes started to burn.

There they were, looking exactly like a real family.

“Happy birthday, Natalie—our one and only princess.”

“The Sterling family’s only daughter.”

I read those words over and over, and my head slowly lowered.

Because today wasn’t just Natalie’s birthday.

It was mine too.

Only no one there knew it.

Or maybe it was more accurate to say that, in Graham Sterling’s eyes, I had never had the right to celebrate with her.

Because I was the daughter he couldn’t bear to acknowledge.

Ten years ago, because of a strawberry cake that had been meant for me, Graham Sterling drove my mother and me out for good.

From that day on, he never came back for us.

I still remember him saying to my mother, right to her face, that from then on, I was no longer his daughter.

I had fallen to the floor then, staring up at him with tear-blurred eyes, lost and terrified.

I was too young at the time to understand the hatred in his expression.

Now I know exactly how cruel those words were.

After that, Mom took me away.

She found a job at a small company and raised me by herself.

Because the tuition at an elite private school was too expensive, she worked herself to exhaustion just to keep me there.

From then on…

I hated the Sterlings.

I could never forget those years.

While Natalie Sterling lived in a mansion with servants waiting on her hand and foot, I lived in cramped rental rooms with Mom.

She wore designer clothes to school.

I could only make do with what I had.

She had a chauffeur picking her up in a luxury car.

I could only follow Mom through wind and rain.

She could act spoiled, demand anything she wanted, and have it handed to her.

But I had learned long ago that crying only made life harder.

Because I knew—

no one would ever indulge me like that.

I remembered something else.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I was little, Graham had once promised me that when I grew up, he would throw me a birthday party too.

Back then, Mom was still around, and his company was only just starting to take off. At some event, he had held me in his arms and said it with a smile.

I had believed him.

Believed that one day, he really would stand in front of everyone and tell them proudly that I was his daughter.

But he never did.

Not once.

Instead, he gave all of that to Natalie.

Everyone said she was the one Graham Sterling treasured most.

His princess.

And I—

I didn’t even get to finish the thought before a servant hurried over and accidentally splashed red wine across me.

The liquid soaked through my clothes in an instant.

I froze.

Then I heard the whispers around me.

She really is just some stray girl Graham brought back, isn’t she?

I heard she showed up out of nowhere over ten years ago.

Now that Mr. Sterling’s successful and loaded, of course she came crawling back with her kid.

Seriously?

That has to be it.

Otherwise why would a girl dressed like that be here?

Maybe she came in to steal food.

Or maybe she’s pretending to be pitiful on purpose. Didn’t you see how the house staff looked at her? If she weren’t connected to the family somehow, would they even let her in?

She goes to the same school as Natalie, doesn’t she?

At an elite private school like that, everyone’s rich. No wonder she tried to cling to them.

I clenched my fingers hard.

But I wasn’t a servant.

And I wasn’t here to mooch off anyone either.

I lifted my head and said each word clearly, “I’m his daughter.”

For a second, everything went quiet.

Then Graham looked at me from where he stood nearby, his face turning cold.

“Avery,” he said, his voice low and sharp, “do you have any idea what nonsense you’re saying?”

He said that as long as I apologized to Natalie, he would keep paying my tuition and let me stay.

I agreed.

For Mom’s sake, I had to get into a good college.

I couldn’t afford to act on pride.

So I told myself that if apologizing would make this whole thing go away, then fine. I’d apologize.

I bit my lip and turned around.

The next second, Natalie suddenly screamed.

“Dad! My dress is gone!”

Her voice came out sharp and panicked.

Then she pointed straight at me.

“It was on the chair just now, and now it’s gone. Avery was the only one here after I left.”

Graham’s brows drew together.

I immediately shook my head. “I didn’t take it.”

But nobody seemed to care what I said.

A maid stepped forward, clutching a designer dress she’d just found, and said in a low voice, “Miss Natalie, we found it in her bag.”

For a moment, everyone’s eyes landed on me at once.

Shock flashed through me.

Then I understood.

So this had been a trap from the very beginning.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

And now, in all their eyes, I was the thief.

Even if I threw myself into the river, I still wouldn’t be able to wash away this accusation.

I wanted to explain.

I opened my mouth.

But I couldn’t.

The moment that glittering designer dress was found in my bag, I knew the truth.

No one here was going to believe me.

I had never stolen anything.

I wasn’t a thief.

My throat felt like it was being strangled, but not a single tear would come.

Why?

Why did all of them have to corner me like this?

Natalie seemed to finally realize something. She stepped in front of me.

“She didn’t take it,” she said.

Everyone stared at her.

Shocked.

Confused.

Silent.

“How could Avery steal my dress?” Natalie bit her lip and looked at the crowd. “She’s my sister.”

The room went dead quiet.

Then she lowered her voice and added softly, “Besides… if she wanted one, she could’ve just asked.”

I froze.

Yes.

That one sentence was even crueler than the accusation.

It was as if she had casually placed me in a position where I had no right to refuse her charity.

Like I should be grateful.

Like everything I had, or ever could have, depended on the Sterling family tossing me scraps.

The looks around me changed again.

From contempt to something worse.

Pity.

I would rather they had kept thinking I was a thief.

Natalie turned back to me, her expression gentle, almost concerned. “Avery, if you liked it, you should’ve told me. I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

I clenched my hands so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

I had never hated anyone like this before.

My vision blurred.

By the time I came back to myself, I was already sobbing.

In all these years, this was the first time he had ever hit me.

For a moment, everything around me went quiet.

My ears rang. My cheek burned like fire.

But…

What had I done wrong?

I was only seventeen.

To him, I was just an illegitimate stain he wanted to hide.

He despised me.

Rejected me.

Threatened me.

Warned me.

And now he had actually raised a hand against me, all for Natalie.

At that moment, I finally understood.

No matter what I did, in his eyes, I would never compare to his precious little princess.

“Dad,” Natalie said softly, circling an arm around him as if to comfort him, “girls like pretty dresses and handbags. I’m sure Avery didn’t mean anything by it.”

What was that supposed to mean?

I looked at her.

Then I laughed.

So that was it.

She had already decided I was the thief.

And he didn’t even care whether I was innocent.

Of course.

Why would he?

My eyes stung so badly they felt ready to split open, but I refused to let the tears fall again. I only stared at the two of them standing together, so close, so natural, and felt the cold spread through my body inch by inch.