Revenge On My Feet Chapter 03
I had already put together every document I needed for New York.
The day before I left, my older brother, Grayson, drove in from home for my graduation ball.
The moment his text came through, I ran downstairs.
Before I even reached them, I heard Renata, Desmond, and Grayson talking about me.
“Grayson, later, give Nadia this dress. It’s got a side slit. Say it’s her graduation gift.”
“Let her show off her prosthetic.”
“If people stare a few more times and talk about it a few more times, she’ll stop being so ashamed.”
Desmond didn’t try to stop her. He just smiled.
“When Nadia finally gets over this, she’ll thank you.”
I froze, my whole body going rigid.
I had thought that at the very least Grayson would be on my side.
But when he turned and saw me, he said nothing. He only handed me the dress box.
“Nadia, your graduation gift. Wear this to the ball tonight.”
I looked at the box, my chest tightening.
That dress would leave my entire left leg bare.
“Grayson, you’re my brother.”
“Are you going to stand with them and watch me be humiliated, too?”
“You know better than anyone how much I hate people staring at my leg.”
Grayson frowned.
“Nadia, don’t talk like that. We’re all just trying to help.”
Desmond’s tone darkened.
“Do you have to twist Renata’s kindness into something so ugly?”
“She’s been trying to help you build some confidence. Why can’t you appreciate it?”
“Apologize to Renata.”
My nails dug into my palm.
I didn’t want to cry anymore, but my voice still came out hoarse.
I didn’t want to cry anymore, but my voice still came out hoarse.
“You all know damn well whether she’s helping me or just using this as an excuse to humiliate me.”
Renata instantly put on a wounded expression.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go. You two can go with Nadia.”
Desmond shot me a cold look.
“Don’t bother with her.”
“She’s just spoiled. She thinks the whole world revolves around her.”
“Go to the ball if you want. Don’t if you don’t.”
“If you don’t have a date, you’ll be the one people are laughing at.”
With that, he left with Renata.
Grayson followed them.
After the car pulled away, I stood there alone for a long time.
Desmond had promised me, so plainly, that I would be the one at his side at the graduation ball.
Now he had left with Renata.
It didn’t matter.
After tonight, I was leaving Boston.
After that, he would never see me again.
When I walked into the ballroom, I spotted Renata at once.
Desmond and Grayson stood on either side of her.
Someone passing by remarked with a smile,
“She’s so lucky. Her boyfriend is handsome, and her brother’s so protective.”
Others looked at me and murmured,
“So what if she has good grades? She still came alone.”
“With a prosthetic leg, who’s going to ask her to dance?”
I pretended not to hear.
I picked up a glass of champagne and went to say goodbye to my roommates.
We were in the middle of talking when Renata suddenly took the microphone on stage.
“Tonight, I have a special gift for my best friend, Nadia.”
“Tonight, I have a special gift for my best friend, Nadia.”
The huge screen in the ballroom lit up.
At first it showed photos of Renata and me as children.
Then the images changed. Pictures of me in the hospital after my amputation.
My face was pale, my body limp and lifeless.
Next came a video of me learning to walk on my first prosthetic, dropping to the floor, then crying as I fought to get back up.
Every image I never wanted anyone to see, she had edited into a slideshow.
She’d even set it to sentimental music.
My whole body trembled as I turned to look at Desmond.
“You gave those to her?”
“You knew that was the hardest time of my life.”
“I never wanted anyone else to see those.”
Back then, Desmond had been the one at my side.
He had held me and promised, again and again,
“No one will ever know about this.”
“The only thing people will remember is the person you are now.”
Now it was as if he’d forgotten every word.
He glanced at me, his tone indifferent.
“Renata’s right.”
“If people look a few more times and talk a few more times, you’ll get used to it.”
“See? You didn’t even cry this time.”
Around us, people had already pulled out their phones to record the screen.
“If this gets posted on X, it’ll definitely go viral.”
I looked at Desmond, and my heart turned to ice.
I didn’t cry.
Not a single tear.
I walked straight onto the stage and went to the DJ booth to kill the video.
Then I took the microphone and faced the crowd.
Then I took the microphone and faced the crowd.
“Is it fun, turning someone else’s pain into a performance?”
“If these photos and videos are uploaded anywhere online, I will be pursuing legal action against every single person who posts them.”
The ballroom fell silent.
No one spoke. No one dared to keep filming.
I turned and walked out of the ballroom.
Desmond quickly chased after me.
“Can’t you tell the difference between kindness and cruelty?”
“What was that tone you used on stage?”
“Enough. Renata and I won’t hold it against you.”
“Go to Bellini Capital early tomorrow to report for your first day. Renata and I prepared a surprise for you.”
As he spoke, his phone buzzed over and over.
I caught the iMessage preview on his lock screen.
It was from Renata.
She and Desmond were planning to make a scene in front of the hiring manager tomorrow, forcing me into an extreme fitness test.
Fifty push-ups.
Only after I finished them would I be considered officially hired.
Another round of their so-called “help.”
I looked at him and smiled faintly.
“Sure.”
“I have a gift for you tomorrow, too.”
My flight left in ten hours.
I went back to my apartment, gathered my documents, then opened an encrypted email and sent the attachments I had prepared.
The recipients were the Head of HR and the Compliance Department at Bellini Capital.
“Hello. In accordance with your company’s hiring standards, I am submitting the following information for verification.”
“Renata Lombardi was disciplined for plagiarism during her time at university.”
I went back to my apartment, gathered my documents, then opened an encrypted email and sent the attachments I had prepared.
The recipients were the Head of HR and the Compliance Department at Bellini Capital.
“Hello. In accordance with your company’s hiring standards, I am submitting the following information for verification.”
“Renata Lombardi was disciplined for plagiarism during her time at university.”
“That record was subsequently scrubbed from her background materials. Desmond Bellini participated in concealing this information. The relevant evidence is attached.”
After sending the email, I closed my laptop.
I was leaving this city.
And everything connected to Desmond was ending with it.