blame.
“How can someone look so beautiful even
when crying? My heart aches for her.”
My inbox was flooded with hate again, blamed for things I didn’t do.
The few voices of reason were quickly drowned out.
After he left, I started posting as him, offering free online counseling for women dealing with bullying, family issues, and relationship problems.
Some of the people I had helped turned on
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me, calling me disgusting.
They posted about how disappointed they
were.
“I can’t believe you’re like this. Disgusting.”
“I thought you were a good person.
Shameless, hurting others because you didn’t
get what you want.”
“You don’t deserve love. Pathetic.”
“Plastic surgery freak, you can’t hide your
ugly soul.”
My office was vandalized, covered in graffiti.
<
While I was trying to decide which lawyer to
hire, Ethan called.
“I’m sorry, Olivia didn’t mean it.
“Don’t take it to heart.”
I rolled my eyes. “So she intentionally led her
fans to attack me, intentionally slandered me,
intentionally exposed my personal
information?”
He said impatiently, “If you hadn’t provoked
her, she wouldn’t have done those things.”
“Ethan Miller, if you’re not using your brain,
donate it. Don’t walk around embarrassing
yourself ”
く
yourself.”
“Remember, karma is a bitch. What goes
around comes around.
“You will pay for your sins.”
I hung up.
A friend of Ethan’s texted me: “Take a look at
this, it might cheer you up.”
The next day, Ethan proposed to Olivia at the
Grand Canyon.
He broke up with me, then proposed to his
first love a few days later, at the place I
always wanted to visit.
Even his friends thought he was being a jerk.
But he didn’t care. Plenty of guys were worse
than him, and he had money, so people would
still kiss up to him.
Plus, the whole “rich guy reunited with his
first love” narrative was a hit online.
Plenty of mindless followers were cheering
them on.
Drowning out any dissenting voices.
I ran into Olivia later.
く
She was showing off her ring, smug as ever.
When she saw me, she came right over to
gloat.
“Sarah, you look terrible. You’ve aged so
much.”
“It’s no wonder, without love, you wither. Not
like me, Ethan’s always with me, he’s so
clingy, I can’t shake him off.”
I laughed. “Companionship is nothing. Cold,
hard cash is what matters. At least I got a
hefty settlement. Enough to last a lifetime.”
“You’re not so special. He spent a fortune on
one model, and she kept all the profits. Every
く
girl he’s been with, he’s made them rich.”
I watched her face crack, amused.
I patted her shoulder. “You better figure out
how to get some shares, some real money
from him. Otherwise, you’ll be old and broke.”
Olivia loved showing off online. Fueled by her
fans‘ praise, she became incredibly arrogant.
She started demanding Ethan give her roles
and investment opportunities.
Ethan, obliging, gave her plenty.
Every time she signed a contract, she’d send
く
me pictures, bragging.
Idiot.
Flaunting everything, how could that possibly end well?
If she couldn’t even understand something so simple, then I couldn’t be blamed for what happened next.
They deserved to suffer.
Ethan pulled some strings, determined to
make her a star.
I stayed quiet, watching her follower count
grow her face nlactored everywhere My
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grow, her face plastered everywhere. My
friends in the industry told me Olivia was
getting cocky.
She leveraged her newfound fame and
Ethan’s connections to land roles in big-
budget movies and TV shows, ready to make
a splash.
The contracts she signed had massive
penalties. Even Ethan’s family couldn’t afford
them.
I continued to wait, until she was completely
trapped.
Until they were both dragged into hell.
His sister sent me a flash drive.
“The security footage from your house was
recovered a long time ago. He wasn’t going
to give it to you, but after all these years,
seeing you still clinging to him…take it. Finish
what he couldn’t.”
“My foolish brother, he wanted to surprise
you after everything was settled. But it wasn’t
meant to be.”
Chapter 8
I heard that Olivia had finalized all her
contracts.
<
The next day was the launch event for her
first movie.
She arrived in a sexy, low–cut gown.
On stage, perfectly made–up, she thanked
everyone, gushing about Ethan with shy
gratitude.
They exchanged loving glances, surrounded
by a pink, romantic haze.
They put on a show for the cameras,
reporters snapping photos, praising their
perfect love story.
Then, a video appeared on the big screen. A
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woman opened a door.
Two naked bodies intertwined on the bed,
moaning. The man was old enough to be her
father, fat and repulsive.
The girl was clearly a younger Olivia.
And judging by the timestamp, she was underage.
The woman in the video looked a little like
me, her eyes red and swollen.
She rushed forward, pulling them apart.
She screamed at the man, “Are you insane? Have you no shame? How old is she? You
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have a daughter yourself! How could you?”
Before the man could answer, Olivia yelled, “I’m younger, prettier, and have a better body than you! It’s normal for your husband to like me!”
My mom’s voice trembled. “You’re so young, and you’re a homewrecker! Aren’t you afraid of karma?”
Olivia grabbed her hair, slamming her head against the wall, acting like a spoiled brat.
“Karma? Being ugly and fat is your karma! Just divorce him and make room for my mom! Otherwise, neither you nor your daughter will
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have a good ending!”
My mom tried to drag her away, but Olivia
kicked her in the stomach.
Over and over, hard enough to feel even through the screen.
And the man who once adored my mom just watched, not caring about her, more worried that she’d hurt his precious Olivia.
“Useless woman, no wonder your husband doesn’t want you.”
They started fighting.
