Intro
~Aurora~
The words echoed in my head like a cruel refrain I couldn’t escape.
I stood frozen, staring at the boy I thought I loved—the boy who had mended my broken pieces, who had shown me warmth when I’d been drowning in loneliness.
“Face me, Easton.” My voice cracked as I reached for his hand, desperate to make him look at me. “Tell me this is a lie. Please. You love me… don’t you?”
But he stood still. Silent.
“Easton, please!” My scream tore through the hallway, shattering the last of my pride.
Finally, he turned. So suddenly, so sharply, that I stumbled back. His blue eyes—once oceans of promise—were now sheets of ice.
“It was all a bet.”
The words landed like a blade to my chest. Around us, the hallway buzzed with whispers and muffled laughter, but all I could hear was the roar in my ears.
“Why?” My voice was barely a breath. “Why me?”
His lip curled. “Because you’re pathetic.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Still, he pressed on, relentless.
“You were the easiest girl to get. Desperate. Clinging to anyone who noticed you. Do you know why your parents don’t love you? Why no one does?”
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe.
“Because you’re ugly, Aurora. Irritating. These last three months with you? The worst days of my life.”
My knees buckled. The floor met me before I realized I was falling. Tears blurred my vision, but his words cut through clearer than ever. He knew my deepest fears—my insecurities—and he had twisted them into weapons.
Laughter erupted around me. Pointing fingers. Mocking voices. But none of it compared to the devastation of the boy who stood above me, tearing me apart piece by piece.
“Easton…” My voice was a broken whisper.
He sneered. “You disgust me.”
The bell rang, but the moment was already carved into my bones. Easton gave me one last cold glance before walking away, taking every fragile dream I had with him.
A gentle hand landed on my shoulder. I blinked up through a haze of tears.
Lydia.
A dry, bitter laugh escaped me. “What, here to mock me too? To tell me I was stupid for thinking he loved me?”
But she only looked at me, eyes soft with something I hadn’t expected—pity.
“It’s going to be okay, Aurora.”
Before I could stop her, she pulled me into a hug.
And that’s when I shattered all over again.
“I don’t know how to be okay,” I sobbed into her shoulder, every piece of me breaking.
“Shhh.” She rubbed my back in slow circles. “Just breathe. You’ll get through this.”
But I didn’t feel better. I just felt… numb.
She helped me to my feet, guiding me outside to the garden where the air was quieter, less suffocating.
“Talk to me,” she urged.
“Why?” I let out a bitter laugh. “So you can tell me I’m ugly? That I should have known better? That Easton would never actually want me?”
“Aurora—”
“Just say it!” My chest heaved, breaths sharp and ragged. “You’ve hated me all along. Go ahead, finish me off.”
Her eyes widened. “No, Aurora. Don’t do this to yourself. This isn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is!” My voice broke into a sob. “I was desperate. Ugly. Stupid enough to believe someone like him could love me.”
Tears blurred everything. My hands shook violently.
And then—Lydia pulled me into her arms again, tighter this time.
“Stop. Stop blaming yourself. You’re not ugly. You’re not unlovable. Easton is the problem. Not you.”
But I shoved her away, too far gone to believe her.
“You’re lying!” I screamed, voice raw. “Just stop!”
And I ran.
Through the hallways, through the stares, through the whispers. I ran until I slammed my bedroom door shut, collapsing against it as sobs ripped out of me.
“I should have avoided him. I should have stayed invisible. I should have never let him in.”
Now I was back where I started.
Alone. Unloved.
But this time, shattered beyond repair.
As I curled up on the cold floor, one thought replayed in my head.
The day it all began,each day after that vivid
