Chapter 4: The Name On The Screen
The name on my phone stayed there for several seconds before I could even process it.
I stared at the message.
Then I looked at Mia.
She looked like she had seen a ghost.
My father noticed.
“Who is it?”” he asked.
Nobody answered.
The silence was louder than any confession.
My father took my phone from my hand and read the name again.
His expression changed.
Not confusion anymore.
Recognition.
“Ethan?””
My stomach dropped.
Ethan was one of my classmates.
He had been in my graduating class since freshman year.
He was the kind of person everyone liked at first. Charming. Funny. Always surrounded by people.
And for the last two months, he had been asking me to go out with him.
I always said no.
Not because he was a bad person.
Because I was tired of people who only saw the version of me they wanted to see.
Apparently, he didn’t like being rejected.
“What does Ethan have to do with this?”” I whispered.
Mia looked at the floor.
My father turned toward her.
“You knew?””
She nodded slowly.
“I saw him talking to some people.””
“What people?””
“I don’t know.””
My father’s jaw tightened.
“Mia.””
She flinched.
“I swear, I didn’t know how serious it was.””
I stepped closer.
“Then tell me everything.””
Mia looked at me.
For once, she didn’t have a sarcastic comment.
She looked younger.
Scared.
“It started three weeks ago.””
She sat down slowly.
“Ethan was angry because you rejected him.””
I felt a cold feeling spread through my chest.
“What did he say?””
Mia swallowed.
“He said you thought you were better than everyone because you worked so hard and got attention from professors.””
“That’s insane.””
“I know.””
She looked at me.
“He said graduation day would be the perfect time to teach you a lesson.””
My father’s hand tightened around my phone.
“What kind of lesson?””
Mia didn’t answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
“He planned to upload a video.””
My face went pale.
“A video of what?””
Mia looked at Laura.
Laura sighed.
“Mia.””
“No,” my father said.
“She’s going to answer.””
Mia closed her eyes.
“He edited old clips of you.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Old clips?””
“Things taken from campus. Things people posted online.””
She looked ashamed.
“He changed the context.””
My stomach turned.
“He wanted people to think I was…”
“Mean,” Mia said quietly.
The word hung in the air.
I laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“So he wanted to ruin my graduation because I said no?””
Mia nodded.
“He wanted everyone to see you as someone horrible.””
My father looked at me.
“You should have told me.””
I looked away.
“I didn’t know.””
“No,” he said softly.
“I mean Mia should have told you.””
The room became silent.
Because that was the real wound.
Mia had known.
She had known someone was planning to destroy my reputation.
And instead of trusting me, she destroyed something else.
My dress.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”” I asked.
Mia’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I thought you would hate me.””
I almost laughed.
“You thought cutting my dress wouldn’t make me hate you?””
She looked down.
“I was jealous.””
The honesty surprised me.
“I hated that Dad was always proud of you.””
My father looked hurt.
Mia continued.
“I hated that you worked so hard and people respected you. I thought if something bad happened to you, maybe everyone would finally notice me.””
Nobody spoke.
Then she wiped her eyes.
“But when I heard Ethan laughing about what he planned…”
Her voice broke.
“I realized I had become the same kind of person as him.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Because for the first time, Mia understood what she had done.
My father picked up the scissors from the table.
Not threatening.
Just holding them.
“This is why you destroyed the dress?””
Mia nodded.
“I thought if she couldn’t go to graduation, he couldn’t embarrass her.””
My father looked at the broken fabric still lying on the floor.
“You protected her by hurting her.””
“I know.””
“And you thought that was acceptable?””
Mia whispered:
“No.””
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
This time from Ethan.
My father opened it.
The message contained only one sentence.
*“The ceremony starts in two hours. Let’s see if she still wants to smile.””*
My father looked at the clock.
Then at me.
May you like
And I knew.
The dress wasn’t the only thing Ethan planned to destroy.
