"Dad, let Emily go. I’ll marry him instead."
But Robert shoved her away in disgust.
"Don’t meddle. Just get back to work."
Rachel kept pleading for a while longer, but Margaret dragged her away, forbidding her from interfering.
The next day, Robert went out to find the widower, leaving Margaret behind to watch me.
It was summer break. Jacob lounged in his room with his feet up, watching TV, while Rachel and my two younger sisters worked nonstop.
Rachel carried a hoe out to the fields.
Lily was at the well, washing the family’s laundry.
Sophie, the youngest, wasn’t idle either—Jacob kept ordering her around.
She brought him a cup of water. Jacob took a sip, glanced at her mischievously, and the next moment, splashed the scalding hot water right onto her face.
Sophie instinctively raised her hand to shield herself, accidentally shoving him.
He fell back and immediately began wailing on the floor.
Margaret rushed over at the sound and, without asking questions, slapped Sophie hard across the face.
"You worthless little thing! Were you trying to kill your brother? You black-hearted brat!"
Her face, already red from the burn, swelled even more from the slap.