Chapter 7
The echo of their laughter didn't leave her ears. Even after she stumbled out into the night, the sound clung to her like chains, wrapping around her heart until it bled. Every mocking word replayed, sharper than knives.
She walked aimlessly through the empty streets, her breath fogging in the air, her steps uneven. Her hands still clutched the ribbon from the gift she had dropped in the snow, the ribbon wet and crumpled now—just like her heart.
She had imagined tonight so differently. She thought they would laugh together under the stars, maybe share a quiet moment where she could tell him how much he meant to her. Instead, all she carried was humiliation.
When she closed her eyes, she saw his face again. The flicker of guilt in his eyes before he smirked. That moment when he could have told the truth. Could have saved her. Could have chosen her.
But he didn't.
And the smirk… it cut deeper than anything else.
Was I really nothing more than a joke? she thought, her chest tightening. Do I deserve nothing but hate?
Her tears blurred the snow-covered streets, but still, she kept walking. Every step felt heavier than the last.
At school the next day, whispers followed her like shadows. Students laughed behind their hands. Some sneered openly.
"Can you believe she actually fell for it?"
"So pathetic…"
"No wonder nobody wants her."
She lowered her gaze, gripping her books tightly. She wanted to vanish, to melt into the floor, to stop existing.
But even then, part of her heart betrayed her. It still whispered, maybe he didn't mean it. Maybe he'll come find me.
It was hope—fragile, poisonous hope—that hurt her even more.
Late that night, she lay in her tiny room, the laughter still ringing in her head. Shadows clung to the walls, stretching long and sharp. She curled into herself, pressing her hands over her ears as if she could block it all out.
But she couldn't.
The shadows mocked her too. They whispered his words over and over, until she no longer knew if she was crying from heartbreak… or from madness.
And in that lonely darkness, she made a silent vow.
If no one believes in me, then I will believe in myself.
If all they can give me is laughter in shadows…
…then I will rise from those shadows, no matter how broken I am.