Chapter 3
Alistair went silent.
The only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor–beep, beep, beep–like it was counting down whatever was left between us.
Outside, the night was pitch black. Light from the street lamps crept through the blinds, casting uneven shadows on the floor.
After forever, he finally spoke up. “Seraphina said you were always acting all innocent, but deep down you’re actually really shallow. She wanted me to see how you’d handle it when someone messed with your perfect image.”
His voice dropped so low I could barely make it out. “She told me the hot sauce water would splash on your face and embarrass you, but then you’d just rinse it off and be fine.”
“She also said…” He hesitated. “She said this would show me if you really loved me. Like, if you actually cared about me, you wouldn’t flip out over something so stupid.”
I shut my eyes.
So that’s what I was to Alistair. Someone who needed “testing.”
My love was something that had to be “proven.”
Twenty years of friendship, and I still lost out to some girl he’d known for what, ten months?
Twenty years together, and I couldn’t even get basic trust.
“You need to leave,” I said.
My voice came out so flat it didn’t even sound like me.
“Aurelia…”
“I said get out!”
I opened my eyes and locked onto his. “And you can tell Seraphina I’m filing charges. Assault. She’s not walking away from this.”
All the color drained from Alistair’s face. “Aurelia, come on, don’t do that. Seraphina… maybe she really didn’t know it was acid…”
“She didn’t know?” I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it. “Watered down to exactly the right strength–enough to wreck my face but not kill me? She didn’t know that?”
“Just happened to pick homecoming night when half the school would be watching? Just happened to get you to hand it to me? She didn’t know?”
“Alistair, are you actually this dumb, or are you just playing dumb?”
His mouth opened but nothing came out.
“Get out!”
I put everything I had left into that scream.
My face felt like it was splitting open, but my chest hurt a thousand times worse.
It hurt so bad I was going numb. So bad I almost wanted to laugh at how pathetic this all was.
Alistair looked like he was going to say something else, but a nurse walked in and cut him off.
22:43
My Childhood Ex Ruined My Face for His Crush? Cute. I Ruined Their Lives
10.5%
Chapter 3
“Sir, the patient needs her rest. You’re going to have to go.”
She was polite but firm.
The door closed behind him.
Finally, some peace.
I lay there as tears slid down my cheeks and soaked into the gauze.
The salt burned like crazy when it hit the raw skin.
But compared to what was happening in my chest? That was nothing.
Twenty years.
Since I was old enough to remember anything, Alistair had been the center of my universe.
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