Chapter 27 No more games
Sera’s POV
Stares shot across the hallway the moment my shirt lifted. Of course I didn’t expose anything inappropriate, just enough of my stomach and ribs to show what mattered. A clear, smooth skin. No purple bruises. No deep marks. No resemblance to the edited pictures plastered everywhere yesterday.
People leaned forward without even realizing it.
“Wait…”
“She has nothing.”
“Those bruises were huge. There’s no way…”
Everyone murmured lightly and a little smile crept up on my lips.
Brielle’s face drained so fast it almost made me feel secondhand embarrassment. Almost.
I dropped the hem of my shirt slowly, keeping my eyes on her. “Anything you want to say now?”
She opened her mouth but nothing came out, not even a fake smile. It was the first time I’d ever seen her completely speechless. It was a beautiful sight.
A guy from the basketball team stepped out of the crowd, frowning. “Hold on. That picture that went around… the girl had a huge mark on her left side. Like a big one.”
“Exactly,” a girl near him agreed. “That bruise was impossible to heal overnight.”
Another voice added, “Unless she has superpowers or something.”
I didn’t flinch. Let them speculate or say things in whispers. At least now the doubt wasn’t directed at me.
Mia stepped beside me, chin lifted. “It was fake. Obviously fake. Someone edited those pictures and used them to humiliate her.”
A few people nodded. One even said, “Now that she showed us, it makes sense.”
But Brielle finally snapped out of her shock. “This is ridiculous,” she spat. “You showing your stomach doesn’t prove anything. Anyone can heal fast. Anyone can—”
“No,” I cut in quietly. “Those weren't fresh bruises, those were scars from years of healing, even a not to bright person like yourself knows this.”
She froze. The hallway did too. I wasn't about to stop for anything.
I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but I didn’t regret it either. For the first time since the whole mess started, I felt steady. Sure of myself and untouchable.
“You want to keep going?” I asked her. “Because I can keep going.”
Her jaw clenched. “Stop acting like you’re innocent. Those pictures looked exactly like you.”
“Because they were edited to look like me,” I said simply. “Someone wanted to use them to destroy my reputation.”
“And why would someone do that?” she demanded, voice rising. “Why would anyone go that far for you?”
I didn’t blink. “Because you asked them to.”
Silence fell so hard it felt like the hallway exhaled all at once.
Brielle’s eyes widened. “What? I would never do that!”
I took a step closer, lowering my voice. “You did worse last week, Brielle. Why is this hard to believe?”
Students began murmuring again, their reactions growing louder, shifting, turning toward her now instead of me. Brielle’s confidence cracked like glass.
“You don’t have proof,” she said, but her voice wavered.
“I don’t need proof,” I replied. “You showed everyone what you’re capable of, yourself.”
Her breathing picked up, her face red now, not from anger, but from embarrassment. She was losing control of the room and she knew it.
I could have stopped. I could have walked away and let the moment settle. But she didn’t deserve gentle endings. Everytime I think about what she did to my old self and what she keeps doing. My anger intensifies, I want to ruin her slowly.
“You tried to break me,” I said softly. “But all you did was expose yourself.”
Someone clapped once. It echoed. Then others followed. But it wasn't a full applause, more like scattered taps of approval, but enough to send Brielle into panic. She looked crazy, just like the way I wanted it to play out.
She spun around. “Stop it! Just stop!” No one listened.
She looked back at me, eyes glossy with frustration. “You think you’ve won?”
“I don’t care about winning,” I told her. “I care about the truth.”
She scoffed, stepping forward. “Fine. You healed fast. So what? That doesn’t mean you didn’t take those pictures.”
“It means everything.” I tilted my head slightly. “Think. If I got into a fight yesterday and healed in minutes… do you really think bruises from some old photo would still match the ones on me today?”
She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.
The hallway waited, eyes bouncing between us like they were watching a live show.
I breathed in slowly. “I’m done letting you use me as entertainment.”
Brielle gave a small laugh, but it sounded broken. “You’re acting like you’re better than me.”
“I’m acting like someone who refuses to play your silly mind games anymore.”
Her lip trembled.
For a second, I almost saw the real girl behind all the makeup and arrogance, the insecure one, the one terrified of losing attention. Then she blinked and the mask returned.
“Everyone is on your side today,” she snapped. “Enjoy it while it lasts. They’ll turn on you again.”
“Maybe,” I said calmly. “But at least I won’t give them a reason to.”
Her mouth opened to fire back, but a voice interrupted her.
“Brielle, that’s enough.”
Caden. Well it took him long enough.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be. The entire hallway shifted instantly. People parted as he walked toward us, jaw tight, eyes locked on Brielle.
He stepped beside me first, placing a subtle hand on my back like he was grounding me. Then he looked at her.
“You’ve crossed every line,” he said. “And I’m done pretending you’re just harmless drama.”
Brielle swallowed. “You’ll believe her over me?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “Every time.” Her face crumpled for half a second.
Caden looked around the hallway. “Everyone here saw the pictures yesterday. And now everyone sees the truth. If you still decide to follow lies, that’s on you.”
A wave of murmurs moved through the crowd. But this time, none of it felt like it was aimed at me.
Brielle turned slowly, scanning all the faces staring back at her. They were judging and questioning her. They weren't cheering for her the way she had anticipated when she started the rumor.
The fall from attention must have felt like a punch.
"It is over between us for good," I turned my head to look at him, this was worse than a public humiliation. A rejection wasn't what I was expecting but she deserved every bit of it.
She shook her head and pushed through the circle, practically running down the hall. The moment she disappeared, the tension in the air loosened.
Mia let out a long exhale. “Holy crap.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
But something didn’t sit right.
The edited picture wasn’t just a random attack. The second old photo, the one in the cafeteria yesterday, the one that looked like me but wasn’t me, was no coincidence. Someone was playing a bigger game.
Caden must have seen something shift in my expression because he leaned closer. “What’s wrong?”
“I think…” I hesitated. “I think this isn’t just Brielle.”
His eyes narrowed instantly. “Explain.”
I lowered my voice. “Someone else made those pictures. Someone who knows more about me than they should.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “You mean that message you got? The unknown number?” I nodded.
The three of us exchanged a look. Before I could say another word, a notification popped on my phone.
A new message from an unknown number. It was a picture.
Caden saw my face and grabbed the phone gently. His expression changed the moment he looked at the screen.
The picture wasn’t edited or an old.
It was a live photo, taken five minutes ago of me standing in the hallway lifting my shirt.
This was taken from above me, probably from the second-floor balcony. And someone had taken it quietly. I looked up slowly but the balcony was empty.
But not empty enough. Then I saw a shadow moved at the far end. Fast. Like they knew I spotted them. Like they were leaving on purpose.
I stepped forward before I could think.
Caden grabbed my arm. “Sera. Wait.”
“They were right there,” I whispered.
Mia looked up too, face pale. “Who was that?”
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing.
“I don’t know.”
But one thing was clear. Brielle wasn’t the real problem.
Could it be Elder Rowan? Did he probably put Brielle up to this? I was promised a fresh start, so why was the moon goddess putting me through all these?
I had a difficult life in the past and I wasn't about to let anyone ruin this new path I had carved out for myself. This whole hide and seek game will end, and I will be the one to end it.