In college, I, Sarah Stewart, used money to sustain my relationship with Thomas Hamilton for three years.
The day my family went bankrupt, I forced him to spend one last night with me.
That night, a fire broke out at the hotel. To save him, half my face was burned, and I lay unconscious in the hospital for three days.
The first thing I did after waking up was drag my still-healing body to find him.
But just outside his hospital room, I heard his friends celebrating.
"She was ugly to begin with, and now with her face ruined and her family bankrupt, she’s even...
In college, I, Sarah Stewart, used money to sustain my relationship with Thomas Hamilton for three years.
The day my family went bankrupt, I forced him to spend one last night with me.
That night, a fire broke out at the hotel. To save him, half my face was burned, and I lay unconscious in the hospital for three days.
The first thing I did after waking up was drag my still-healing body to find him.
But just outside his hospital room, I heard his friends celebrating.
"She was ugly to begin with, and now with her face ruined and her family bankrupt, she’s even less worthy of Thomas."
"Thomas, didn’t you apply for that exchange program abroad? What a perfect chance to get rid of her. Why are you still tangled up with her?"
That familiar, cold voice responded indifferently: "Just fooling around, that’s all."
I froze in place, my gaze falling on the glass tiles that reflected my disfigured face.
My chest felt as if it had split open with a bottomless chasm, cold wind howling through it, making my heart heavy and bitter with pain.
I left New York, thinking I’d never see Thomas again.
Five years later, to scrape together tuition for my daughter Esther, I was introduced to work as a tutor in an affluent neighborhood.
Fate brought me face to face with him once more.
He was gently instructing a boy: "I have to go to work now. Listen to your teacher, okay?"
After all these years, he had built a family and career.
And I had shed my scars and subtly altered my appearance.
He turned and nodded at me politely, not recognizing me.
