"My parents... my friends... even my boyfriend... they all started blaming ." Her hands tightened into fists.
"My boyfriend... he still married after that... but it wasn’t out of love. It was like... he married just to torture more."
Lucas frowned. "What do you an?"
"He would humiliate ... every single day," she said, staring at the passing buildings outside the window.
"Call nas... treat like dirt... tell how disgusting I am... how everyone in the city knows what kind of person I am." She gave a bitter smile. "And the worst part... I started believing him."
Lucas clenched his jaw. "That’s ssed up."
"Yeah... and it didn’t stop there." The girl suddenly reached for the radio and started switching stations. After skipping through two music channels, she stopped when a news report started playing.
"...The young woman who cheated on her husband with multiple n..."
Lucas’s eyes widened. The girl pointed at the radio and laughed again, though this ti the laughter sounded like it might turn into crying at any second.
"That’s ," she said. "Famous, right?"
Lucas stared at the road for a mont, unsure what to say. Finally, he asked softly,
"You really want to die... just because of this?"
The girl let out a shaky breath.
"What’s left for , huh? My reputation is ruined. My parents hate . My husband is sleeping around with other won. Even strangers on the street look at like I’m trash. What’s the point?"
Lucas stayed quiet, but after a few seconds, he said, "You could take revenge."
The girl turned to look at him, stunned. "What?"
"I an it," Lucas said, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
"If I were you... I wouldn’t die now. I’d live... just to make them regret it. Just to make them see I’m not weak."
The girl blinked. Then she shook her head.
"You don’t get it," she said, her voice sounding tired again. "My husband... he’s one of the richest n in the city. I’m nothing compared to him. I can’t fight soone like that."
Lucas gave a small smile. "Then... build sothing for yourself first. Make a life that’s stronger than his. Then show him what you’re really made of."
The girl laughed bitterly. "You sound like you’re reading from so motivational book."
Lucas shrugged. "Maybe... but it’s better than giving up."
The girl sighed. "You don’t know how hard I’ve tried..." she whispered. "For the last two years... I tried everything. I even tried to get back at my sister."
Lucas froze. "Wait... your sister? But... she’s..."
The girl nodded slowly. "She’s alive."
Lucas almost hit the brakes again. "What?! I thought you said she..."
"I thought she was dead too," the girl said, looking down at her hands. "But she wasn’t. She faked everything."
Lucas stared at her, confused. "Faked?"
"Yeah," she said, her voice shaking with emotion.
"After the accident... she disappeared. Left fake letters. ssages that made it look like I wanted to kill her. Everyone believed her. Even my boyfriend... my parents... everyone."
Her hands were trembling now. "They all thought I was a murderer."
Lucas was stunned. "That’s... insane."
The girl laughed again, but it sounded like she was close to breaking down.
"And the worst part? Even after I proved she was alive... after I got out of jail... no one believed ." She wiped her eyes angrily.
"They still see as the bad one. My parents... my husband... the whole city. No one cares about the truth."
"Is she not your real sister?" Lucas asked in a soft voice.
The girl shook her head.
"No. She’s adopted. But... since we were kids... she always wanted what I had. My parents’ love. My friends. Even my boyfriend."
Lucas blinked. "Wait... your boyfriend? She liked him too?"
The girl nodded.
"Yeah... she was obsessed with him. But he never liked her that way. He treated her like a little sister... nothing more."
Lucas was quiet, trying to process everything. "So... she wanted to ruin your life... and she did."
The girl let out a bitter laugh. "Yep. Mission complete, I guess."
Lucas stayed silent for a mont, then said softly, "Then why let her win now? If she’s gone this far... shouldn’t you fight back?"
The girl looked at him, surprised.
Lucas smiled a little. "Start by having a donut. Then... let’s figure out the revenge plan."
The girl chuckled softly and looked at Lucas, shaking her head.
"How can you stay so optimistic for so long?" she asked, a mix of curiosity and disbelief in her voice.
Lucas let out a small chuckle in return. "Well, there was a ti in my life when I wasn’t so optimistic," he began, his tone a little more serious.
"I went through a pretty dark phase. For a while, I honestly didn’t think I’d make it through. Every day felt like a battle. I used to drag myself out of bed, telling myself that everything would get better.
But, it didn’t. For three long years, I thought everything was just going to keep going downhill. I was sure I’d lose everything... that I’d be stuck in that place forever. It felt like there was no way out."
The girl looked at him, listening intently, her eyes narrowing a little as she waited for him to continue.
"And then, one day, I got a ssage. It was like a wake-up call," Lucas continued, his voice softer now.
"Suddenly, everything that was haunting started to make sense, and the problem that had been holding back for years... it got solved.
After three years of struggle, it just ended, and I realized sothing. Those three years were the hardest of my life, but they taught sothing important."
The girl tilted her head, clearly curious now. "What was it?"
Lucas smiled faintly, the mory still fresh in his mind.
"That even in the darkest monts, things can change. And sotis, you just need to hang on a little longer. Eventually, things will get better."
The girl chuckled again, this ti a little more softly.
"You sound like you’ve been through a lot," she said, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "Did you break up with your girlfriend or sothing?"
Lucas shook his head. "It wasn’t about my girlfriend," he said with a small smile. "It was about my sister."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Your sister? What happened?"
Lucas’s face turned serious, and he kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead.
"I have more than four siblings, but the youngest... she’s the one I raised like my own daughter. She always had a weak body, but a daring spirit. And I used to worry about her all the ti.
Three years ago, she fell into a coma after getting really sick. The doctors weren’t sure if she was going to make it, and I thought I was going to lose her."
The girl fell silent, her eyes softening as she listened to his words. "What happened next?"
Lucas’s lips twitched upward as he spoke.
"Well, three years later, she woke up. And the crazy part? The disease disappeared, just like that. No one knows how. But she’s okay now. And honestly? That was the happiest mont of my life."
The girl smiled faintly, but it wasn’t a full smile. "I bet you must have been so relieved," she said softly.
"Yeah," Lucas nodded, his voice quiet.
"I never thought I’d feel that way, but after everything I went through... having her back, it made want to work harder. Now I’m pushing myself so that my family doesn’t have to suffer anymore. I’m trying to start my own company so I can give them everything they need."
The girl chuckled lightly. "I can tell you were raised in a really loving family."
Lucas nodded, but his expression turned a little more thoughtful.
"Yeah, I was. But we weren’t rich. There were tis when I had to skip als just to make sure we could pay for our school fees. I used to envy the kids who had all the cool gadgets and fancy stuff, and I’d tell myself I didn’t care.
But I did. I just didn’t have the money to get it. And now, I’m working hard to make sure my siblings never have to go through that."
The girl looked at him, her eyes shining with sothing like admiration. "You really care about your family, don’t you?"
Lucas smiled, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Yeah, I do. And I want to make sure that no one in my family ever has to feel like that again."
The girl sighed and looked out the window, lost in thought. "I wish I had a family like yours. I don’t even know if I’ll ever be a good mother or a good wife."
Lucas noticed the silence hanging between them and knew what she was thinking. "You know, I used to think the sa thing," he said, his voice gentle.
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