Shirley
I went through hell for a man I met on an underground forum.
I traded my thick-rimmed glasses for laser eye surgery, wore painful wire braces for two years, and endured agonizing laser treatments for my acne.
A posture coach beat a graceful walk into me with a riding crop.
I clawed my way from being the Pierce family's "four-eyed ugly duckling," the girl nobody looked at twice, and became someone who turned heads.
But the night before we were supposed to meet, I scrolled past a post on another dark web forum.
"Selling my internet girlfriend for cheap. We're meeting soon."
"Been together over a year. Sweet voice, soft personality, great emotional support. DM if interested."
Someone commented to ask why he was dumping such a perfect girl.
The original poster replied: "I paid a hacker to get her address and pull surveillance footage. She's some hideous hillbilly with a mouth full of metal. The sight of her made me sick."
The comment section erupted in jeers:
"I was going to buy her for some fun, but I lost my appetite the second I saw that picture. What an ugly country bumpkin with a mouth full of braces."
"Who would want this kind of trash? She's all yours, hahaha."
Scrolling to the very bottom, only one ID had replied with two words: "DM me."
I tapped on the original poster's avatar and zoomed in. The black cat silhouette was identical to my online boyfriend's profile picture.
The post was dated three months ago.