Chapter 3

That weekend, Alex showed up at my place as promised.

When he saw me, his eyes went wide. "Eleanor, you've lost so much weight."

I smiled. "Only 27 pounds so far. Still got a long way to go."

Alex circled around me, whistling in surprise. "It's not only the weight. You seem like a different person. You used to be—"

"A quiet chubby girl?" I finished for him.

Alex scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "That's not what I meant."

"It's fine. That's the truth," I said, letting him in. "I want you to snap a few pics for me so I can document where I am right now."

Alex pulled out his camera and began adjusting the settings with practiced ease. "Eleanor, what made you suddenly start losing weight? Is it because of James?"

"No. It's because I want to change," I cut him off. "Let's do the photos right here."

While we were shooting, Alex kept hesitating, but finally blurted out, "Eleanor, I know I shouldn't meddle, but there's something about James and that girl that doesn't sit right with me.

"Once, I heard James say that once she gets back, everything will be taken care of. It sounded like they were planning something."

I froze mid-pose. "Thanks for telling me, Alex, but honestly, I'm over it. I couldn't care less anymore."

After we finished, Alex was packing up his equipment when he suddenly looked at me. "By the way, Eleanor, do you remember what happened three years ago when you fell down the stairs?"

I froze for a second. "Why?"

"I was on my way to your place to pick up a book, and I saw Eliana rushing out, looking flustered." Alex frowned as he tried to remember. "There was blood on her clothes. I thought she was hurt, but she ignored me and ran."

My heart started racing. "Did you tell anyone else?"

Alex shook his head. "Later, I heard you'd fallen down the stairs and ended up in the hospital. I figured Eliana was there to see you, but the more I think about it now, the stranger it seems."

I took a deep breath. "Alex, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course. Anything you need."

"Don't mention this to anyone, especially not to James," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "If you remember anything else, let me know right away."

Alex nodded seriously. "Got it."

After seeing Alex off, I went back to my room and pulled out that old phone again.

This time, I scrolled through every single message from three years ago.

Buried among the messages were several I'd completely overlooked, sent before Eliana's apology texts after the accident.

They were from an unknown number. [Watch out for your sister. Something is wrong with the way she looks at you. Stay away from the stairs.]

All the messages had been sent that morning, before the accident.

My heart nearly stopped.

Who sent these messages? Why didn't I see them at the time?

I tried to call back, but it was no longer in service.

For the next few hours, I immersed myself in the messages and photos on my old phone, searching for any forgotten clues.

Then I found something in a photo from a gathering a few days before the accident.

In the background, Eliana and James were standing together in a corner, much closer than they had any reason to be. James even had his hand resting on her waist.

The date on the photo showed that they'd supposedly only known each other for a short time.

It turned out that the betrayal had happened way before I ever realized.

I kept searching and found an old note in the phone. [Eliana and her mom showed up again today. Dad gave them a huge wad of cash. Mom was upset. I heard her crying.

[Why is Dad doing this to us?]

The note was dated eight years ago, when I was only fifteen.

Memories came flooding back. I realized that Eliana and her mom didn't suddenly appear three years ago.

They had been part of my life for years. I'd simply been so sheltered that I never realized what was happening around me.

Maybe my fall down the stairs wasn't a freak accident at all.

I carefully backed up everything to the cloud, then deleted all traces of it from the phone.

It was dark outside. I stood in front of the mirror and studied my reflection.

I was still heavy at 182 pounds, but my vibe had changed. It was sharper now, calmer, and far more alert than it had ever been.

Eliana, James, did you think I was nothing more than an overweight girl who had lost her mind over a man?

Just wait until I expose the two of you for who you really were.

The hunger struck again, but this time, I smiled.

Hunger kept me focused, and revenge gave me strength.

The real show is only getting started.

*****

The scale read 174 pounds. After another month of grinding, I'd shed another 19 pounds.

The change was impossible to miss. My jawline was clearly defined, my waist had started to curve, and my collarbones, which I hadn't seen in years, were beginning to show again.

Mom was becoming more and more concerned whenever she looked at me. "Ellie, you're losing weight way too fast. Maybe you should see a doctor."

"I'm fine, Mom," I said, spinning around to show off my progress. "I've never felt better."

Honestly, I felt like I'd been given a second chance at life. It wasn't only my body that had changed. Something inside me had finally woken up, too.

After years of letting comfort and self-deception dull my senses, I felt more aware than ever of everything happening around me.

That afternoon, an unexpected guest showed up at my house.

When I got back from the gym, I saw a well-dressed middle-aged woman sitting in the living room, chatting with my mom over coffee.

It was my dad's secretary, Daisy.

"Ellie, you're back." Daisy stood up, giving me an exaggerated once-over. "Oh my, I almost didn't recognize you. You've lost so much weight. You look gorgeous."

I gave her a polite smile. "What brings you here, Daisy?"

"I'm dropping off some documents for your dad, and thought I'd check in on your mom," Daisy said, her eyes darting around. "I heard you're breaking off the engagement with James. Is that true?"

Of course, that was what she was here for.

Daisy was my dad's most trusted secretary. I'd also discovered by chance a year ago that she had been secretly feeding information to Eliana and her mother.

"It is. We're not right for each other," I said with a shrug, acting like it was no big deal.

Daisy leaned in, lowering her voice. "I'm not sure if I should say this. Your dad has been working on a big project with the Carter family lately. If you break off the engagement now, it could mess up the deal."

My mom's face went tense. "Your dad never told me about this. What project?"

"It's the development project for the land on the east side of the city," Daisy said, acting all secretive. "The Carter family is the main investor. If the engagement falls through because of this—"

I cut her off. "Daisy, business and marriage are two separate things. If the Carter family would pull out of a deal only because I ended an engagement, then they're probably not the business partner we need. Don't you agree?"

Daisy froze, caught off guard by my response.

I kept smiling. "Besides, I heard James and Eliana are getting pretty close. If they end up together, that'd make us more of a family, wouldn't it? The deal would be rock solid then, right?"

Daisy's face went pale. "How did you know?"

"We're sisters, after all," I said, taking a bite of an apple. "Eliana is coming back next month. It'll be a real family reunion. Isn't that perfect?"