Chapter 1
I was the first love of a group of villainous teens who idolized me but craved my affection. So they found a substitute for me.
They humiliated her, tormented her, and drove her to tears.
But the moment I returned to the country, they warned me not to bully her.
What a joke.
I was ready to stay away from all of them.
But just then, one of them cornered me, his eyes
cold and dark.
“You know why everyone likes her? Because a goddess that can be desecrated is even more lovable.”
He leaned close to my ear and whispered, “We can hold her, kiss her, and fvck her…”
***
I woke up from the dream, drenched in cold sweat.
This time, I finally saw the ending.
Tomorrow, I was going home.
After I came back, those boys couldn’t decide between me and the Talia, but they kept bullying her.
Then a mysterious man lead took pity on her–used threats and promises to take her away, hiding her like a kept
woman.
That’s when the boys realized their true feelings and started feeling guilty.
And they all pinned the blame on me.
After that…
My family went bankrupt.
And I got seriously ill.
I thought maybe they’d lend me money out of old times‘ sake.
I even swore, “I never meant to bother you. I’m just… dying.”
But they looked down on me and said, “We wouldn’t have lost her if it weren’t for you.”
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Chapter 1
Then one of them grabbed my bony wrist, his eyes dark. “You
“After all, people love a goddess they can drag down to earth.”
But I couldn’t see the face of the boy who held me down.
I didn’t know which of the four he was.
The night was silent, except for the pounding of my heart.
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Just then, my old, fully charged phone chimed with a new message.
I looked down and opened it.
The group chat was flooded with messages.
#
“Talia’s birthday is tomorrow. What are you guys getting her?”
“Duh, the gift is letting her spend the whole day with me.”
“Psycho, get lost. You think we’re just gonna let you have her to yourself?”
“She’s been avoiding me lately. I’m taking her to Avalon Hollywood tomorrow. Time to teach that naughty little kit- ten a lesson.”
“Tsk, don’t go too far. But not gonna lie, she looks kinda hot when she cries.”
A moment later, someone popped up in the group
chat.
“Alice Jensen’s back tomorrow.”
The once–lively group went quiet for a while before someone finally replied.
“Then you guys hang out with Talia tomorrow.”
“Damn, we’ve been teasing Talia so much I forgot all about that. I’m going to see Alice too. I’ll make it up to Talia lat- er for her birthday, cool?”
***
“But with how emotional she is, won’t she actually get upset?”
She’s so annoying. No one else makes this much fuss.
“Okay, I’ll let Alice know. We’ll throw her a welcome–back party in a few days.”
Right after that message, my other phone lit up with a message from Lucas Jacobson.
“Alice! You’re finally back, we missed you so much. We’ve got a competition coming up, so we’ll throw your wel- come party in a few days, cool?”
I replied instantly, “Sure.”
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Chapter 1
Right after that, more messages popped up on the other phone.
“OK, Alice’s fine with it. Focus on celebrating Talia’s birthday tomorrow.”
“Damn, I gave up a chance to see Alice for her–she better give me hugs and cuddles tomorrow.”
“Don’t scare her. She’s such a scaredy–cat.”
I turned off my mobile data before the plane took off.
With no new messages coming in, I scrolled up through the chat.
Two months ago, their messages looked like this.
“God, I miss Alice… Just ruined one of her pics. Anyone got more?”
“Idiot. Poor Alice, having you as a fan.”
“She’ll be back in two months.”
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“Yeah, I’ll hang in there. Once she’s back, I’ll get my dad to propose a marriage deal. Man, I’ve been dreaming of her in my arms, calling me her man.”
“You? Please. Marriage? You’d be lucky if she visited your grave after you got run over.”
After that, it turned into a mess–swearing, name–calling, even daring each other to a fight.
Not long after that, their conversations started centering around someone new.
Talia Robertson.
At first, they mocked her. Called her dumb, a crybaby, always in the way, and annoying to look at.
Said she looked like me–but acted like an idiot.
They talked about teaching her a lesson.
Then…
It changed.
Like a bunch of immature boys bullying a girl just to get her attention.
It made my chest feel heavy.
I was trying to figure out how to make them stop hesitating between the Talia and me, and just choose her.
If they didn’t hurt her because of me, wouldn’t that prevent all those painful “chase–the–girl” scenarios later on?
Marriage.
If I married someone else, they’d give up.
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Chapter 2
