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Jake pressed on,“You're the one who got me trending,ruined me.You owe me compensation.”
Lily scoffed,“That's your fault for being a creep,hitting on foreign women.I was embarrassed to be seen with you.Look at you now—you're a shadow of a man. You make me sick.”
With a loud crash, Jake slammed his fist on the table, losing his patience.
Lily shrank,silenced.
Then,shockingly,he knelt before her,begging,“Please,just this once.I swear I’ll vanish forever.Please.”
I was taken aback—his audacity seemed limitless.
Diners stared,some snapping photos.I cringed.
But Lily thrived on the attention,growing even more bold.
She refused him money,piling on insults.“Jake,you’re pathetic.I’ve never seen a sorrier man,haha!”
Her laughter rang,but I sensed Jake’s shift.
Suddenly,he lunged,pinning her throat.
I leapt back,dodging.
Lily,caught off guard,kicked with her stilettos,breaking free.
Jake grabbed a fork,chasing her.
The restaurant emptied in a hurry as people scrambled to get out of the way.
Lily screamed,“Help me!”
But no one moved to intervene.Spotting me,she yelled,“Emma Harper!”
She reached out for my arm,but I stepped aside,refusing to be dragged into her mess.
Lily always dragged me into her troubles at critical moments.
Jake tackled her again,eyes wild,raising the fork.
In a flash,she screamed,“It’s Emma!She's the one behind all this!It’s not me!”
My heart raced,fearing Jake would turn on me.
But the sight of blood snapped the crowd into action,restraining him.
Police arrived and hauled Jake away.
Lily was rushed to the hospital.
I gave my statement and then headed home.
On the way,I shivered—Jake had come dangerously close to violence.
At home,I curled up next to Mom,her hair still dark,grateful to be alive.
I told her everything—from the start of the ill-fated trip to the present.
Mom held me,heartbroken.“Lily never had a proper upbringing.Her parents neglected her—it’s a tragedy.”
“You did so much for her. Do you regret it?”I asked.
I expected a “yes”,but she shook her head.“I did what I could to guide her. But her heart was already set on a dark path.”
“Emma,I had a nightmare recently.You were shot abroad,and Lily used you as a shield.You died for nothing.I fought for justice,but the internet said you deserved it.My kind Emma,wrong blamed…”
My nose stung,tears streaming.“I’m here,Mom.I’ll stay with you forever.”
I was determined to live well,watching those who harmed us fall into hell.
Jake got ten years for attempted murder.
Word spread that he went insane in prison, confessing all his misdeeds,cursing,Lily,that bitch.”
A junior high dropout,he’d lucked into fame with a viral video.
But he was rotten,and meeting Lily waslike two pieces of filth coming together.
