Mask Off at the Christmas Party

By the time we were halfway through the meal, everyone had already added me on WhatsApp. After all, gatherings like this were never just about catching up. People came to show off and to network.

Watching them all act like their lives were perfect, I smiled.

Because soon, they were going to end up like rats in a gutter.

…

I used a phone call as an excuse to step outside for some air, and on my way back, I stopped by the restroom.

I was about to leave when I heard Melissa and Vexana's voices.

"Melissa, I seriously didn't expect that idiot to be doing this well now. But what about what happened back then—"

"Shut up!" Melissa snapped. "What happened back then? We were kids. We just wanted to befriend her. Besides, she's fine now, isn't she? Look at her. Do you really think she can afford a Rolls-Royce? She's probably just putting on a show. For all we know, she's just a driver for her boss."

"That makes sense. You're always right, Melissa."

…

I stood in the stall and listened to them laugh as they left.

They weren't going to be laughing much longer.

When I got back to the private room, Melissa immediately steered the conversation again.

"Brianna, it's been ten years. Everyone thought you weren't doing well, and that's why you didn't want to come."

She was deliberately dragging it back to high school, trying to get a reaction out of me.

Melissa came from money. She was the classic rich, pretty girl, and everyone in our class treated her like royalty. She didn't have to clean or wipe the blackboard, and her desk was always stuffed with snacks and little gifts.

After all, she had no shortage of followers.

She had been the one to approach me first, acting like she wanted to be friends.

It was only because Zachary had said he would tutor me in math.

In class, she played the role of the gentle friend who shared snacks and helped me out.

After school, she was the one who brought a gang of people with her and locked me in a small, dark room.

In the pitch-black storage room, she'd tape my mouth shut and slap used toilet paper over my eyes.

When I tried to resist, it only got worse.

When I told the teacher, Melissa was always the first to apologize. She insisted it was just friends messing around.

When I told Dad, he forgave her after seeing her face and scolded me instead, saying I wasn't being friendly with my classmates.

Later, I found out why.

Melissa's mother was the first woman Dad had ever fallen in love with and never gotten over. Mom, on the other hand, never once heard him call her his wife before she died.

After that, Melissa became even bolder.

The worst incident was when she hit me over and over with her heels and forced me to hurt myself. Then she posted about it on Instagram, packaging herself as the one who had saved me.

Dad only paid the medical bills. After that, he never cared again.

I kept telling myself to hold on. Just half a year more, and I could take the SAT and take control of my own life.

After that incident, I requested my own seat, and Melissa finally settled down.

I thought she was scared.

Only later did I learn the truth.

Zachary and Melissa had been together from the start. He chose to sit with me, tutor me, and act kind only because they had fought and wanted to make her jealous.

Years later, I heard from a friend that they broke up after graduation.

Now, Melissa had married an old, ugly, rich heir for her family's benefit. Even after getting married, she still stayed entangled with Zachary.

"I'm doing okay," I said. "But you probably haven't been doing great lately. I heard your dad's company has been short on cash and caught up in bad press, and that it's about to be acquired by Radiant Group."

"What are you talking about?"

Melissa shot to her feet, pointing at me and dropping the image she'd worked so hard to build. "When is my company getting acquired? Stop making things up!"