Under Your Control

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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"Good morning, passengers. Welcome to the flight. The plane is taking off. Please fasten your seat belt. Don't wander around in the cabin..."

As the pilot droned on about the normal etiquette of being on the air, the plane lifted farther and farther from the ground.

Teresa Gu frowned as she felt the uneasiness drifting over to her. She clutched her stomach, feeling a sense of weightlessness as the plane finally took off.

She was hungry when she was waiting for the plane, so she had to grab something to eat at the airport. Yet, she didn't expect that the food would be so unsanitary. As soon as she stepped into the plane, her stomach started to ache as beads of sweat trailed down her forehead.

After two minutes of the plane taking off, Teresa Gu just couldn't hold it in any longer. She unfastened her seat belt and got up.

Just before she could get out, a stewardess stopped her. "Excuse me, ma'am. The plane has just taken off, and we have not reached the stratosphere yet. Please go back to your seat."

With one hand gripping her stomach, Teresa Gu said hoarsely, "I have a stomach ache. Please, I need to go to the toilet."

As the stewardess looked her up and down, she couldn't help but admit to herself that the woman really wasn't in any good shape at all.

Teresa Gu wore a v-shaped vest with holes in her jeans. Her hair was as disheveled as ever and her face was pale and sweaty from the stomach ache. She looked like a witch ready to take a kid for her next meal.

The stewardess wrinkled her nose, which went unnoticed by Teresa Gu.

"Please be careful then. If you get hurt, Miss, the airline would not be responsible for such damages,"

she snapped, turning away.

Teresa Gu had absolutely no time to make amends with the stewardess as she rushed into the toilet to solve her aching stomach. After a few minutes of groaning, it felt as if she had come back to life again.

As she stood in front of the mirror and adjusted her clothes, Teresa Gu stepped out of the toilet comfortably. However, as she was about to take a few steps, the plane jolted to the side. By instinct, she stumbled over and grabbed the person nearby.

"Ah!" someone yelled.

Once she fixed her footing, she turned sideways to see that an airline stewardess had been caught by her.

However, when her eyes trailed at the glass held in the stewardess's hand, Teresa froze. The glass was empty now, leading a trace of bright yellow at the bottom. That would mean...

As she followed the stewardess's gaze, she found something even more terrible.

There was a man standing next to the stewardess.

He was really tall, about six feet. He had a suit on, and his angular face was out in display. He looked as if he'd just popped out from a painting, like a model ready to strut the runway.

However, right now, the prince she thought he was, was covered in bright yellow from head to toe.

The stewardess quickly came to her senses, bowing her head. "Sir, I completely apologize. She bumped into me, so I lost my balance and I..."

She threw an accusatory glance at Teresa.

Realizing that it was her fault here, Teresa quickly apologized, "Sir, I'm so sorry. The plane just jolted and I lost balance. How about I wipe it for you?"

The man raised an eyebrow, no expression tainting his face. He was like a statue, the ones that you would pay to garner an action from them.

The man didn't lose his temper or anything, but that just made Teresa all the more nervous of what was to come.

"I really am sorry,"

Teresa apologized again, taking a pack of tissues from her pocket and wiping the mango juice from the man's clothes.

Unfortunately, it seemed to have only made the situation worse. The tissues only seemed to have stained the fabric even more just as she was wiping it.

As she did this, Teresa found herself even more loss for words.

She could tell that the man's mood was growing sourer by the minute.

Besides, no matter how good-tempered he was, he wouldn't be in a good mood after being caught up in a situation like this!

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