(Finding Forever After the Betrayal Chapter 4
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Hannah clutched the trophy, her face devoid of any joy. Instead, she bit her lip, her eyes welling up.“Violet,” she began, her voice a soft tremor, “the director asked me to give this to you. Congratulations, it’s a huge honor.”
She paused, then added, her voice barely a whisper, “Would it… would it be awful of me to ask if I could… maybe keep it for a few days? I’ve never won
anything like this, and I just thought it might be nice to…”
I stared at her, completely dumbfounded.“Borrow it?”
My tone must have betrayed my disbelief because her face flushed, a delicate
shade of pink that crept up her neck.“I know, I know, it’s a ridiculous request. I
just thought it might inspire me, you know? Seeing it every day…”
“If you want to win one,” I said, my voice tight, “then enter the competition.
yourself.”
I reached for the trophy, but her grip tightened, her knuckles turning white.
“I’m not trying to take it from you!” she cried, her eyes wide and wounded.“I
just want to…”
The trophy, caught between our battling wills, slipped. It tumbled to the
floor with a sickening crunch, shattering into a dozen pieces.
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“Hannah!”
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Aiden and Ethan, back from their knight–in–shining–armor mission,
rushed towards us, their faces etched with concern. Aiden knelt beside Hannah,
his eyes scanning her for injuries.
“Are you alright?”
She shook her head, her face pale. Aiden’s eyes followed her gaze to a thin
line of blood welling up on her leg, a shard of crystal embedded in her skin. His
eyes darkened.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said, scooping her up in his arms, ignoring
her weak protests.
Ethan rounded on me, his eyes blazing.“What did you do?” he spat.“You have
everything. Why do you have to take this from her too?”
“Take it?” I laughed, a humorless sound that caught in my
throat.“This was
my award, Ethan! Three months of work, and she…” I gestured at the shattered
trophy, my voice shaking with anger and something else, something deeper and
more painful that I couldn’t quite name.“She tries to claim it as her own, breaks it,
and I’m the one at fault?”
“It’s just a trophy, Violet!” Ethan exploded, his voice echoing in the sudden
silence.“You can have a million trophies. It doesn’t mean anything compared to
Hannah getting hurt!” And with that, he turned and followed Aiden, leaving me
<
I stared at the shattered trophy, my reflection staring back at me, distomed
Later that evening, my phone burred with a message from my mother.
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