Love x betrayal

"Look at her! The nerd actually thinks she can sit here!" Sadie sneered, her voice dripping with condescension as she gestured toward the timid girl clutching her books. Her friends, as always, followed her lead, laughing at Sadie's words as if on cue. "Do you even own a mirror?" one of Sadie’s friends, Anita, added with a smirk. "That outfit belongs in the trash, not in our school." The girl, a quiet and shy student who had always kept to herself, stood frozen, her eyes welling up with tears. She attempted to hold her head high, but Sadie wasn’t finished yet. "Aren’t you going to say something, nerd?" Sadie taunted, standing up from her seat and approaching the girl. "Or are you just going to cry like you always do?" Her voice was loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear, ensuring that every student nearby turned to watch the spectacle. The girl’s lip quivered as she whispered, "I…I just want to study." "Study?" Sadie mocked, making a show of tossing the girl’s books onto the floor. "Well, you can do that somewhere else. This is our table." The girl looked down at her books scattered across the cafeteria floor, tears streaming down her face. Without a word, she ran out of the room, her sobs echoing in the silence left behind. "Pathetic," Sadie muttered under her breath as she sat back down, her friends giggling around her. Later that day, the girl, still red-eyed from crying, went to the principal’s office to report the bullying. But when she walked out, her face was twisted in shock and disbelief. She had been punished instead. Sadie smirked as she overheard the girl walking out, sniffling. "Next time, maybe you’ll keep your mouth shut," she muttered to herself. Her father’s influence stretched far beyond the classrooms. The principal knew better than to cross her, and anyone who tried to challenge her power soon regretted it. Sadie had everything: wealth, beauty, and a life that seemed untouchable. As the daughter of the Mayor, she lived in a grand mansion perched on a hillside, where the view stretched out endlessly, just like her future had once seemed. Her mother, a striking woman admired by all, and her father, the powerful and respected Mayor, made sure Sadie had everything she ever desired. She had a handsome boyfriend, the son of her mother’s business partner, and a group of friends who hung on her every word—or so she thought. Her life wasn’t just perfect; it was luxurious. She attended the finest schools in the country, where she reigned as queen. "I always get what I want," she would often boast to her friends. And it was true. She was untouchable. Her grades? They didn’t matter. Despite failing nearly every class, her father’s influence pulled the strings behind the scenes, ensuring that she was always promoted, always shielded. One day, her boyfriend, Greg, picked her up after school in his sleek car. "You ready for dinner tonight?" he asked, flashing a smile as she slid into the passenger seat. "Of course," Sadie replied, flipping her hair back. "Mom’s planning everything. I bet it's going to be amazing. You know they’re already talking about our engagement." Greg chuckled but said nothing. Sadie noticed his silence. "What? Aren’t you excited?" "Yeah, I guess," he said, shrugging. "But don’t you think it’s a bit much? I mean, we’re still young." Sadie frowned slightly, but quickly brushed it off. "Don’t be silly. It’s perfect. We’re perfect. Everyone envies us." She smiled confidently, but Greg's lack of enthusiasm stuck with her for the rest of the ride. Everything in her life seemed immovable, like it was built on stone. Her boyfriend? Practically an engagement away. The mansion? Her eternal playground. The future? Golden. Until the day it all crumbled. That fateful day began like any other—her father was his usual charming self, kissing Sadie on the forehead before leaving for work, while her mother fussed over dinner plans for an upcoming gala. But by late afternoon, the whispers had started. By evening, those whispers had turned into full-blown news reports. Her father was arrested, accused of stealing millions in tax money and losing it in a gambling ring. "It’s all lies!" Sadie had screamed, clutching the remote as she watched the breaking news. "He’s been framed!" But no one believed her. The evidence mounted, and the scandal became the talk of every major news outlet. In a matter of hours, their perfect life was torn apart. All their properties were seized, their accounts frozen, and the mansion that had been her kingdom was stripped from them. "It’ll be fine," her mother had said, though her voice was shaky. "We just need to lay low for a while. We’ll fight this." But even her mother’s business began to crumble, clients backing out after the scandal tainted their name. Sadie, who had once been the queen of her school, suddenly found herself the subject of rumors and cruel jokes. The friends who had once laughed at her every word were nowhere to be found. And Greg? He vanished too, leaving her without so much as a text message. The only thing they had left was a tiny apartment her mother had rented. Sadie sat on the couch, staring out of the window at the city below, feeling more alone than she ever had. Her world, which had once seemed invincible, had collapsed in a blink. "We’ll get through this," her mother said one evening as they sat together in the cramped living room, but Sadie could hear the doubt in her voice. The court cases dragged on, their savings drained, and all the while, Sadie’s anger grew. She had been betrayed—by her friends, by the world, by the system that had once protected her. Her mother’s business was the last thing to fall. After a series of bad investments and the loss of all their clients, the company finally folded. They had nothing left. No money, no home, no status. Sadie, once at the top, was now at rock bottom. And for the first time in her life, she had no idea how to fix it.