I Quit Being the Cannon Fodder Stepmom

I took in two orphaned girls. I poured my life into the older one, molding her into a piano master. The second she grabbed her fame, she flipped the script.

She sobbed on national TV. She claimed I forced her through endless piano drills. Overnight, the internet canceled me.

Those two vultures drove my biological daughter to suicide and hijacked my entire estate. I dropped into this universe right on adoption day.

I stood inside the group home, hunting for a playmate for my daughter. The socalled prodigy tilted her chin up.

She drilled her eyes into mine. "Take my sister too, or I stay here." "Then stay." I held her gaze, my face turning to stone.

Chapter 1 I let my gaze sweep over Trixie before locking eyes with Lila. "You two have different last names.

You aren't blood." Lila immediately stepped forward, shielding Trixie completely from my view. "Ma'am, Trixie looks up to me like a real sister," she said, her previous defiance melting into a soft voice. "Please, just adopt both of us!" "Mommy." Trixie darted out from behind Lila and wrapped her arms tight around my waist. "Please, take us with you!" I didn't utter a single word.

Lila's eyes flickered, and she turned to my daughter, Freya. "Freya, didn't you want a friend to keep you company? Trixie and I can both play with you.

Wouldn't that be fun?" Freya gripped the hem of my shirt, her lips pressed into a thin, anxious line. In the book, my daughter was sweet and quiet.

Those two girls eventually drove her to a complete mental breakdown, forcing her to flee the country. She didn't come back until Harrison and I died in that mangled car.

But Lila's security detail blocked Freya from even entering the funeral home.

Trixie shoved a finger in her face, screaming in front of the press. "You didn't give a damn about them when they were alive! Don't play the grieving daughter now!

You're just here for the trust fund!" Right now, they were playing the perfect, helpless orphans. But once they were adopted, they would team up against Freya.

I stared down at the two girls in silence. Irene, the group home director, quickly signaled the staff to usher them out of the room. "Ms.

Estelle, the girls have a good relationship and don't want to be separated." Irene offered an apologetic smile. "Let me talk to her. Lila is a smart kid.

She'll understand and go with you." I wasn't the original Estelle. I could see right through Lila's little manipulation tactic.

If she got her way, she'd secure a spot for Trixie in a wealthy household, cementing a lifelong, loyal sidekick.

If she failed, she'd 'reluctantly' agree to my terms after Irene's convincing, walking away looking like a tragic, selfless hero. "Forget it, Irene." I cast a sideways glance at Lila, who was hiding just outside the door. "I'm just looking for a companion for my daughter.

If I force those two apart, the one I take will harbor a grudge and end up bullying my daughter in the future." Irene's face fell. "Oh, absolutely not!

The fact that Lila asked for this just proves how fiercely loyal she is!

She would treat your daughter beautifully, and she'd spend the rest of her life paying you back for your kindness!" "Paying me back?" I ran a gentle hand through Freya's hair. "I have my own child.

I didn't come here looking for a return on investment." In the original plot, I poured millions into private tutors and Juilliard prep to turn Lila into a classical music sensation.

I paid for Trixie's Ivy League tuition so she could become a highpowered corporate executive. And the payoff? The second they secured their power and money, I ceased to exist.

We lived in the same city, yet I never got a single visit. Not even a damn text message. Then came Lila's interview.

She sat there and cried about how her childhood lacked any joy, suffocated by my endless piano drills. Overnight, the internet canceled me.

Trying to escape the media circus, Harrison and I drove upstate to visit Freya. We never made it. A semitruck Tboned us, killing us on impact.

Before our bodies were even cold in the morgue, Lila and Trixie swooped in, froze Freya's assets, and drove her off a cliff.

I gripped Freya's tiny hand, my chest tight, and walked out. Let's see how high those two soar without my money funding their wings. "Weren't you supposed to pick up the kid?

Why is it just the two of you?" I bent down, slipping off my heels in the entryway. "She refused to come." "That's impossible!" Harrison blurted out, his voice sharp. "I already had an agreement with her." I slowly straightened up, my eyes locking onto his.

Chapter 2 Harrison was a master pianist. His entire existence revolved around finding a prodigy to inherit his legacy.

He forced Freya onto a piano bench before she even turned three. Now, at ten years old, her tiny fingertips were coated in thick, hardened calluses. And his only feedback?

She lacks soul. This whole group home trip was a front. A little charade to find our daughter a playmate, when in reality, Harrison had already set his sights on Lila.

Last week, he had played a charity gig at the facility. After he finished a complex piece, Lila crept out of the shadows. She mirrored his performance almost key for key.

She missed exactly three notes. Harrison’s eyes lit up on the spot. "Do you want to be my student?" Lila nodded frantically.

Then she feigned timidity, whispering that orphans weren't allowed to just leave the grounds. That night, Harrison came home and pitched his brilliant idea. "Freya is too lonely.

Let’s adopt a kid to keep her company." Reading the book, I never understood him. Why not just admit he wanted a protégé?

Instead, he made Freya act as Lila's foil until she was so utterly disappointed with this family that she left.

Since he still wouldn't tell the truth, I played dumb. "The kid laid down an ultimatum," I said. "Unless I adopt her little orphan sister too, she absolutely refuses to come home with me." Harrison froze.

I scowled at him. "I only agreed to this adoption because you’re suffocating Freya. I thought a friend would give her room to breathe. But this girl demands a package deal.

What happens when those two gang up on my daughter?" "Stop projecting your cynicism onto children." Harrison scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "It’s just an extra kid.

Bring them both back. It’s just another plate at the dinner table." "Adoption isn’t a Black Friday sale.

You don't get a BOGO deal on human beings!" I glared at him, my expression turning icy cold. "Harrison, I am not adopting those two girls." Harrison stared at me as if I were a complete stranger.

Just then, a freezing hand tugged at my sleeve. Freya was trembling slightly. I gripped her fingers tight, spun on my heel, and marched her upstairs. The front door clicked open.

Harrison strode in. A scrawny figure shadowed his steps. Lila. She shot me a timid, wideeyed look. "Ma'am," she squeaked. I didn't acknowledge her.

I kept my eyes drilled into Harrison. He patted her shoulder. "Lila, this is your home now," he murmured. Only then did he bother to look up at me. "The kid is a musical prodigy.

It would be a crime to let that talent rot.

I brought her home." "So that whole bullshit story about finding Freya a friend was a lie?" I slammed my chef’s knife down onto the granite counter.

The metal clattered against the stone. "Was it really that hard to just admit you wanted a student?" "What the hell was I supposed to say?" Harrison’s expression hardened. "Did you want me to tell you your daughter has zero talent?

You would have made a fuss." "Why would I throw a tantrum?" I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You're the one whose mediocre genes failed to pass down to your own child.

Shouldn't you be examining your own DNA first?" In the original plot, Harrison constantly used Freya’s lack of talent against me. He blamed my genetics.

Now he was trying to flip the script on me? I’d shove those words right back down his throat. Harrison stared at me in absolute disbelief. "What are you staring at?

Am I the only one who made this child?" I rolled my eyes hard. "Since you despise Freya’s playing so much, she's done. As of today, she quits the piano." "Are you out of your mind?

She’s trained for years! She can't just quit!" "Didn't you just say she lacked soul?" I grabbed the knife and brought the flat of the blade crashing down on a clove of garlic.

The loud smack echoed in the kitchen. "You have your shiny new prodigy now.

You think I'm going to let my daughter stick around just to be her pathetic little foil?" Harrison’s face turned livid. "What the hell are you talking about!

I would never make Freya a foil!" Chapter 3 "Ma'am, I don't need to take piano lessons from Mr. Harrison." Lila interjected quickly. "I just want a roof over my head.

A bite to eat is enough." Before Harrison could open his mouth to soothe her, I locked eyes with him. "If you force Freya to keep playing the piano, this girl packs her bags.

Make your choice." When Freya walked through the door and realized her piano tortures were officially over, a genuine spark lit up her eyes.

She shifted her gaze to Lila. "Are you taking his last name?" Lila immediately shook her head. "I'm keeping my mom's last name.

It's the only memory of her I have left." Taking her mother's maiden name. I shot Harrison a sidelong glance.

The original novel mentioned his high school sweetheart shared Lila's exact last name. "It's just a name. It doesn't mean anything," Harrison smoothly deflected.

Lila tilted her head up, flashing him a sugary smile. "Thank you, Dad." I studied their faces. They shared absolutely zero facial features.

But just to eliminate the red flag, I snagged hair from both of their brushes and fasttracked a discreet DNA test. The results came back negative, just as I expected.

I put the report in my bag and headed home.

The second I unlocked the front door, Trixie's shrill scream sliced through the living room. "Keep pushing and see if I don't slap you!" I stood quietly in the entryway, watching Trixie jab a vicious finger at Freya. "If I wasn't worried about making things hard for Lila, I would've scratched your eyes out!" Trixie yelled. "You destroyed my stuff, and now you want to hit me?" Freya’s voice shook with suppressed rage. "What do you mean, your stuff?

Since Harrison adopted Lila, this is her house too!" "Alright, let's not fight," Lila interrupted in a gentle voice, turning to Freya. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was your plushie.

Trixie thought it was cute, so I let her play with it." "Before you got here, I was the only kid in this house." Freya blinked hard, fighting back tears. "If the toy isn't mine, whose would it be?" "You're just jealous Harrison is teaching Lila the piano!" Trixie lunged forward, shoving Freya hard in the chest. "It's your own fault you're a talentless loser!

It’s just a piece of garbage toy anyway, who cares!" Trixie hurled the stuffed animal onto the floor and ground her sneaker directly into its face.

Freya fell to the floor, her eyes reddening. She scrambled up to hit Trixie, but the younger girl stuck her foot out, tripping her again.

I sprinted across the room and hauled Freya up. The moment she saw me, her rigid posture crumbled. She burst into tears and buried her face in my stomach. My chest seized.

In the book, Freya was terrified of sparking fights between Harrison and me. She swallowed the bullying in dead silence.

Those two girls specifically targeted her behind my back, even setting up fake scenarios to trick me into thinking Freya was the actual abuser.

Trixie froze when she spotted me, sheer panic flashing across her face. A second later, she switched gears and lunged toward me with open arms. "Mommy!

You're home!" "Don't call me that." I slammed my hand against her shoulder, shoving her backward. "Since when did I ever give birth to you?" Trixie stumbled, her shoulder colliding hard against the drywall.

She instantly crumpled into a heap, wailing at the top of her lungs. I let out a harsh, freezing laugh. "So you are home.

Those two are ganging up on your daughter, and you just sit there? Are you deaf?" Harrison’s expression hardened. "Watch your tone. Freya suffers from onlychild syndrome.

She has zero concept of sharing. Both of those girls are younger than her. What's the big deal if she lets them have a stupid toy?" I closed the distance between us.

My palm connected with his jaw. Before he could process the sting, I raised my leg and drove a brutal kick straight into his stomach.

He crashed onto the floorboards, groaning in pure agony, unable to get up. The three girls froze in dead silence.

Lila and Trixie clamped their hands over their mouths, their eyes blown wide in absolute terror.

Freya snapped out of her shock and instinctively reached out to help him up. "Don't touch him," I barked, stopping Freya dead in her tracks. "Save yourself the trouble.

Your foolish dad will just take it out on you the second he catches his breath." Chapter 4 I snatched the DNA test from my bag and hurled the folder directly at Harrison’s chest. "Anyone else would look at this setup and think Lila was your actual flesh and blood.

Your own daughter gets terrorized by two random girls in her own house, and you defend them?" Harrison looked down, flipping open the folder. A second later, his head snapped up.

He looked even more furious. "Estelle! Are you done making a scene?!" "It's right here in black and white!

Lila and I share zero DNA!" "You went behind my back to run a paternity test?

Where is the respect?!" "Respect?" I scoffed. "I explicitly vetoed adopting Lila, yet you dragged her home anyway.

And the second I leave the house, you sneak the other one in." I jabbed a finger toward a paralyzed Trixie. "She was pointing her finger right in Freya's face.

Screaming that she's a talentless loser who deserves to be ignored by you! And you?

You hid in your bedroom." "Harrison, since the day we got married, when have you ever had to lift a finger for this family?" "And you? What have you actually done?

Besides calling your daughter stupid and treating her like a worthless disappointment?" "If you hadn't constantly belittled her, do you think these two orphans would dare walk into this house and immediately use her as a punching bag?!" Harrison's eyes widened in shock.

Lila turned paperwhite, biting her lower lip tightly, not daring to make a sound. Freya stood rigidly by my side. The trembling in her shoulders slowly stopped.

She straightened her spine. She looked quietly at her father, as if looking at a complete stranger. I reached into my bag and pulled out the divorce papers I had drafted days ago.

I slapped them down onto the glass coffee table. "Sign it." "There hasn't been room for us in this house for a long time." I grabbed the handle of the suitcase I had already packed. "Keep your beloved protégé.

Raise your little charity cases. I'm taking my daughter." I wrapped my hand around Freya's and marched toward the front door.

Harrison scrambled off the floorboards. "Estelle!" he roared. "You're using a divorce to bluff me into kicking Lila out?! Trixie is just visiting!

I never even filed her adoption paperwork!" I didn't even break my stride. He raised his voice, raw panic bleeding through his anger. "It's easy to walk out that door!

But surviving without my money? You won't last a week!" I paused with my hand on the doorknob.

I threw one last glance over my shoulder. "Harrison, this isn't a bluff to get rid of anyone. I am entirely done with you." He froze, as if he didn't understand.

I didn't waste another breath on him. I twisted the deadbolt and walked out into the night with Freya. She stayed completely silent during the Uber ride.

Her tiny fingers kept a death grip on the edge of my coat. I unlocked the door to our new, preleased apartment.

The second we stepped inside, she looked up and wrapped her arms tight around my waist. "Mom." Her voice wavered with deep insecurity. "Are you really divorcing Dad… because of me?" I dropped to my knees, leveling my gaze with hers.

My chest tightened at the raw guilt swimming in her eyes.

I reached out, my thumbs gently brushing away the tension pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Not because of you," I whispered. "For us.

A home shouldn't make you feel like you have to hold your breath just to survive." I smoothed back her hair. "I just want to watch you grow up.

If you want to learn something, we'll do it. If you hate it, we drop it." She buried her face in the crook of my neck.

A shuddering breath escaped her lungs as she finally cried, whispering for me. In the original novel, Harrison was just another doomed side character.

He bled himself dry turning Lila into a classical star, only to get stabbed in the back the second she didn't need him anymore.

When I first woke up in this universe, I actually considered saving him. But his obsession with Lila was a massive red flag.

He sat in his room today and let those girls rip Freya apart. It proved that some plotlines were just hardwired into this world.

I couldn't risk telling him the truth about the book. If he slapped a psychiatric hold on me and locked me in a ward, my transmigration would be completely pointless.

My bank account was dangerously light after walking out of that house, but armed with my knowledge of the plot, I knew Freya and I were going to be just fine.

Chapter 5 "Mom." A rare spark of excitement danced in her voice. "Julia, my music teacher, said I have a beautiful voice.

She even wants to recommend me for the regional vocal showcase." "What do you need to prepare?" I offered a warm smile. She immediately pressed her lips together.

Her fingers clamped down on the hem of her shirt—her nervous tell. "But." Her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "Dad always said I didn't inherit his musical genes.

What if I bomb and don't win?" I reached out, gently smoothing her hair. "It's about putting yourself out there. Besides, you already crushed your state piano evaluations this year.

Freya, it's never been about you lacking talent. Harrison's expectations were just too high.

If Julia believes in you enough to recommend you, she sees your potential." She looked up at me, her eyes slowly growing red, and gave a firm nod.

Later that night, I walked past Freya's bedroom. A soft, clear melody drifted through the closed door. I leaned against the hallway wall, listening in silence.

Even the most gifted kid, if never seen or validated by their loved ones, will be like a dusty crystal, its light gradually fading. A parent's job isn't to be a ruthless judge.

We're supposed to be their biggest fans. Freya took home first place at that regional vocal showcase and later secured a spot at an elite prep school.

Worried about Lila's main character plot armor coming back to bite us, I signed Freya up for martial arts.

Day by day, she blossomed into a cheerful, confident girl, shedding the shadow of the "useless" label her father had stamped on her.

I occasionally thought back to the original Freya from the book. She wasn't talentless.

She was suffocated by a father demanding a prodigy, a mother blinded by obedience, and two vipers conspiring to steal her inheritance. They snuffed out her light.

I never expected to see Lila again. Then the bell above my flower shop door chimed. She stepped inside, looking timid.

At fifteen, she looked far more hollow and exhausted than Freya did as a high school senior. She was drowning in an old, oversized trench coat I had left behind five years ago.

The cuffs were completely frayed. "Ma'am." She shuffled toward the counter, her voice meek. "Harrison really misses you and Freya.

When are you coming home to visit him?" "Did he forget how to use his mouth, or just his legs?" I snapped a stray thorn off a rose stem. "You're the one who wants me back.

Surviving with a man whose entire universe revolves around a piano can't be easy." "Ma'am, I admit I was greedy back then. I just wanted Trixie to have a home too.

Taking both of us in would have just been another plate at the dinner table for you.

I never imagined you would actually file for divorce." "Did you seriously come all the way here just to manipulate me?" I put down the floral shears and looked at her. "No." Lila shook her head frantically. "It's been five years, and Harrison still refuses to eat my cooking." I stared down at the split seams of her sneakers.

Harrison only wanted a shiny new prodigy; he clearly didn't give a damn about actually raising a child.

In the original plot, every time I bought Freya something, Lila got an exact duplicate. I even gave her a generous monthly allowance.

But the moment I walked out, Harrison's world imploded. He had spent his entire marriage buried in his sheet music, completely clueless about running a household.

He didn't know how to grocery shop, let alone pay the utility bills. Five years ago, when I left with Freya, he was dead certain I'd come crawling back, begging for his money.

Chapter 6 Instead of coming crawling back, I bought a house, opened a flower shop, and built a thriving life.

He had once asked to get back together with a highandmighty attitude, but I had rejected him.

I heard through the grapevine that he dumped all the household chores onto an eightyearold Lila. What did her misery have to do with me?

I refused to clean up his mess. "Didn't Harrison adopt Trixie too?" I cut her off cold. "You got exactly what you wanted.

Are you seriously trying to guilttrip me into coming back to play maid for you all?" "No, I just—" "Don't come back here." I pointed a rigid finger at the door. "I filed those divorce papers because he brought you two home." Lila stared at me, putting on a wronged expression. "But you came to the group home for me.

Do you really hate me just because I begged you to save Trixie too?" She ducked her head, letting her voice tremble. "I only said that because I wanted you to see I had a good heart." Even now, she was still trying to manipulate me. "Kids with actual good hearts don't manipulate people into corners." I offered a hollow smile and reached out, giving her hair a condescending pat. "Go home.

Don't keep Harrison waiting." Freya leaned against the kitchen doorframe, biting into an apple. "Mom, are all guys like this?

They like someone, or they feel guilty, but they refuse to open their own mouths.

They always use a middleman." I clicked off the stove burner and threw a glance over my shoulder. "Why?

Did someone send a messenger pigeon to tell you he likes you?" "A girl in my homeroom, Faith." She scrunched up her nose in disgust. "She keeps bringing up this guy who supposedly saw me at the vocal competition.

Love at first sight, apparently.

She's aggressively trying to set up a blind date." "Does this guy not have a mouth?" I cranked the burner back on and tossed the vegetables in the pan. "Or is he just a walking red flag?

If he actually liked you, he'd step up and say it to your face." "Exactly what I told her!" Freya paused, a dark shadow crossing her eyes. "Actually, Faith came from the exact same group home as Lila and Trixie.

I caught Trixie cornering her on campus a few days ago. They didn't see me." My chest tightened. The plot was officially going off the rails. "What's your read on it?" I asked.

She took another aggressive bite of her apple. "I hate assuming the worst in people. But my gut says Trixie is orchestrating a setup. We're seniors.

Why is Faith completely blowing off her SAT prep just to play matchmaker for me?" I scraped the stirfry onto a serving plate. "Are you morbidly curious enough to go meet him?" "Hell no." Freya shook her head hard. "Curiosity isn't worth gambling my entire future.

Walking into a trap when you see the neon warning signs is just plain stupid." "Exactly.

Trust your instincts." I nodded in strict approval. "It's fine to be curious, but you never put yourself in the line of fire." "Oh, by the way, Mom. Nationals are next week.

Are you coming?" "Obviously." I tapped the screen of my brandnew iPhone. "I'm recording the whole set.

If you take home the gold again, I get to brag for months." "If I actually win first place, I might snag a fullride scholarship." She winked. "Then I absolutely cannot miss it.

Just focus on hitting your notes. I'll handle the rest." She gave a firm nod, her smile bright and entirely untainted.

Faith kept trying to drag Freya off campus during school hours, using the excuse that Freya's potential scholarship meant she didn't need to study anymore.

I drove straight to the high school to demand a seat change from the administration.

Before I even reached the main gates, I spotted Trixie huddled in a filthy alleyway with Jax, a local street thug.

I stopped dead at the entrance of the alley and immediately hit record on my phone. Trixie's shrill voice sliced through the damp air, perfectly clear. "Take this sign.

Stand right out front and scream that Freya is your girlfriend. Tell everyone you two slept together. Say she’s trying to dump you now that she secured her Ivy League spot.

Completely nuke her reputation." Chapter 7