Only Fool Me Once

I had been trapped in this pitch-black room for three excruciating months.

It wasn't until the leader of the kidnappers received a call that I saw a glimmer of hope. A woman's voice came through the line. "She's not dead yet, is she? Let her go."

Only then was I released.

But before they let me leave, I endured yet another round of inhumane torment.

By then, such treatment had become routine. My body was broken, my spirit numb.

The man buttoned his pants after finishing, spat on me, and sneered, "How pathetic. Look at this ruined body. Let's see how you'll ever show your face again, Miss Privileged Superstar!"

After they left, I lay motionless for three whole hours before finally mustering the strength to stand.

I didn't know where to go—I just wanted to escape this nightmare. Somehow, my aimless stumbling led me to the heart of the city. But instead of salvation, I was greeted by a barrage of blinding flashes.

Dozens of cameras were shoved into my face, their owners mercilessly snapping pictures of my disheveled, ruined state.

Upset that I stood frozen, someone even tugged at my coat, exposing me further.

A microphone was shoved toward me.

"Ms. Keller, where have you been for the past three months?"

"How do you respond to the explicit videos leaked three months ago?"

"Rumor has it you've been with the same men from those videos during your absence. Is that true?"

"Are the injuries on your body from intimate encounters with those men?"

"After all this, are you considering a career in adult films?"

The questions kept coming, each one more cutting than the last. My head pounded with pain, the noise unbearable.

I crouched to the ground, overwhelmed.

Three months ago, I was a rising star in the entertainment world, heralded as the "Most Promising Actress".

These same reporters had clamored to interview me then.

Now, they were here again—but this time, their questions were steeped in mockery and degradation.

I shut my eyes tightly in despair.

The star they once adored, Olivia Keller, was dead. What remained was a woman branded a disgrace—a pariah of Antevia.

The crowd suddenly quieted.

I opened my eyes, half-hoping for a reprieve, only to meet Lonnie Vaughn's cold, unyielding gaze.

My legs gave out beneath me.

Here stood the man I once loved most, and yet all I felt was sheer terror.

Lonnie lit a cigarette, his expression as detached as ever. Exhaling a stream of smoke, he spoke in a tone laced with disdain, "After three months of discipline, I hope you've learned your lesson. At the very least, don't embarrass Grandpa again."

Every word dripped with contempt, as though I were guilty of some unspeakable crime.

He didn't even look at me as he spoke, just like that day three months ago, when I had groveled before him, pleading for him to believe me.

Back then, he had shoved me away and said with icy finality, "You disgust me."