Chapter 6
I'd been curled up on my couch for two whole days.
My phone lay on the bed like a ticking time bomb—I didn't dare touch it. When I occasionally went out to buy food, the convenience store owner downstairs started giving me strange looks, and delivery drivers would stare at me longer, as if trying to confirm something.
On the third morning, my landlord Mrs. Martinez knocked on my door.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" she asked with concern through the door crack. "I've barely seen you leave these past few days..."
"I'm fine, thank you for asking," I replied weakly from behind the door.
"Good to hear. Oh, by the way, there were reporters downstairs asking about tenant information. I sent them away. You should be careful."
Reporters? My blood ran cold.
After Mrs. Martinez left, I picked up my phone with trembling hands. The screen was flooded with unread messages that made my eyes blur. I forced myself to open a news app, and my world collapsed again.
"Gucci Official Statement: In light of recent online rumors, we have decided to suspend all collaboration projects with Mr. Parker until the matter is clarified."
"Dior: Brand image is our core value. We will not collaborate with any controversial photographers."
"Vogue Editorial: After careful consideration, we have decided to cancel the scheduled cover shoot."
In just two days, his partners had abandoned him one by one. I thought of those luxurious brand launches, those fashion magazine covers, everything he'd built over four years...
"No... it shouldn't be like this..." I collapsed onto the floor, tears blurring my vision.
On TV, an entertainment channel was broadcasting live from outside Liam's studio. Reporters swarmed like vultures at the entrance, cameras pointed at everyone entering and leaving.
"We're now in Beverly Hills at the studio of the photographer in question, Liam. We understand that all scheduled shoots for today have been canceled, and several assistants have submitted their resignations..."
Looking at that tightly closed glass door, I could almost see the empty studio inside, imagining Liam sitting alone in despair.
"It's all because of me..." I clutched my head. "If it weren't for me back then, none of this would have happened. Four years of his hard work, destroyed because of me..."
Just then, my phone vibrated again.
I practically jumped to grab it, seeing a voice message from Liam. My heart pounded as my finger hovered over the screen for a long time before trembling to play it.
"Scarlett..."
That familiar voice came through, but I could hear the exhaustion in it. Strangely though, his tone was still so gentle, as if nothing had happened.
"I know you've seen the news. No matter what they're saying online, I don't regret protecting the people I've protected."
After a few seconds' pause, his voice became even softer: "Are you okay? I'm worried these messages might affect you. Don't be afraid—all of this will pass."
The message ended, but I sat there stunned.
"The people I've protected..." I repeated those words, my heart struck like lightning. "He's talking about me! After ten years, he's still saying this!"
Tears poured out like a broken dam. I imagined Liam's current situation—besieged by reporters, abandoned by brands, attacked by the entire internet, with assistants resigning one by one, yet his first thought was to worry about whether I might be affected.
And me? I knew all the truth, knew Blake was lying, knew Liam was innocent, but I didn't dare say anything.
"I'm still that cowardly girl..." I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. "I'm so selfish."
Time passed minute by minute as I sat dazed on the floor until darkness fell. At midnight, I was still scrolling through social media.
The #LiamViolence topic wasn't cooling down but heating up, breaking 2 million discussions. Even more terrifying, the online harassment was escalating.
"Does anyone know the identity of that disfigured girl? I really want to see what kind of monster is worth his protection."
Seeing this comment, my blood instantly froze.
I frantically refreshed the page, seeing more vicious comments:
"Already found which hospital his mom works at. Let's all go complain about her, let her know the importance of raising her son properly!"
"The violent man's parents aren't good people either—bad parents raise bad kids!"
"Tomorrow we'll go to the hospital entrance with banners, let all the patients know what kind of person her son is!"
I saw someone had actually posted Liam's parents' personal information—addresses, workplaces, even the specific hours his mother held consultations.
Rage, unprecedented rage burned in my heart.
"Enough!" I shouted at my phone screen. "They can attack me, but they can't hurt innocent people!"
I thought of Liam's parents, that gentle, kind couple. In high school, every time I passed their house, Liam's mother would always greet me warmly, never giving me strange looks because of the scars on my face.
What right did these keyboard warriors have to hurt such good people?
Anger drove me to stand up and walk to the mirror. At 2 AM, I stood before my reflection.
I removed my mask, revealing the scar that ran from the corner of my eye to the corner of my mouth. This scar had been with me for eighteen years—my deepest shame and greatest fear.
But now, looking at myself in the mirror, I suddenly remembered some things.
How had Blake bullied me back then? He'd corner me in the bathroom, force me to take off my hat, then film it and post it online. He made me kneel and apologize, saying I "tainted" the school's image. Even when I was hospitalized for burns from hot water, he spread rumors that I was "faking illness for sympathy."
"Blake was a bully then, and he still is now!" I clenched my fists. "I can't let him win again!"
Images of Liam standing up for me flashed through my mind. That thin boy who, to protect me, didn't hesitate to fight Blake who was much stronger than him. His fists trembled with anger, his eyes burning with fury.
"Try bullying her again!" young Liam had roared at Blake.
All these years later, he was still protecting me. And I was hiding.
"I've been afraid of being discovered, afraid of being mocked, but now..." I looked at myself in the mirror. "They're hurting a good person, hurting his family. No matter the consequences, I have to tell everyone the truth."
After making up my mind, I opened my computer and began searching for files I thought I'd never touch again.
Photos, videos, chat records from high school—I'd carefully saved them all. Those videos of Blake bullying me, which they'd sent to me specifically after filming to threaten me not to tell teachers or parents. There were also medical records from that time, even screenshots of testimony other students had secretly sent me.
"I'd been keeping all this evidence..." I smiled bitterly. "Maybe subconsciously, I was waiting for this day."
I opened a new social media account and began organizing these materials. Every photo, every video was bloody truth.
How ugly Blake's face had been back then, and how brave Liam's intervention was.
I began writing a clarification post, my fingers flying across the keyboard:
[My name is Scarlett Kingsley, and I am that 'disfigured poor girl.' Ten years ago, it was Blake who initiated the bullying, and Liam was forced to fight back only to protect me...]
As I wrote, tears flowed again. But this time they weren't tears of fear—they were tears of anger and determination.
"It's time. I need to be brave once, for Liam and for that bullied girl I used to be."
Outside the window, Los Angeles's night sky began to lighten. I'd been writing all night, organizing all the evidence, clarifying all the truth.
At 3 AM, I finally finished the long post. My cursor hovered over the "Post" button as I took a deep breath.
The reflection in the mirror was no longer that hiding girl, but a woman ready to fight for love.
"Scarlett, it's time to stop hiding."
I said to my reflection. Outside the window, Los Angeles was about to welcome dawn, and I was about to face the bravest moment of my life.
My finger hovered over the button. Just one click, and the whole world would know the truth. Just one click, and I could never return to that safe shadow.
But for Liam, for truth, for justice...
I was worth risking everything.