Chapter 8
The homecoming show was happening on the outdoor plaza–this massive stage with lights that could probably be seen from space.
I was one of the hosts, and I’d been up there running my mouth since seven.
Around nine, the fireworks started exploding overhead, turning the whole night sky into this crazy light show.
This was the big moment everyone had been waiting for–the crowd was going absolutely wild.
I wrapped up the final act and stumbled off stage.
My throat was totally shot. After talking nonstop for over two hours, I felt like I’d been gargling sandpaper,
Alistair was backstage waiting for me, holding that water bottle.
“You look like you’re about to die of thirst.”
He popped the cap off and handed it over, flashing me that smile I’d fallen for a million times.
“Seraphina said this stuff’s the real deal–imported, costs like fifty bucks a bottle or something crazy.”
I grabbed the bottle and looked it over.
It definitely screamed expensive–all sleek and fancy looking.
=
ht
Even though Seraphina still rubbed me the wrong way, I was thirsty as hell, and Alistair had already opened it for me. That little gesture still got to me.
I threw my head back and chugged.
The first gulp hit wrong.
This water tasted nasty–like someone had dumped hot sauce in it, but way worse.
It wasn’t spoiled exactly, more like… someone had spiked it with something.
I figured maybe that’s just how pretentious imported water tasted, made a face, and took another swig.
The second that went down my throat, everything caught fire.
Not just burning–like actual flames were eating me alive from the inside out.
Then my world exploded.
My throat first, like someone had poured gasoline down it and lit a match.
Then my mouth, this screaming, stabbing pain.
Without thinking, I slapped my hand to my face to wipe my mouth, and the instant my fingers hit my cheek–the agony was unreal.
“АННННН-”
H
E
I hit the ground screaming, clawing at my face like a maniac.
But every time I touched it, it got worse–like thousands of knives cutting into my skin.
My face was literally dissolving. I could feel it melting away, peeling off in chunks.
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My Childhood Ex Ruined My Face for His Crush? Cute. I Ruined Their Lives
36.8%
Chapter 8
It was worse than being tortured to death.
Everyone around me just lost their shit.
Someone was screaming: “Call 911! That’s acid!”
“What the hell?! How is there acid here?!”
“Water! Get tons of water! Flush her face!”
All these panicked voices were going crazy around me, but it sounded like I was underwater.
The pain had hijacked my entire brain.
I was flat on my back, and through the blur I could see Alistair’s face–he looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Still clutching that damn bottle, just standing there like a statue.
“No way… there’s no way that was acid…”
He was talking to himself, totally freaking out.
“Seraphina said… she told me it was just hot sauce and water…”
Hot sauce and water?
So he knew. He actually knew something was mixed in there.
He knew this was supposed to mess with me.
He knew, and he handed it to me anyway.
My chest felt like it was caving in–somehow ten thousand times worse than having my face burned off.
And way off in the crowd, there was Seraphina wearing this triumphant smile.
She was hanging back in her perfect white dress, practically glowing under all those stage lights.
Watching me writhing on the ground, and she looked like she was having the time of her life.
Like she was seeing the most beautiful thing in the world.
So this was her big “confession.”
Confessing to me how much she hated me.
Confessing to Alistair how much she “loved” him,
Announcing to everyone that Seraphina Blackwood had won.
I wanted to laugh at how screwed up this all was, but I couldn’t make a sound.
Wanted to cry, but the pain forced the tears back.
Everything started going dark, and I could hear Alistair losing it next to me.
“God, Aurelia, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”
“I had no clue, I swear I didn’t know it was acid…”
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My Childhood Ex Ruined My Face for His Crush? Cute. I Ruined Their Lives
38.6%
Chapter 8
“Just hang on, okay? The paramedics are coming…”
Sorry? Really?
My face was already destroyed.
My whole life was over.
What the hell was his sorry supposed to fix now?
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