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“Don't make things even tougher for him. He's been fighting to clear my mom's name for ages. His account does a lot of good, helping people out. He doesn't deserve to be punished.”
Nathan reluctantly let go.
“What about you?Aren’t you hurting?”
I let out a bitter laugh.“Me?My mom’s gone.Nothing could hurt more than that.”
“Ryan voiced what I've been thinking. The real culprits are Sophia—and you.”
“Or rather,you’re the root of it all!”
Nathan's face registered shock, and he let go of Ryan.
Ryan gave me a guilty glance and left.
I hadn’t been online lately.
Maybe,as Nathan said,my mom’s name was cleared.
Otherwise,Sophia wouldn’t have gone to Nathan in tears after facing the well - deserved backlash.
…
When Sophia realized Nathan was lingering at my house,her face twisted with rage.
I strode over and slapped her hard. The sound of the slap made her expression twist even more.
“You scarred freak,how dare you hit me?”
I scoffed,grabbed a kettle of boiling water,and splashed it on her neck and hands,leaving red burns.
“You made me a freak.Since you showed up,I won’t hold back.”
I hadn’t confronted Sophia earlier,fearing she’d interfere with my mom’s funeral.
Now that she had the audacity to come to me, I wasn't going to hold back.
The water hit her,and she screamed,fumbling for her phone to call for help.
Now she knew the pain I’d felt.
But when she burned me,her cronies pinned me down, forcing me to my knees to endure the pain—far worse than what she was going through now.
I kicked her phone away.
Sophia clutched her neck and hand,pointing at me and shrieking to Nathan,“Nathan,look at her!”
Nathan’s voice was ice.“You did the same to Emily.You deserve it.”
Sophia froze in shock.
Quickly,she switched tactics,tears streaming.“Nathan,how can you say that?Even if you were close to Emily’s mom,you can’t treat me like this.We’ve known each other how long?You and their family,how long?You can’t let me be torn apart online!”
“You know how vicious those online comments can be. I can't sleep at night, my hair's falling out in clumps, and I can't even step outside without being chased and bombarded with trash...”
Nathan listened silently,then stood.“So my mom suffered all that before she died,and it’s my fault!”
His lips trembled.He glanced at Sophia’s burns,then at my scarred face.
“I’m sorry.You were in so much pain,and I forced you to apologize to her.”
Sophia’s face twisted as Nathan kept apologizing.
“She’s just some nobody from the countryside!Why do you care so much?And her,a shameless mistress!Didn’t you say you never loved her?Why are you defending her now?”
Nathan shot me a panicked look,but Sophia’s insults only grew more venomous.
I smirked,savoring her vile outburst.
Her reckoning was coming.
