I was more than pretty

I was more than pretty

onyes

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They said I was beautiful - but not real. That my smile was perfect - but my past made me broken. I spent years trying to prove I was more than the girl who changed her face to survive the world's cruelty. I married Julian Vale, believing love would finally see me. I called Serena Blake my sister, trusting her more than my own reflection. And when my world collapsed under secrets, silence, and the weight of never being enough - I disappeared. Then I opened my eyes... Ten years earlier. Before the surgery. Before the vows. Before I forgot who I was beneath the makeup and the mask of confidence. This time, I don't need to be fixed. This time, I don't need to be forgiven. I remember every lie. Every betrayal. Every time I silenced my voice to keep the peace. So I'm not here to win back love. I'm not here to punish the past. I'm here to become the woman I was always meant to be - unedited, unafraid, and finally, completely seen. I was more than pretty. This time, I'll live like I believe it.

Chapter 1 The day everything changed

The last thing I heard was laughter.

Not the warm kind. Not the kind that wraps around your heart like sunlight.

No. This was the laugh of someone who'd won.

Julian's voice, smooth as aged whiskey, saying, "She never even saw it coming."

And Serena's-my best friend-giggling like we were still sharing secrets over wine, not plotting my downfall while I was busy dying.

I lay in the hospital bed, machines beeping like a countdown no one could stop. My body was weak, hollowed out by stress, by grief, by years of pretending I didn't hear the whispers.

"She's pretty, but you can tell it's not real."

"All that work done on her face... must've cost a fortune."

"I wonder what she looked like before?"

They said I got plastic surgery to be loved.

But they never asked why.

They never saw the girl who was called "ugly" in high school.

The one whose yearbook photo was edited with devil horns and shared in a group chat titled "Before & Horrible."

The one who wore oversized sweaters in summer just to disappear.

I wasn't trying to be perfect.

I was trying to survive.

And when I finally became someone people looked at-someone who got offers for modeling gigs, who turned heads at parties, who was called "stunning" without irony-I thought I'd won.

But love didn't come.

Respect didn't come.

Only sideways glances and quiet judgments.

"She's beautiful, but... you know."

"I bet she doesn't even recognize her old self."

And then came Julian.

Charming, polished Julian, with his tailored suits and slow smile, who kissed me on our third date and said, "You're the most captivating woman I've ever met."

I believed him.

I married him.

I gave him ten years of loyalty, of quiet mornings and late nights, of building a life while he climbed the corporate ladder on my inheritance, my connections, my silence.

And how did he repay me?

By falling for Serena.

My best friend.

The one who never got surgery.

The one everyone called "naturally radiant."

The one who told me, just weeks before I collapsed, "Don't worry, Ev. Julian would never leave you for someone fake."

I believed that too.

Until I found the hotel keycard in his jacket.

Until I saw the photos on his cloud-Serena in my favorite silk robe, lying in our bed.

Until I realized-my death was their beginning.

The divorce papers arrived the same day the doctor told me my heart was failing.

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy, he called it.

I called it heartbreak.

And as I lay there, watching Julian sign the papers without looking at me, I whispered, "One day... you'll know what you've done."

I didn't think I'd get the chance to make him.

But then-darkness.

And then...

A gasp.

Light.

And the sound of my own voice, young and full of hope, saying:

"I can't believe I got into Parsons! Mom, did you hear? I'm going to be a designer!"

I froze.

That was ten years ago.

I turned to the mirror.

Smooth skin. No subtle lifts, no refined nose.

My old face.

My real face.

The one I used to hate.

I touched my cheeks, my jaw, my nose-unchanged.

My phone buzzed.

A text from Serena:

"So excited for coffee tomorrow! We have SO much to talk about 😍"

And beneath it, a news alert draft in my notes app:

"Tech Investor Julian Vale Engaged to the 'love' of his life in Secret Ceremony"

The article wasn't live yet.

It was scheduled... for next week.

I stared at the date on my phone.

June 12th.

Ten years ago.

The day before I agreed to get surgery.

The day before everything changed.

I backed away from the mirror, heart pounding.

This wasn't a dream.

This wasn't a miracle.

This was a second chance.

And this time...

I wasn't going to fix my face.

I was going to fix my fate.

Because I wasn't just the girl who got plastic surgery.

I wasn't just the wife who was betrayed.

I wasn't just the woman who died alone.

I was more than pretty.

And this time?

They were going to see every damn bit of me.

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Chapters
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I was more than pretty
1

Chapter 1 The day everything changed

06/08/2025

2

Chapter 2 I recognized her

07/08/2025

3

Chapter 3 My old face

07/08/2025

4

Chapter 4 I thought I lost it all

07/08/2025

5

Chapter 5 Untold lies of the heart

07/08/2025

6

Chapter 6 The moment of heaviness

07/08/2025

7

Chapter 7 The Silence Between Us

13/08/2025

8

Chapter 8 Your lie

13/08/2025

9

Chapter 9 Coming in terms

13/08/2025

10

Chapter 10 The heart has so many secrets

13/08/2025

11

Chapter 11 The Property He Stole From My Father

13/08/2025

12

Chapter 12 The First Day

13/08/2025

13

Chapter 13 The Lunch That Wasn't About Food

14/08/2025

14

Chapter 14 Know your place

08/09/2025

15

Chapter 15 Unresolved hurt

08/09/2025

16

Chapter 16 Wrapped in silk, Tipped in poison

10/09/2025

17

Chapter 17 Warning smile

10/09/2025

18

Chapter 18 Cruel surprise

10/09/2025

19

Chapter 19 The night I wasn't invited to

10/09/2025

20

Chapter 20 The moment I walked in

12/09/2025

21

Chapter 21 The surprise was hers

12/09/2025

22

Chapter 22 The air that couldn't cool her rage.

13/09/2025

23

Chapter 23 The smile she wore like a cage

13/09/2025

24

Chapter 24 The gifts I let her steal

13/09/2025

25

Chapter 25 Way home

13/09/2025

26

Chapter 26 Falsified Friendships.

15/09/2025

27

Chapter 27 Twisted mind

16/09/2025

28

Chapter 28 Behind the roses

16/09/2025

29

Chapter 29 Warming reminder

18/09/2025

30

Chapter 30 The walk in silence

19/09/2025

31

Chapter 31 Mystery Man

21/09/2025

32

Chapter 32 Golden voice

22/09/2025

33

Chapter 33 Excellence not efforts

23/09/2025

34

Chapter 34 Stillness in motion

25/09/2025

35

Chapter 35 Love, all I need is for you to bloom

25/09/2025

36

Chapter 36 Over legacy

26/09/2025

37

Chapter 37 Seven women, one truth

27/09/2025

38

Chapter 38 Unforeseen storm

28/09/2025

39

Chapter 39 Picnic where love burned in silence

29/09/2025

40

Chapter 40 Stupid man, Stupid love

30/09/2025