Chapter Two

Claire's POV

I stood in the middle of the hallway. My vision blurred as tears streamed down my cheeks, hot and heavy. I was frozen, paralyzed—trying to wrap my head around the nightmare unfolding before me.

"Now, who’s the unlucky guy you slept with, huh? Does he school here?"

"Can I pay you to have sex with me? I heard you are an illegitimate child and you lack fatherly love." Someone else mentioned.

The fact that they weren't wrong made it more painful.

"Ahhh, yesss! I love it..." Someone mocked.

The questions came from every direction, sharp like knives. I couldn’t even tell who was speaking anymore. My body felt numb.

This wasn’t happening.

I had survived bullying. I had survived humiliation. But this—this was something I never imagined. My sex tape, broadcasted for the school like a morning announcement.

Everything around me went foggy. The walls, the faces, the voices—disoriented. Warped. I could barely hear anything beyond the echo of laughter.

I clutched my chest, gasping. My lungs burned. I couldn’t breathe.

And then—two resounding slaps brought me crashing back into reality.

My left hand flew to my cheek, and when my eyes finally focused, Sandra was standing in front of me. Her arms crossed. Her expression with pure disgust written on my face.

"Is this your new way of destroying the school’s reputation?" she yelled, her voice cutting through the crowd.

What? I was going through all of these and what you could care about right now is the school reputation? Was this some sort of jokes?

I staggered back. "What the fuck are you on? I’m the victim here!" My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. I turned slowly, facing the crowd that had gathered. "You all enjoying the show? Huh? A girl gets recorded without her consent, and this is what you do? You laugh?"

Another wave of heat rose in my chest. My body trembled—not from fear, but from pure rage.

Sandra scoffed. "Stop pretending. Everyone knows you planned this. I heard about the bet you made—bragging you’d lose your V-card no matter what. You wanted this. It’s all a setup."

Gasps. Murmurs. Heads nodding in agreement.

They wanted to believe it. It was easier than facing the truth—that someone had exploited me.

"It's all lies. Stop lying." I shouted.

"No! She is not. You told me everything, you told me about how you'd release your sex tape so people could see that you are not longer with a virgin." Cynthia had walked in.

I squinted my face in confusion. It was starting to look like this was a plot against me.

I felt sick at the thought of Cynthia betraying me. No! This wouldn't be.

Cynthia stood next to Sandra with a smile on her face.

"Why you are doing this to me? Why are you lying? Do you have prove I said something like that? I don't even know who you had planned to set me up with—"

"Enough! If I were you, I'd drop out immediately and find something else to do. You shameless fat pig." Sandra mentioned, disgust was clearly written all over her face.

"What's going on here?" A deep voice mentioned from the crowd and I could immediately tell who it was.

Then, the crowd shifted as Nate stepped forward. He stood in the center like some fucking savior, yet his cold eyes never left mine.

"Go back to your classes. All of you." His voice was calm. Too calm. "I'll deal with her myself, you should leave her with him."

But he kept staring. Watching me.

Judging.

He grabbed my wrist. His grip wasn’t harsh, but firm enough to let me know I had no choice. He pulled me away from the crowd, down the hallway, until we slipped into an empty classroom.

Silence.

I stood there, shaking. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. It felt as if he helped me, but I knew he didn't.

He broke the silence first—with a laugh. A cruel one.

"I never imagined you'd stoop so low just to get my attention," he said.

I blinked. What?

"What do you mean?"

"Stop playing the victim. It stinks." He scrunched his nose, like just standing near me made him sick. "Take that video down. I don’t care how you do it. You fat, good-for-nothing ugly bitch. I should’ve known this was your big achievement. You cheap sl—"

Smack.

My hand flew across his face before I even realized it. My chest heaved with fury. I wouldn’t let him finish that sentence. I wouldn’t let him finish anything.

"Don’t you fucking dare," I snarled. "Who else would’ve released that video if not you? Huh?"

He staggered back, his hand on his cheek. Shock and confusion crossed his face.

"Why would I do something like that? You’re not even worth it."

There it was again. That same venom.

God, I hated all of this. I wanted to vanish. I wanted to disappear from all of these.

But I held my ground.

"If I wanted your attention, do you think I would’ve cropped out your face in the video?" My voice wavered. The tears were back. I bit down on my lip, hard, but it didn’t stop them. They rolled down my cheeks, one by one. "People who plotted the whole thing are out there, and you are lashing out at me?"

For the first time, I saw it in his eyes.

Guilt.

He blinked slowly.

"Sorry… if I misjudged you."

I almost laughed. Almost.

"I didn’t ask you to apologize," I said coldly. But deep down, I knew how hard it was for him to say that. "My leaks are flying around, all for what? People who just want gu bully me so they could feel better about themselves? Yes! I'm fat, so what? I didn't kill anyone."

He looked away.

"Hopefully, the both of us never cross paths again. I’ll take the video down. Let everyone move on. I will also find the people who were behind that video and punish them." And with that, he stormed out of the room.

But the damage had already been done.

The cracks were too deep. My name was already on every tongue, my body on every screen. This wasn’t going to go away. It'd be imprinted in their head everytime they see

But I wasn’t going to let it end like this.

I would never be the same girl again. I would make them erase every single thing about me from their memory.

I'd find and destroy them in every way I could.