Chapter 2

"I set you up on a date," Mom said. "He's from a good family, and his parents own a successful business. You're not getting any younger. It's time you started thinking about settling down."

"I don't want a relationship." My voice trembled despite my best efforts.

Mom sighed. "I'm only trying to do what's best for you."

"Besides, didn't you write about it in your diary? You said there was a boy you liked. So, why are you suddenly claiming you don't want a relationship?"

My hands went still. "My diary?"

She looked completely unapologetic. "What? I'm your mother. Since when am I not allowed to read your diary?"

A sudden chill swept through me.

I was ushered into a private dining room.

A man was already seated across the table. He had deeply tanned skin and a gold ring on one finger.

Before we walked in, Mom had given me the basics. He was divorced and had a son.

He'd gone to community college. According to Mom, that made him a perfect match for someone like me, since all I had was a high school diploma.

I'd never gone to college because, during my senior year, someone reported me for cheating on my final exams.

I swore I hadn't done it.

But the security footage showed me looking at a cheat sheet.

Mom was so ashamed of me that she pulled me out of school before I could graduate.

The moment I walked in, the man's eyes traveled slowly from my face to my feet and back again, as though I were something he was considering buying.

Mom immediately launched into an enthusiastic introduction. "This is my daughter. She's never even had a boyfriend. She's very innocent."

My hands were shaking as I sat down.

"She's pretty," the man said, looking me over again. "A little too skinny, though."

He poured me a glass of water and slid it across the table. "If you're willing to marry me, I'll give your mother ten thousand dollars to help with the wedding."

That was a lot of money in a small town like ours.

I gave him a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

"I've never had a boyfriend," I said. "But I'm not a virgin."

Under the table, Mom pinched my thigh hard. Her nails dug painfully into my skin before she let go.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said with an awkward laugh. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

The man's expression changed instantly.

My thigh still stung where Mom had pinched me, but beneath the pain came a strange flicker of satisfaction.

"My stepfather assaulted me when I was 18."

The man clicked his tongue and shot Mom an annoyed look. "You should've told me that before. That changes things. Ten thousand is out of the question. I'd give you… maybe a thousand."

From ten thousand dollars to one thousand.

Mom's face went livid. She rounded on me, furious. "What is wrong with you? Why do you have to lie about everything? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

"I'm not lying," I said.

Mom was so furious that she slapped me again.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned back to the man with an ingratiating smile. "Please, don't listen to her. My daughter is still a virgin. She just has a terrible habit of making things up! I'm her mother. I know everything there is to know about her."

The man saw how desperate she was and gave a contemptuous little smile.

"Forget the thousand. I'm not paying anything upfront anymore." He looked at me as he spoke. "Tell you what. Once she marries me, I'll give her four hundred dollars a month for expenses. That's more than enough to keep her fed.

"Can't say I'm not being generous."

I picked up the glass of water in front of me and threw it in his face.

He shot to his feet and slapped me across the face.

The impact sent me stumbling back two steps. My lower back struck the edge of the table, and a dull ache shot through me.

The half-closed door to the private room swung open.

Several people outside peered in, drawn by the commotion.

Mom's chest heaved as she pointed a trembling finger at me. "Why do you have to lie? Why would you say something like that and ruin your own reputation?"

The man wiped the water from his face, muttering something about me being crazy and this whole thing being a waste of his time.

Then he turned and headed for the door.

Mom hurried after him, trying to stop him, but he shoved her aside without so much as a backward glance.

Voices drifted in from the hallway, one after another.

"What's wrong with that girl?"

"Her mother went to all this trouble to set her up with someone, and that's how she behaves?"

"And saying something like that about herself in front of everyone? Has she got no shame?"

Mom looked like she was at the end of her rope. She glared at me with a mixture of anger and bitter disappointment. "She's always been like this! Ever since she was little, it's been one lie after another. She lies about everything!"

The livestream chat was moving so fast I could barely read it.

"Oh, my God. So, she's not just a compulsive liar. She's completely unhinged too. Her mom was nice enough to set her up on a date. If she didn't like the guy, she could've just said no. Who says something like that about themselves?"

"And she's still accusing her stepdad? The newspaper literally reported that he was out of state the night she claimed it happened. He couldn't have done anything to her."

"Honestly, she deserved that slap. I'm getting angry just watching this. Her poor mother must be at her wits' end."

In the end, Mom dragged me home.

She locked me in the utility closet with the same practiced ease she'd done it countless times before.

It had always been my punishment room. Whenever Mom decided I'd told a lie, that was where she put me.