I hugged my knees and sat frozen in place, tears streaming down my face as I cried.
…
Ethan was once my worst nightmare.
Back in high school, he was the ringleader of the group that bullied me the most.
He would stand above me, looking down with disdain, as he tossed all my books from my bag down the stairwell.
He orchestrated my isolation, ensuring no one dared to befriend me.
With just a word from him, a group of girls dragged me into the bathroom and slapped me across the face.
As long as Ethan took the lead in tormenting me, no one dared to step in.
After all, he was the son of the CEO of a major corporation.
Our school even had an entire building donated by his family.
When he mocked me openly, it became a trend in the class to pick on me.
I heard that many of the girls had a crush on him, drawn to his looks and the fact that he was their idea of the perfect man.
But to me, he was nothing but the demon who left me sleepless, night after night.
And this person, seven years after graduation, suddenly said he wanted to marry me.
…
I still couldn’t shake the habit of trembling whenever I saw Ethan, even after sharing the same bed with him for three weeks.
There was no one to help me. When my mother found out someone of Ethan’s status wanted to marry me, she couldn’t stop celebrating her “good fortune.”
Ethan seemed to have changed cars again. This time, the backseat was particularly spacious.
