Chapter 1

After Mom's cremation, I shut myself in my room and wept for a whole day and night.

Just two days ago, she was laughing, baking me a cake, and then all that was left of her was a pile of dust. I cried until I passed out. In a matter of days, death had torn us apart.

Emma Rogers, the woman who used to spread lies about me, was living the dream. She was all over Twitter, flaunting her perfect life.

Her latest post was a selfie showcasing her collarbone, littered with hickeys.

She tweeted: [What's a girl to do when her boyfriend's super clingy?

[He promised to spoil me, but all he did was enjoy himself.

[@Andrew, please tell me, who's hotter, me or your wife? Who do you love more? And just so you know, if you get it wrong, you're banned from my room tonight! ]

She even tagged Andrew Snyder's alt account.

There he was, replying earnestly: [I love you the most. My Emmy's the most beautiful.]

I could feel the love oozing through the screen. It was a kind of affection Andrew had never shown me.

In her typical bratty way, Emma asked: [So, are you as gentle with her in bed as you are with me?]

I could not look away from his response.

[I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole. Even in the dark, the thought of her wormy face makes me sick. ]

Suddenly, I felt nauseous and bolted to the bathroom, throwing up until everything went black.

Disgusted, huh?

I stared at the half of my face in the mirror that was scarred. Before that lab explosion five years ago, I had a happy home, loving parents, friends who got along, and a future so bright.

However, in trying to save Andrew, I ended up with half my face burned and got labeled as the cause of the explosion. The university kicked me out and slapped a black mark on my record.

I was the only one who saw Emma mess up the experiment which blew up the lab. However, nobody would listen to me.

My best friend was lying in the hospital, her eyes wounded from the terrible accident. She looked at me with pain and said, "Jessica, I can't stop hating you."

The day the reporters came knocking and demanding answers, Dad had a stroke right then and there and passed away. Meanwhile, Mom just kept getting weaker.

Andrew was the only one there for me, squeezing my hand. "Don't worry. You've got me, and I believe in you. Jessica, there's nothing gross about your face. It's the people talking trash about you who are gross. I'll always be right here with you, Jessica."

When Andrew's career finally started to take off, Emma decided to invest in him.

At first, he looked at me with such anger and said, "Jessica, relax. She made you leave university and destroyed your family. I'd never hang out with someone like that."

However, Emma did not give up. She ended up at the same company as Andrew, working late with him, chatting about everything from business strategies to investment sources. This went on from sunrise to sunset.

Andrew started to see her differently. "You know, she's not as bad as you think. Jessica, what we see isn't always the truth."

I could not help but cut in, "I know all about that stuff she talks about too."

Andrew just laughed. "You didn't finish university. You think you understand all that?"

However, I did understand. I really did.

I had been to university, had great grades, a pretty face, close friends, and parents who loved me. Now, I had nothing.

On our wedding day, Andrew took Emma to Belmar Island.

Mom did not have much time left at that point in time. She wanted to see me and Andrew get married.

Hence, I called him.

However, he replied in a detached tone, "Emma has made a wish, and I have to fulfill it."

I begged him, "My mom's dying. Please just come back to see her one last time…"

He hung up on me, utterly unfeeling. "You're using that lame excuse? There's a limit to being jealous. Do you really see me as some kind of servant you can just call up or send away whenever you feel like it? Just because you played the hero once doesn't mean you get to boss me around.

"I can't stand the sight of your face. It makes me want to hurl every time I see it."

When Mom's heart gave out and she died right before my eyes, Andrew was off in Belmar Island—night-swimming with Emma, making wishes, and locking lips like there was no tomorrow.

Even in Mom's last moments, she had asked, "Has Andrew arrived? Is he caught up at work? Tell him I want to see you two tie the knot..."

I cried so hard I thought I would break, but it was not enough to keep Mom there with me.

A month before that, Mom had put makeup on me, but I just could not bring myself to look in the mirror. I had once thought I was as beautiful and bright as the moon, but now, I had become trash on the sidewalk—ready for anyone to step on.

However, that was not the case in Mom's eyes. She kissed my cheek and said, "My sweet Jessica, you're the most beautiful."

When she looked at me in the mirror, her eyes were so full of love. "I raised you, Jessica. I know you. My Jessica doesn't lie. You've been through so much and faced so many hardships. I just want you to make it with Andrew, to find your happiness."

Without Mom, happiness seemed like a far-off dream for me.