À mon tour, Monsieur le Persécuteur

SOFIA

The music hit me like a slap when I pushed open the door. It was loud, very loud. The kind of volume that made your chest vibrate and scattered your thoughts.

The party was even wilder than I imagined.

I gripped the handle of my gym bag tighter and froze near the entrance, engulfed by the lights, the bodies, and the music. Everyone was dancing, shouting, living life to the fullest. I simply stood there.

Of course, I hadn't been invited. They had a strict rule: no nerds. Erica's so-called emergency was the only reason I was there. Her emergency? She'd ordered me to bring the expensive jewelry Dad had bought her, without even considering giving me anything. Typical. She probably wanted to show it off to her friends.

I nervously adjusted my glasses and scanned the area. Yes, I was at the right address, even though I already knew it. I was just checking to be sure.

A trembling breath escaped my lips, forming a cloud in the cold night air behind me. I didn't intend to stay long. I was going to hand him the bag, then disappear into the shadows as I always did.

I went in completely.

It was worse than I'd feared. The crowd engulfed me completely. The flashing lights blinded me. The music made it difficult to think straight. Everyone seemed to be in their element: tight dresses, perfect hair, designer perfumes.

And then there was me: short, chubby, baggy sweatshirt, clumsy. I might as well have been wearing a neon sign saying "loser".

"Get out of here, you piece of shit."

"Ugh. Is this the ugly duckling of the school?"

"What's she doing here? Ashton would never invite her."

Their words pierced me more deeply than the music. I kept my head down, praying I'd spot Erica and leave as quickly as possible.

Then I heard his voice.

"Well, well, look what the wind has brought."

I looked up. She was there, perfect as always. Erica. My sister.

Her face was effortlessly beautiful, her makeup flawless, her smile dazzling. Her dress clung to her perfect figure as if it had been sewn directly onto her skin. She was magnetic. I was invisible.

Except tonight.

My lips parted slightly. "I... I brought you..."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes dramatically as she approached. "Are you really crashing this party? Are you that desperate to fit in?"

"No, I mean... I'm just..."

"Pathetic." Her eyes shone with cruelty. "Truly pathetic."

I tried to step back to hand her the bag and leave. But she wasn't finished.

"What do you have there?" she asked, loud enough to make heads turn.

"It's your..."

"Oh wow. You've started stealing now?" His voice echoed with feigned surprise. "So that's your thing? Stealing at parties? Someone call security."

Hiccups. Laughter. Whispers.

My eyes widened. "What? No! You asked me to…"

The slap came out of nowhere. His palm slapped against my cheek, leaving it burning and red.

"Liar!" she screamed dramatically. "You disgust me."

Tears welled up in my eyes. My voice trembled. "Erica, please..."

"Shut up!" she barked, playing to the crowd. "Everyone, watch out! This thief could take your phones too!"

The music dropped slightly, as if the speakers themselves wanted to hear the humiliation. Then the insults began.

"Disgusting."

"It looks like it came out of a trash can."

"I didn't even know she could talk."

Something cold hit my chest: a half-eaten slice of pizza. Then other things followed. French fries. A drink. Popcorn. Someone actually threw popcorn.

Each projectile struck me like a blow to the chest, not because it hurt physically, but because the pain in my heart was more intense.

I turned to leave, broken, soaked, my eyes misty.

But she wasn't finished yet.

Erica snatched my glasses off.

"No!" I cried, blindly holding out my hands. "Erica, please! I can't see anything without them! I need them to get home!"

"Oh. Is the little nerd blind?" she announced to the crowd, strong and delighted. "That must be why she couldn't read the part she wasn't invited to!"

Laughter erupted. I felt naked. Powerless.

Then she leaned close to me, her voice cold and intimate. "That's what you deserve for showing your stupid, perfect results to Mom and Dad. Give you lessons? Never."

I collapsed. Silently. Inwardly. As the music resumed at full volume and the crowd returned to the party, I remained motionless, soaked, trembling, and blind.

Then everything stopped again.

A silence swept through the room. The kind of silence that only one person could impose.

Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Cold.

I couldn't see him, but I felt his presence like ice on my skin. Then, suddenly, he was right in front of us.

Ashton Hall.

The god of Lakeside. The prince of this artificial kingdom. Tall, broad-shouldered, with silver eyes, and untouchable. His parents owned the school. His crooked smile had its own fan club.

And of course, my lifelong crush.

Not that he ever noticed me.

"What's going on here?" Her voice was calm, but the whole room bowed around her.

Erica immediately changed her demeanor. She let out a soft little squeal and slipped her arm under his. "Honey, that loser crashed your party and started stealing things. I'm so embarrassed for her."

My heart sank.

"No, I didn't steal anything..."

He looked at me. Or perhaps through me.

"I would never invite an ugly nerd like you to my party," he said coldly. "Why are you even here?"

The first words he ever spoke to me. And they cut deeper than all the food thrown away.

I sat up, trembling. "I'm sorry. I'm going to leave. I just... need to clean myself up first."

"It doesn't matter. Get out of here." His face didn't move. His jaw was clenched.

I turned and walked quickly, blindly advancing through the large house. I didn't even know where I was going. Without my glasses, each corridor felt like a maze of mirrors. After several wrong doors, I pushed on another, breathing heavily.

It was calm.

Dark atmosphere. Elegant. Minimalist. The complete opposite of the chaos outside.

I entered, dizzy and trembling, letting my fingers slide along the wall. My skin brushed against a velvet fresco when, suddenly, arms wrapped around me from behind.

My whole body tensed up.

I didn't come to this party to end up like someone's drunken mistake. "Let go of me! I'm not... I said stop!"

I struggled. Weak punches. Disorganized movements. But the hands were stronger.

Then they made me turn around, face to chest, face to silence.

And I saw it.

Ashton.