‘That's not my home, Maxwell.’
I cut him off, my voice cold.
Maxwell paused, as if he'd decided arguing with me was pointless.
‘Fine. Tell me what it'll take for you to drop this.’
I let out a hollow laugh.
‘Make Peggy publicly admit she plagiarized my work.’
‘In your dreams!’
His voice shot up instantly.
‘Felicia, I don't understand you. What's worth fighting over about some stupid award? Peggy doesn't have much time left. Can't you just……’
I hung up before he could finish.
I pulled over to the side of the road.
Tears had already soaked my face.
He helped her plagiarize. He schemed and maneuvered to make sure Peggy's name ended up on that award. And now he had the nerve to ask me why I was fighting over some stupid prize.
Eight years. Eight years completely wasted on him.
My phone rang, dragging me back.
Maxwell.
【Felicia, if you're going to be this heartless, don't blame me for what comes next.】
I glanced at the message and blocked his number.
But a quiet dread was already settling in.
I was just about to call Cindy to warn her when
her call came through first.
The second I picked up, all I heard was chaos on the other end.
‘Hurry, she's crashing! Get her to the ICU!’
‘Cindy!’
I was screaming her name.
‘Cindy, what happened? Talk to me!’
A long silence. Then Cindy's voice broke through, raw and choked.
‘Felicia, my mom got hit. A dump truck ran a red light and just……’
I couldn't make out anything after that.
The phone slipped from my hand and struck the top of my foot.
A piercing ringing filled my ears……
Another message from Maxwell.
【Felicia, as long as I'm around, you'll never win.】
I picked the phone up with trembling hands,
tried to call Maxwell, but my finger slipped and opened Peggy's social media page instead.
One minute ago. A fresh post.
The cemetery on the north side of town. My mother's gravestone, covered top to bottom in award certificates bearing Peggy's name.
Peggy stood in front of it, flashing a victory sign.
The caption:
【Burn as many as you want. The people who love me will always give me more.】
I clenched my fist and slammed it into the steering wheel.
The horn shrieked, shrill enough to rip through me.
But it brought me back.
I floored the gas and drove straight to the hospital.
I ran the whole way in. The moment I stepped into the lobby, every single pair of eyes seemed to turn on me, whispering, pointing.
I didn't care.
I tore through the corridors searching for Cindy like a woman possessed,
and in the chaos ran straight into her arms.
Before I could say a word, Cindy grabbed my wrist and shoved me back toward the exit.
Cindy, who never lost her composure, had pure panic in her eyes.
‘Why did you come to the hospital?! I called and texted you the whole way here, why didn't you answer?!’
‘You need to leave. Go home. Now!’
I stared at her, lost.
I was about to ask what was going on
when a crowd closed in around us.
A man in the group pointed at me, a lewd grin spreading across his face.
‘Hey, you're the slut who slept with the judges to win that award, right?! How do you even show your face in public?!’
I whipped around to face him.
He hadn't been at the awards gala.
Maxwell had already told every media outlet that the photo was fake, that it would never be released.
The man seemed to read my mind.
