My Lover’s Sister Bullied Me to Death，I Make Them Pay

My online boyfriend was Edmund Payne, the billionaire heir to Nexora Group. He was also the brother of Belinda Payne, the girl who had ruthlessly bullied me throughout high school. Later, I finally understood the bitter truth—the princes would not actually fall for Cinderella. ***** During Thanksgiving, Edmund invited me to his family home for the first time. The moment we pulled up to the breathtaking Payne Mansion, my blood ran cold. Standing there was his sister, Belinda Payne, the ringleader of the bullies who had made my high school years a nightmare. Belinda recognized me instantly. At first, she put on a sickeningly sweet facade, greeting me warmly. But the moment dinner was served, her malice boiled over. She grabbed a bowl of scalding hot soup and threw it directly into my face. "You think you're worthy of becoming Eddie's wife?" she hissed, looking down at me with pure disdain. "Get the hell out of our house right now, and stop dreaming about his love!" My face erupted into a searing, agonizing heat. A deafening roar filled my ears, drowning out all sound as the world faded to black. I was rushed to the emergency room. After a harrowing examination, the doctor revealed that I had suffered extensive, deep tissue burns with severe tissue necrosis, officially classified as a second-degree severe injury. The pain was so excruciating that they had to heavily sedate me. Three days later, I finally woke up. When I woke up, Edmund was standing at my bedside clad in a bespoke designer suit, holding the hand of Belinda, who was dressed in a glamorous haute couture gown. "Vannie, thank God you're finally awake," Edmund said, his voice laced with forced gentleness. "Belle is young and reckless. Could you please drop the charges? If you agree, we can get married right away, okay?" "No." I turned him down flat. Belinda didn't seem to grasp for one second that she was the problem here. "Eddie, she's had it out for me forever, what's the point of begging her? Worst case, I do my time and come right back out. Eddie, please, don't marry her." Edmund's brow furrowed with deep heartache as he gently caressed Belinda's cheek. "Don't worry, Belle. I won't let anything happen to you." He then dismissed her, telling her to wait outside. Turning back to me, Edmund sighed. "Vannie, that's just how Belle is. Deep down, she's not a bad person. Can't you just forgive her for my sake?" His words choked the remaining air straight out of my lungs. Not a bad person? Back in high school, she and her gang used to rip up my homework and lock me in the filthy bathroom stalls for hours. She had stripped off my clothes, filmed it, and used the video to blackmail me into working as a hostess at a shady bar. When I refused, she deliberately played that humiliating video in front of my elderly grandmother. The sheer shock and grief had brought on a fatal heart attack, killing the only woman who loved me. And now, she had scarred me for life with scalding soup. If a monster like her wasn't considered evil, then who on earth was? "Never," I whispered, tears of rage stinging my raw skin. "I will never forgive her." When he realized I wouldn't yield, a complex, dark emotion flashed across Edmund's eyes. Then, he turned on his heel and walked out. ***** As night fell, a heavy darkness enveloped the hospital room. My parents suddenly burst through the door. At first I felt touched by their visit, but then my mother said, "You only lost a face. Are you really going to send Ms. Payne to prison over this? That would ruin her entire future! Drop the charges immediately!" I stared at her, utterly paralyzed, unable to believe my own ears. This was my biological mother. I had spent my whole life thinking my parents simply favored my younger brother. But in that devastating moment, I realized the cruel truth: they had never loved me at all. My heart plunged into a suffocating, dead silence. I looked at them with an eerie calmness. "The doctor said the chances of my face recovering are zero. I am permanently disfigured. Belinda's life shouldn't be ruined, but mine can be?" My voice trembled with an uncontrollable ache. However, my mother merely scoffed, aggressively slapping a signed settlement waiver directly onto my bandaged face. "We've already signed the agreement on your behalf," she barked. "Stop throwing this ridiculous tantrum!" With that, she locked arms with my father and strolled out of the room. I sat frozen in the silence, feeling as though I had been bludgeoned over the head. The piece of paper fluttered through the air and landed quietly on the cold floor. A long time passed before my phone buzzed. It was a text from my best friend, Chelsey Kirk. Chelsey: Vannie! The police just dropped the case. They paid out a settlement of 500 thousand dollars! Did you know about this?! A bitter, sorrowful laugh escaped my throat. So, at twenty-four years old, my own mother had sold my soul, my justice, and my face for half a million dollars.