No More Forgiveness Tokens

"No!" I shouted. "Dave, why should I let this go? She destroyed my reputation and my career! Why the hell should I just accept it? I'm suing her for defamation. She's paying for this."

My eyes burned red as I stared at him, refusing to back down even an inch.

"Bianca, you—" Dave exhaled sharply, already gearing up to defend her again.

But Maggie grabbed his sleeve, her eyes instantly turning red.

"Dave, stop. I know this is my fault. If Bianca wants to sue me, then let her." She sniffled harder. "I shouldn't have gotten jealous. I shouldn't have been upset that Bianca married you. This all happened because of me. Maybe if I'd just held on a little longer back then..."

The more she talked, the harder she cried.

"Bianca, I really know I messed up. I'll do anything if it means you'll forgive me. Please don't make things difficult for Dave. If it'll make you feel better, I'll go turn myself in right now and clear your name. Worst case, my reputation gets ruined too. Just don't let this destroy your relationship."

Maggie's pathetic little act worked instantly.

Dave's expression turned cold again.

"Bianca, Maggie already admitted she was wrong. Don't drag this out any further." His voice hardened. "Besides, your reputation's already destroyed anyway. Why not just retire from modeling, stay home, and enjoy being a rich housewife instead?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

Even now, he was still protecting her.

I opened my mouth to argue again, but the next second, his hand slammed across my face.

Pain exploded through my cheek.

His palm was red. His breathing was rough. Rage twisted in his eyes in a way I'd never seen before.

Then he threw a waiver at me.

"Be good and sign it. Once this blows over, I'll help you go back to the industry." His voice turned icy. "But if you call the cops, don't even think about leaving this house."

"I'm not signing it!"

I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

But no matter how hard I fought or how fiercely I refused, Dave still forced my wrist down and dragged my hand across the waiver until my signature was written on it.

The second I collapsed onto the floor, a pain I'd never felt before spread through my entire body.

Helplessness.

Misery.

Like something sharp ripping straight through my chest.

The two of them walked away, still chatting casually while my world burned down around me.

Their voices drifted into my ears like poison.

"Dave, will Bianca be okay...?"

"She'll be fine. As long as she still wants a comeback, she has to listen to me." He sounded completely unconcerned. "Worst case, I'll just count this as another forgiveness token. There are still plenty left anyway. She'll behave."

No.

There weren't plenty left anymore.

There was only one.

Dave, I'm done being your puppet.

I sat there for a long time before finally going back to my room and pulling out my diary.

People always said the modeling industry was just as dirty as the entertainment world.

Maybe it was.

But I really loved this career.

The confidence I felt standing under the runway lights—that was the only time I ever felt like I truly mattered.

And now all of it was ruined.

Maybe this was fate telling me to let go already.

To stop holding on to something that was dead.

Crying silently, I wrote down everything that happened today in my diary.

Then at the very end, I added:

[289]

Every time Dave hurt me, I wrote it down to remind myself not to go soft on him again.

Then suddenly, his voice came from behind me.

"What does 289 mean?"

***

The second I saw him reaching for the diary, I snapped it shut and shoved it into the drawer.

"It's nothing."

He caught the panic on my face and seemed to realize something.

"You girls are all the same. Always keeping little grudge journals. This is that revenge notebook thing you talked about before, huh?"

He meant the time after our marriage registration, when he lost our rings during the wedding ceremony we held later.