7
Leaving the suite, my footsteps heavy on the
soft carpet.
I knew how pathetic I looked.
Jake had scratched my face, my hair was
disheveled, my makeup ruined.
But it didn’t matter; he wasn’t much better, I’d
given him a broken bone, we were even.
I thought of the stray cat we’d adopted in our
senior year.
We cared for it for seven years until it died.
Jake hugged me as I cried, softly comforting,
“Don’t cry, Sarah, we’ll get a prettier one.”
Now I realized, I was that abandoned cat.
The warmth and promises were gone.
く
Emily found me in the hallway.
My face was pale, I looked haggard.
She looked worried. “You scared me, honey!
Did Jake hurt you?”
I was silent, leaning against the wall.
“I knew he was a jerk! I thought your cold war
at the wedding was a joke, but he really did it
with that…” Emily’s voice trembled with
anger, her fists clenched.
I smiled wryly, softly asking, “Isn’t Taylor your
cousin?”
“She’s a relative from my stepmother’s side,
she was abroad, I don’t know what happened,
she suddenly came back and insisted on
being a bridesmaid,” Emily gritted her teeth.
“Don’t talk, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
I shook my head, forcing a smile. “It’s fine, I’ll
rest.”
“Actually, I recognized her.”
“In high school, I was bullied by a transfer
L
student. She was the ringleader.”
Emily was stunned. “Did Jake recognize her
too?”
I shook my head.
I didn’t know, and I didn’t care.
I hadn’t thought about that time in years.
Their methods weren’t clever.
They isolated me, anyone who talked to me faced their retaliation.
They locked me in the classroom after night study.
In PE, they mocked me.
Taylor’s friend, after a breakup, targeted me. But I did martial arts, they couldn’t beat me.
So they resorted to underhanded tactics.
They put sleeping pills in my water, then tried.
to cut my face.
It became a big incident; Taylor left the
country.
At first I didn’t recognize her.
L
I was too focused on our fight.
Later, I found out she’d had extensive plastic
surgery. But her habits reminded me of her
instantly.
My thoughts returned to reality.
“No, how can I feel at ease seeing you like
this?” Emily insisted. “Forget it, I’ll ask Daniel to look after you.”
Daniel?
Jake admired him, seeing him as a business
legend.
Although the Gu family was prominent, it was
nothing compared to the Zhou family.
He arrived quickly.
It was as if he was waiting for me.
I only thought that, I wasn’t that narcissistic.
He supported me and suggested, “Emily’s
wedding is today, I have fireworks outside,
want to see them?”
I agreed.
L
On the rooftop, I watched the magnificent
fireworks.
My mood improved.
My phone vibrated, it was Jake. I hung up
without hesitation.
Then, text bomb.
“Who are you with?!”
“You found another guy so quickly, Sarah,
how desperate are you? Don’t you feel cheap?”
I deleted the texts and blocked him.
I was always the one blocked, now I’m
blocking him, it felt great.
