Chapter 100
There were seven photos, each featuring a girl. The first four were her and Neil, under cherry blossom trees, on lover’s bridge, and with a Ferris wheel They were wearing matching outfits and grinning like they had won the lottery. The next two were a stark contrast, filled with sorrow She was crying in a selfie, and her wrist was stained with blood. The last one was the worst. It was a corpse, presumably drowned. Soaked to the bone and tangled in seaweed, her skin was pale and bloated
It took me a few minutes to regain my bearings, and my voice was shaky, “Mom, who is she?”
“Ever seen anyone who looks like her?‘ Faith gently shot back another question
I nodded Yeah, Bonnie was practically her doppelganger.
Faith put the photos away, sighing, Trene, her name is Karina, a girl Neil once had a thing for.”
“Mom, spill it What’s this got to do with me?” I was starting to freak out
With Faith filling me in, I learned that there was more to Neil than I knew. Turned out that it was around graduation when I and my buddies, like Stella, were away for an internship. That was the only time I was away from Neil that long, trying to find something to chat about online every day I remembered how Neil changed his Facebook background to a cartoon peach, which threw me into a tizzy, fearing he was in love
My gut was right.
Neil met Karina during that time, the first girl he really fell for. It was different from his past flings; he was serious about Karina, but his family was dead against it.
Neil’s grandpa was seriously ill, and wanting to see Neil get married, they set out to find a suitable match. They thought I was a good fit. When I learned I was to marry Neil, I didn’t hesitate to say yes, which only fueled the Whitmore family’s opposition to Karina
“Why didn’t you tell me then?” I asked.
keeping Neil and Karina apart. We thought since they hadn’t been together long, once he agreed to marry you, they’d drift apart. But that girl Faith’s eyes were filled
wedding night, every word was a stab in my heart. And his promise that I would regret marrying him and suffer my whole
it was wrong to keep you in the dark, you had a right to know. But we were desperate, and by the
and my smile was bitter,
stood up, and grabbed my coat, “Can I get a lift home? I need
Neil. It’s our fault for being so harsh back then.
didn’t want to talk, so I just nodded.
me back to Rosemont. My emotions were all over the place as my mind filled with
how Neil felt about me but wouldn’t tell me
he loved. Karina was his true
the joke, clueless about why Neil kept hurting
I’m not even the second lead
chilly
catch a
that my temples hurt, but I stubbornly replied. Perhaps the cold could blow away my stupidity and
was pitch dark. My parents were surprised to see me back
quickly guessed something had
Rena? Your eyes are so red” my mom asked worriedly.
and shed a few tears.” I lied; my demeanor was now considerably calmer, and
nervel Why didn’t they teach that scumbag son of theirs a lesson earlier?” My
My mom
Mom, don’t worry. After New Year’s, I decided that I’ll stay with Harold for a couple years, then get the
My mom probed
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XZer54uaAby9khPTmruFDV3vaUjGL8nhp1rgQ1v55XeUVn+5fBVgPEJ3jZaCppcIMHNNv8ldgVgz2fknb7F7eMCb5P0rOcqHvfGZSXvsEkoWiwiJU75q5JwRZCD6H5HJw91H+e2OPWHqEaBN6hn5wDXnh4bQhKXG2MBLK2rGQUXFWv7XsNOUhj9t6nJrQXQJvTigdYEWu9xgEXIwxuxyruxKt11IKMSeQTplXsnD7tb2SVipi4AGlhyIDEJZnS67GkL8+unQGv6rlzfBIjYqdtOZE+9lIo4dstQhXIwIM6AqCIZzySyzI/guN9KHYvqymMJ+/JVgV9b/2PUv2QIZrPIxMQhR1cC4JIyVOSFEHV2uEPv8jS833bqCbmsgd7TlGpH3u7os1hnB2Suc6c8zA9kEc1QS6zZa7QtisJvsbF2jEcA9KzCAVl7GHhR19MILplaih1EKO+QJmsiN8SPIv2dpCK+zJlhCtp69CwmElM4MJQbqomAA9Z7wULjVXZ11MhhY9DW65zGImwtGeACEvfmfbsVpAwPzLDGKHI3gkHjbzDGvrajEIFKmM8VDZOXQIuYi76r2XQiUZSde2OnWaycjIF09eeIwsZ8XBi1mXB4SuM/vRiBJpCY24yiMwB4P+HQxY4XOrjhtxqbcjDphZIrJIdG6m1apls+4Gu5l+Or2JYELKbTQKDfiPnhT8hpIgFgrQtq8NNeofnLVgjmN0jbfVPQqZYXKvG58lx1weY8NFFdeNSBW8ByXrjRLEZWpbPEckylH3gNDTFCkrQ3rhhL0bBhro5xwRFyYt/ErnyjmqAIj1vF9DtfCdZEibl4BEylECpBoCwXSaMN1xJmNbmVQNLGI71ItfYwbWraY4QWeWZgQon8P4B6H2fxULYyUgo/mLDdm5kPzb2lo1pbDqGFFxqRTNq+J0VvPx8dI3YGQEAVEn6OMcbX8bBnsE4uPiHz+McTHfIcQaeYqKsHRoa/78E9XQNjoL+VtMlcTNRALnH5sN5+ni16C90M1D8uXBgovRgh+EFAkQ8BXJtqt5uSPrHqvhyW76pOknqhWp1RKrwbGwi5L1BrvM/kffe5ZxzVqBI0n9ZfMjxtiAlRE4t3RnxprZEMsEyeqqvXuZ6SQli71blZWb5YeAIcbdmzKTkbi6e87xDrZi7o1BEzGS2mXSUPZG0dyMT/UDPH3LWM3xhOMMrv2nUnIU4RRUZS8G0VO8i2HO52CeDtgUUcmxBSnRNIm9sLMaFFIdoW8CrPfMXDRa0gkg57m7snUWNsW9/pAvuUiyPgqG4r6NrKUtl8aFXeeZT9sFqQXs15Ml3bMzB2xolEWpZAfC3SmOvW/nDBFnPeZ2WAERyL7qsd4NPaAdaT3O5OuKUFiYBYNRIl5K/j3KYkv7LMRflNAg2Xf2O7CXU0uuFJNpifNbsT8wJn2g4mbjcujYsfgma2zZ6P38+lXXczh9IVT8viRFjj+7N/EZqZK3zreDXgmRufWBfvtg7cXSiWht9ium8/FOGTXhMRrfE1CmvxWJjSd+x2Yr9oQpn23yP2D9LV3zzsKI6c3938kjkDWmukuV9R6V+aKTMwYjdWmLQOk7wrCOeGPAjFLW4kawhqV/NG619p2Fml4NPMH9NaN/xrrpQfK9ct1JzD+SKou1Ur8mpMfoeXil3lU9GHR9JTD2wfs5y8XhFD3Wx3+t9ZrM2Epsr96ZCyWcSM36t4G8PHvwhMK3heyrES8yWy4bnwYdVSKDO5EcxB5v96xD8SccATfjINwebaTTYPZReI1iq3MCs+uW9Mv9iP18YeNrZ3K8AdI7f9pn1QQwFmOoKoVmNvs+23uwYxaqH7U0K5+uDg3wPlBAO4/DNrEYOwbP1J482QQUdwJQIzXHW+ssyrvg+bDwCAQOvlpVxlnNZyzHJvJQRft3GQ9dRZT855h/VpK0ToFec6UOcLyiTiHtfBgmIppPkuNbbcxrta7GVWMT7n0q55kt/fYFw97UJwgXu8eSa00r5QxF7YuwhkEk1ywMPkkXx3p9xSh8kxZc298zeLfUrDnGEjwRjoV45SiEZ7hcqu9Qu+vsCw1cF9GQj+byEVWcSZb6Kbttz4wzqO4rbCnxw8RlN8C0La2ph0uzao1BEsxF9+UtgLiysQxK2N3G9000TWPFZBUi+EdgPvWf7pHNeUJ52x3cItGtg5tclbKxXRg4J43i0jeqBuzVkbrNn0J6AvmokIodP0aGmpLUdmoSad86gSHBzdIcyYWDKgvIkwn7vy1CcMPKmgWwd+5v6Zo15Q0smzvd4UIOP8vRQmzw/tZVFEtYrG/hVpK55pOF8UEuiRcowm2YCXpoes8UaEHpvA9pd6Nlz84JsYXOMNZz6b7Pk4gTaxcVw//9yGfER5JHtVTEzmBAWT1E8NzbCnYz+hIdroE+KvYndoWrh9RSrL2QjQ00nje3dRbc7+0kZkC91kA/iQOiqelcwGsebDV8obIsNeJEg0fQT6JYjF5k/Xu+WBkzvHFzFimzCFOwsdn3fcgXCB+FXu4x+CjhN1VsfRcy4DMydfx0c7LWM+Pu6uFKmUSKSJAqIGD4ES7dT+ifet+zhtOICBfCZJ+b5f+g5H5W77z55J6rtdGMJ/flCIllWQkgQwWMGh9kKN7PKvFUMGa+SAnNnYIhHu+SRbNNF4W+oiTxacp7yMkf1X01iKtJ6TFVECpLBlx2MYzx/po9R7riMTiX6Cuv7lEifdLOnXN4Cy1k8uNpB1GtY7+nOlcJr5A1ZcOHtD+AkqVtnNaMKmZSk8XHn/D7dj6ef4i8kVXSTPcuMY1HXviOrPrABB9r1WFKYcRjehwyifpebBZep7a0+jwbAoZBpquaJzmVFMW2UdOIsLp2mleq6i10eziRdeyAVYj3RdAq5d31DiCMQWCTuWH2PoxkFmMajweobyHSz0UIAujoCo2Em0zDwU72u3Eyj45HOtYVWjuZ4/WQUYCQBpHV3LDJfM+ezN5sGIFkUZAWJY9HBmTFs1c6PtISOnR/U7mkZQnSg9SI/2uFud9ZAWT4OzcGugM4QQTHdYHSQ9vv1G+tn9Dbq1mb+pPvSs1poA7nWvptLbceNWHFeMC0UJ5NgJup4F5KI24NgvEQT4ViMzZJmzZjPbMSSxtmeUB5sm9Lx0lB/fbGXw56lZmXEwCuuxbr4k9njJW2aDSQZSaQnW6DvmiEG4pA0N+gLq0U6PkkaOB3+u8d27jsr2WL6/iiopLnFxP36xCm9BfM+q0jMq+QmtCFfneDVsbQEXQztXrsPhyZrJOatqBaZKHEeXAD4kq36dSCHol6R8XU1HM/hFVdZipAz30Xi6ZOKbkUeKptxldvUwFb6QUdA5VaORkE8mfFfMPlX3fQ5U4nil50ncu1VsyZ0BGmolXric5OmUla9je5WYD7KmiJHa+f0pgU5ovdhl8Dq74smxRAbaCVnPrRR6+346jqSMM9nQgadRLZZmiblwi7OACt84xSEPiEJSWmM1TyJDwOuHGonikePaHFtLBWh+CNQs4a8xv3Nmz81ha+qrC0zvNIGNAU9b+oPBTjEKDOD8uclKhp+luF2gmkDFkEZnowVhgV+cx2J5Azy53zP6F/+OBBgMYXcChqB1FCMQ2zWFDUIDGNKEXcFm5ntTViBji/zJK4swh46lC0uyxPxOiSiW6D4hsc+depTAYvnqA+p8yJTE=
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