Under the Spotlights Love

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Mia woke up slowly from the bed in a daze.

Her mind was cloudy and she was still feeling groggy,her body was achy and sore and most importantly,she was naked under the duvet het body littered with marks and bruises.

"What kind of dream is this?".

She pinched herself and gasped in pain ,the pain made her realize it was reality and not a dream.

The memories from the previous night started flooding in.she had attended her fiance's family company anniversary which was held in one of their newly launched hotel.

Later in the evening,she was enjoying the beautiful view in the garden after the guests dispersed but she suddenly felt dizzy and hot,a staff who was nearby offered to walk her to her room and then this happened.

"Ah…..",she screamed and the man beside her woke up with a start.

"You.. You monster, you must have paid and colluded with the staffs right, bastard am going to sue you", Mia shouted totally enraged but the man was just staring at her unmoving,he appeared lost in thought,his expression alternating between happiness and despair.

"What do you mean?,"which staff?", you were the one that entered my room late at night.besides I was drunk and had no clue of what was happening",the man explained with a cold gaze and she was petrified.

Shuffling backwards,she vaguely remembered entering the room, stripping herself and throwing herself on him.

"It was one of the staffs that brought me here,I was feeling dizzy and she volunteered to walk me back to my room,this is all a misunderstanding,I'm already engaged why would I venture into another man's room",Mia explained incoherently.

Gazing at the man,she felt he looked somewhat familiar and yet distant but she couldn't lay her hands on where they've met before.

"It's okay",he replied softly.

"Okay for you but not for me,how do I explain this to my fiancé,this…am done for ", Mia panicked.

"Then I'll keep it a secret ",he said but there was a tinge of sadness in his voice,her statement was like a cold basin of water poured over him,it slapped him with reality.

"Are..,are you sure"Mia stammered.

"Hundred percent,so from now on I haven't even seen this face before ",he nod and assured her calmly.

"Oh,then thank you very much sir ",Mia said and scrambled to her feet's, gathering all her belongings and hurriedly put on her dress and then left the room not noticing the man who looked so forlorn, sitting in the same position, unmoving just like a statue.

"Hahaha, fate is really unfair to me",he laughed maniacally, sweeping everything on the bedside table away and injuring his arms in the process.

"Lucian",a blonde haired guy rushed in from outside panting heavily."the lady outside just now,is that Mia?".

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