---- Chapter 7 "Tiffany," | said, my voice trembling slightly, but | forced it to be steady. | looked directly at her, ignoring Liam, who was fidgeting beside her. "We need to talk. About the complaint you filed." Tiffany crossed her arms, looking down at me with an air of bored superiority. She fiddled with a perfectly manicured nail. "Oh, that? | have no idea what you're talking about." "Please," | begged, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. "That scholarship is everything to me. It's my only chance. Please, whatever | did to you, I'm sorry. Just withdraw the complaint." ---- She let out a small, contemptuous laugh. "You want me to withdraw it?" She glanced around at the people passing by on the busy street. "Fine. I'll consider it. On one condition." She leaned in, her voice a cruel whisper. "Get on your knees. Right here, right now. And apologize to me. Loudly. Tell everyone how sorry you are for trying to steal what's mine. | stared at her, stunned into silence. Liam shifted uncomfortably. "Tiff, maybe this is going too far," he muttered, but his voice was weak, hesitant. He didn't look at me. ---- "Too far?" Tiffany snapped at him. "She deserves this." She turned her icy gaze back to me. "What's it going to be, orphan? Your pride, or your future?" My entire body was shaking. The pain in my side was a roaring fire. The humiliation was a physical weight, pressing down on me, trying to crush me. But what choice did | have? This was my last chance. | closed my eyes, took a ragged breath, and slowly, shakily, | sank to my knees on the cold pavement. "I'm sorry," | said, the words tearing from my throat. People were stopping to watch, their faces a mixture of curiosity and pity. | kept my eyes fixed on the ground. "I'm sorry, Tiffany. It was all my fault. ---- Please, forgive me." "Louder," she commanded, a smug smile on her face. "| can't hear you." "I'm sorry!" | repeated, my voice cracking "I'm sorry!" The world began to spin. The faces of the onlookers blurred. The sharp, stabbing pain in my abdomen intensified, spreading through my whole body. A wave of blackness washed over me. The last thing | heard before | collapsed was Tiffany's triumphant laugh. | woke up to the sterile smell of disinfectant and the soft beeping of a machine. | was in a hospital bed again. The first thing | saw was Liam's face, etched with what looked like worry. "Sarah," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're awake. ---- You scared me half to death." He reached for my hand, but | pulled it away. | looked at his face, at his performance of concern, and | felt absolutely nothing. Not anger, not sadness, not even betrayal anymore. Just a vast, cold emptiness. The last shred of any feeling | might have had for him had died on that sidewalk. A doctor came in, a kind-faced older man with a grim expression. "Miss Miller, I'm Dr. Evans. "| just have low blood sugar," | said, looking the doctor straight in the eye. "| fainted because | skipped breakfast." The doctor looked from me to Liam and back again. He saw the desperation in my eyes and seemed to understand. He sighed heavily. "Fine. Low blood sugar. But you still need to rest." He left the room, shaking his head. ---- Liam looked at me, his eyes full of a new, theatrical guilt. "Sarah, I'm so sorry about today. |... | didn't know what to do. Tiffany, she's... you know, my boss's daughter. My hands were tied." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But | promise you, I'll talk to her. I'll make her withdraw the complaint. I'll fix this. You can trust me." What a touching promise. So full of conviction. And it was another lie. | just looked at him, at his earnest, lying face, and | felt an incredible sense of peace. The peace that comes when you finally, completely, let go.