He wanted her to hit him, hate him, anything.
He just needed her to be alive. He would
spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
The icy water filled his nose and mouth, but
he didn’t care. He just kept swimming until he
lost consciousness.
The moment he opened his eyes and saw the
picture of Ashley at the funeral, Chad wished
he’d never woken up.
“Sarah gave us the photo. They haven’t found
“The rescue team says the lake is dangerous,
she must be gone.”
He grabbed the photo.
The black and white couldn’t hide her bright
smile, her eyes always laughing.
She was a good person, smart and capable.
She deserved to be happy. He ruined her life.
Chad thought about all the times he had seen
her hurt, like when she was kneeling in the
rain by her mom’s grave, and all the times she
had told him that she wanted to get out of
the world.
So many times, he wanted to reach out, hug
her, comfort her. But he held back.
<
He’d kept Tiffany’s video on his phone,
constantly reminding himself that Ashley was
a terrible person who only used underhanded
tactics.
He forgot that he only heard that story from
Tiffany. He’d never looked for the truth, he
just blindly followed Tiffany’s 99 acts of
revenge.
He liked Tiffany, after all.
Every act of revenge made him feel more
guilty than happy, but seeing Tiffany smile
made it worth it.
He told himself that his feelings for Ashley
weren’t love, just a weird kind of familiarity.
He had to stay focused, not get sucked in.
<
But when she got in that car neaded for
disaster, he panicked.
Because the pain in his heart was so real.
He thought that maybe, after he did all 99
acts of revenge, he didn’t want to break up
with Ashley. He wanted to find out the truth,
he wanted to see who she really was.
Chad stared at the photo, lost in thought. He
held it to his chest.
It was closest to his heart.
Tiffany was watching, filled with jealousy.
“Why are you still calling her your ‘girlfriend‘?
All 99 acts of revenge are done, it’s time to
move on.”
Tiffany said more but was cut off by Chad’s
look of pure fury.
“Tiffany, I never said I’d be with you.”
Tiffany couldn’t believe it. “You did all that
revenge just to be with me! Why are your
changing your mind? Did that ***** say
something to you?”
“Shut up!” Chad yelled.
Tiffany was crying, completely humiliated. She
reached for the photo, trying to take it from
Chad. They struggled, and no one dared to
interfere.
The photo fell to the ground, the glass
shattering.
く
Chad snapped.
“Get out! Get out of here!”
He slammed the door, cutting off Tiffany’s
screams.
People said Chad went crazy after that car
accident.
He locked himself in his house, trying to hold
onto every trace of Ashley.
At the funeral, Tiffany made a scene.
She smashed Ashley’s headstone,, yelling that
she wouldn’t rest in peace.
“She’s a *****! She doesn’t deserve any of
this! It should all be mine! She stole my life!
Everyone believed my story at the scholarship
contest, why did you have to doubt me!”
“I should’ve killed her a long time ago!”
“Chad, how could you fall for someone like
her? You said you loved me! We were meant
to be together!”
Chad’s head was pounding. He realized how
stupid he’d been, ruining a good girl because
of a lie.
He grabbed Tiffany’s throat, wanting to
silence her.
Tiffany’s voice cut off.
“You don’t know, Chad. She knew what you
were planning all along. I told her. I wanted
<
her to see how the person she loved was
destroying her!”
“You’re all going to hell!”
That broke Chad.
Yes, he killed her. He had no right to blame
anyone else.
