Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 836
"You're a liar! You've been deceiving everyone from the start!" Kathleen snapped.
Madge met her glare. "It's true-I lost my memory. But lately, things have started coming back."
Not everything was clear yet, but Madge decided to prod Kathleen, see what she could get out of her.
She hadn't expected such a satisfying result.
"You... what are you trying to do?" Kathleen's voice wavered.
"So, everything I just said—you admit to it?" Madge pressed.
Kathleen averted her gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
Just moments ago, she'd been furious, practically ready to lash out. Now she was dodging, unwilling to admit anything.
Madge didn't get angry. She just smiled and said lightly, "You claimed I was spoiled from the start, while you were the ugly
duckling. Our parents loved me more, and Teague liked me too. Do you know why?"
The mention of Teague drew a flicker of humiliation and resentment across Kathleen's face.
"First of all, when it comes to Mom and Dad, I'm their biological daughter. You were adopted. But even with that, they never
treated you poorly. You lived in comfort-whatever I had, they made sure you did too. In fact, you had more than most kids ever

dream of."
"But people are never satisfied, are they? No matter how much we have, we always want more."
"What do you know?!" Kathleen shot back. "Maybe they never treated me badly, but they always loved you more!"
It's not the lack that hurts-it's the unfairness.
"Why wouldn't they?" Madge countered calmly. "I'm their daughter by blood, after all."
Kathleen recoiled, words caught in her throat.
Parents may claim to love their children equally, but deep down, it's human nature

to cling to what's truly their own. No one can be blamed for that.
Madge's tone turned cold and deliberate. "But that doesn't give you the right to resent them, or to hurt me!"
Kathleen let out a bitter laugh.
in
Madge pressed on. "Let me put it this way-if you had a child of your own, like Corley, and then adopted another could you
honestly say you'd never play favorites? Could you truly treat them both the same, no matter what?"
Kathleen froze, caught off guard by the question.
"If you can't do it yourself, what makes you think you can demand it from Mom and Dad?"
People never seem to know their place. They want things they shouldn't, crave
what isn't theirs, fight for what was never promised...

"You're right," Kathleen said
suddenly, her laughter sharp and unhinged, "I'm not their real
daughter. I've thought about it son et
many times-why was I the one adopted, and you the one bom to them? Why was your life so blessed, while mine felt worthless?"
Madge didn't flinch. "You're not really angry at fate. You're jealous. Someone right next to you-someone you could compare
yourself to every day-always had more than you did. That's what eats you alive."
"You're not confused or misunderstood. You're just cruel."
That broke Kathleen's composure completely. Her eyes burned with rage. "What do you know? You had everything! Of course
it's easy for you to stand there and judge me! So what if I'm cruel? You all made me this way!"
"So that's why you went after me?"

"Yes," she spat. "I couldn't stand watching you get away with everything, always being adored, watching Teague revolve around
you like you were the sun. No one deserves a perfect life. Everyone should taste a little misery."
"Let the Rodriguez family's little princess see what it's like to be trampled, to sink into the mud, to have no one left to lean on.
Isn't that only fair?"
Madge's gaze hardened. "So when we ran away that night, and you said you'd lost your backup phone-that was a lie too?"
"Of course it was. I had it the whole time. I just didn't want to use it."
"You-!"
Even after all these years, Madge still felt a rush of anger at her.
Kathleen just shrugged, a mocking smile on her lips. "You look furious, but what do you really have to be mad about? In the end,
you escaped the kidnappers, married, had daughter, and have lived comfortably ever since. What did you really lose?"
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