Although Alex had apologised to Emily, his heart was still heavy with guilt over how things had unfolded with her.Her words echoed in his mind, and he could not shake the feeling that he had not truly made amends. But the damage was already done. As much as it killed him, he knew ending things with her was the only way to avoid further complications. Still, the guilt gnawed at him relentlessly.He shuddered, gripped by shame, as the thought of people whispering cruel names about her because of his cowardice and ego cut him deep.“If only I had stood up against my parents or had been braver and stronger to face down Santiago's threats and attacks instead of folding under the pressure, none of this would have happened.” He berated himself for dragging her into the mess."She didn't deserve any of this," he muttered under his breath, clenching his fists. If only he'd been braver and stronger and faced down Santiago's threats instead of folding under the pressure.He knew he needed to

Emily's daily life had become an unending stream of insults and jeers. The name-calling and humiliation by people every day had pressed down on her, beginning to take a serious toll on her spirit, hence making it hard to focus on or find joy in anything. She had expected that overcoming the bullying would be challenging, but it was far more difficult than she had imagined. The derogatory remarks and sneers followed her even into her workplace, making her professional life equally unbearable.One fateful afternoon, as she exited her last class of the day, she felt an unusual fatigue wash over her. Her vision blurred, and the hallway around her seemed to spin. Students walked by, engrossed in their conversations and routines, oblivious to her situation.Desperately, she reached out to steady herself against the wall, but her strength waned rapidly. Her legs gave out, but before she could crumple to the floor, a firm hand cut her back as the sounds of footsteps and chatter became di

“Who is there?” She asked in frustration.The person behind the door was Amara.Emily asked her what she wanted, but she requested that she open the door.Cleaning her tears, Emily went to open the door.They greeted each other while she stood at the doorway.“What happened?” Amara inquisitively asked her.“What do you mean?” Emily replied.“I've been hearing your sob for the past few minutes.” Concern was laced in her tone.“It's nothing. I'm fine.” She sniffed.But Amara did not believe her. “Can I come in?”Emily hesitated for a split second before finally letting her in.Amara stood in the middle of the room, certain that something was wrong with her, as Emily walked past her and sat on the bed.Emily sat on the bed beside Amara afterwards. “What happened? Don't forget, I'm here for you.” Amara's voice was barely above a whisper as she asked Emily.“I'm fine. Really.” Emily chuckled nervously, still insisting.“Did something happen at school? Did someone hurl an abusive word at y

Alex scrunched his face in confusion.“Have it,” Emily said again since he was hesitant to collect the report from her hand, only staring at it.After he had reluctantly collected it from her hand, he sat on the bed to read the content.His mouth hung open in utter disbelief as a strangled cry caught in his throat as the words on the report seemed to leap off the page at him. A searing pain lanced through his skull, as if someone was driving nails into his brain with each damning sentence he read.“What mess have I gotten myself into? Why has disaster been lurking around me recently? When I thought I had gotten rid of this affair? Now this?!” Knowing that the news getting out to the public was a deal-breaker to his complete downfall, he tried to think of a way to get over the new mess. “I have to get rid of his shit. I need to.” He swore inwardly.If Isabella was out of the picture in his life, it would have been good news for him even with Santiago’s strikes effects He shook his

“What’s that for?” Sarah held where the slap landed on her cheeks as her eyes widened in shock.Emily glared at Sarah, fury burning in her eyes."You blabbed my secret to the whole world! And don't act all innocent, trying to 'help me' out there." She made air quotes.Sarah met Emily's gaze; her expression was one of wide-eyed innocence. "You have to believe me, Emily. I didn't do it."Emily scoffed loudly. "Really? You expect me to believe that?" Then how did the media find out?""You must have told Alex," Sarah insisted."He is probably the one who leaked it, because it definitely wasn't me." She shook her head adamantly, maintaining her innocence.Emily rolled her eyes at Sarah's performance. She had learned plenty about Alex since their breakup, and she was certain he could not do such a thing."Alex couldn't have done that," Emily stated flatly, staring Sarah down and waiting for her to finally confess the truth.“It’s not me, to be honest. I’m not lying. What would be gained if