Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 286

For a brief, flickering moment, Selene drifted away from reality. Disjointed, chaotic images crashed through her mind—memories she thought she’d buried long ago, now unearthed as if by a spade, bringing with them the stench of decay.

She had always known Matilda had sold her.

Her first foster parents never bothered to hide where she’d come from, not even when they shouted at her or raised their hands in anger.

Matilda, pregnant and desperate, had staged a grand escape. She gave birth to a baby girl in the town’s hospital and spent her days sighing in misery.

One of the nurses, a kind-looking woman, finally asked what was wrong.

Matilda confessed that her relationship with Victor had always been forbidden by his family. She had hoped for a boy—someone who could secure her status and open the doors to the Thompson estate. Instead, she had a daughter. The thought of wrangling with the Thompsons for years while raising a girl brought her to tears.

The nurse had a bold idea. She struck a deal with Matilda: they would swap children—her own son for Matilda’s daughter.

For reasons even Matilda couldn’t explain, she agreed.

She left the hospital with the nurse’s son, pressing some cash into the woman’s hand and instructing her to look after her baby girl.

That nurse became Selene’s first foster mother. She named her Bitch.

Whatever money Matilda had given them was gone before long, squandered by her foster father. Her foster mother, ever hopeful, thought she’d have more children; the next year, she did—but it was another girl.

In fact, for three years running, her foster mother gave birth to three daughters. The family’s finances grew ever more dire.

Her foster parents called her a curse. Ever since she’d joined the Sable family, they said, nothing but misfortune had come their way.

From as early as Selene could remember, she slept in the kitchen. Her foster parents never fed her; she scavenged from the household trash to survive.

The lollipop hit the floor with a harsh smack. Selene scrambled for the shattered candy, scooping up pieces mixed with dust and dirt to shove into her mouth.

Hunger was an old companion. As the sweet dissolved on her tongue, she felt a trickle of strength seep into her veins—a reason to keep going.

Lucian couldn’t take it anymore. His conscience simply wouldn’t let him walk away with Luke.

“I heard you adopted this child?”

Back then, adoption was no secret. Everyone in the neighborhood knew she was nothing but bad luck. Since the Sable family had taken her in, three “worthless daughters” had followed.

Lucian turned to her foster mother. “Would you sell her to me?”

Her foster mother’s eyes lit up, already calculating. “Selling her by the pound wouldn’t be worth it,” she said slyly. “But look at her—she’s a real beauty in the making.”