Chapter 16
After graduation, I moved to a different city for work.
New environment, fresh start.
Nobody knew my history–I could just be a normal person again.
The scars were still there, but makeup covered most of them.
Unless someone was looking really closely, you couldn’t tell.
Work kept me busy, but in a good way.
I climbed the ladder step by step, from entry–level all the way up to department head.
Good salary, stable life.
There were guys who were interested along the way.
One coworker was really sweet to me, and even after he found out about my past, he didn’t back off.
“Aurelia, what happened before is in the past.”
“You gotta look forward, right?”
He was a good guy–kind, caring, great at his job.
But I still turned him down.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to date. I just wasn’t ready.
The scars weren’t just on my face–they were carved into my heart too.
I needed time. A lot of time.
I found out about Seraphina getting released from prison through the news.
Five–year sentence, reduced to four for good behavior.
Four years behind bars had completely destroyed her.
The campus beauty who used to turn heads was now skin and bones, with dead eyes,
After her release, she held this press conference where she cried and apologized.
“I am deeply sorry for my actions.”
She kept bowing to the cameras, over and over.
“I was young and stupid, blinded by jealousy.”
“I’ve spent years in prison reflecting on what I did. Now I just want to start over.”
Same great acting skills as always.
Tears on command, perfect facial expressions.
22:49
My Childhood Ex Ruined My Face for His Crush? Cute. I Ruined Their Lives
78.9%
Chapter 16
If I hadn’t lived through it myself, I might’ve believed she’d actually changed.
The reporters asked if she’d apologized to her victim.
Her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve wanted to apologize in person, but Miss Monroe won’t see me.”
“I understand and respect that.”
“I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make amends.”
Watching her performance on TV made me sick.
People don’t change. If someone’s rotten, they stay rotten.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the real story to come out.
Life after prison wasn’t going well for Seraphina.
Having a criminal record for assault meant no decent company would hire her.
She was stuck doing odd jobs, barely scraping by.
Her rich parents had cut ties with her completely after the whole mess.
Their business took a hit too–word was they’d gone bankrupt.
Some people said it was karma.
I didn’t have an opinion either way.
Compared to what she’d been through, I’d suffered way more.
But at least justice hadn’t been completely absent.
The bad guy got what was coming to her.
(0)
(0)
22:49
