"Helene!" A car screeched to a stop. Courtney and Bill spilled out, frantic. Courtney saw her daughter, the girl she had pampered and protected all her life, now battered and broken. Her heart twisted painfully.
She rushed to pull Helene into her arms, trying to hug her tight.
"Helene... Helene? Oh—"
But the smell coming off Helene was unbearable. For someone like Courtney, raised in comfort and luxury, it was too much. After calling her daughter's name just twice, she staggered away, covering her mouth as she fought the urge to vomit.
Helene finally saw her parents. Tears stung her eyes, but before she could even cry, she heard her mother's retching, saw her clutching her chest and turning away.
Bill didn’t come over either. He stopped a good distance away, and the look in his eyes was hard to miss, even if he tried to hide it. There was disgust there, plain as day.
Helene was already at her breaking point. Now, seeing her parents so openly repulsed by her, whatever was left of her dignity just crumbled to dust.
She could only imagine how helpless and pitiful she must look right now.
But the worst part wasn’t that. The worst part was Madeline. Madeline was still alive. Madeline was standing right there, seeing everything, seeing Helene like this.
The shame was overwhelming. Helene wished she could just disappear.
"Ah!" She clenched her fists, her voice ragged and loud as she screamed, letting out all the chaos and pain boiling inside her.
Why was this happening to her?
Why?
It just wasn't fair. She’d given everything, done everything, and yet Madeline was still standing.
She couldn’t accept it. She just couldn’t.
The bitterness inside her made her want to hurt Madeline, to lash out, to tear her apart.
But she couldn’t.
That was the most pathetic part. She was powerless. The one person she hated more than anyone was right in front of her, but she couldn’t do anything about it. The anger inside her was like boiling water, burning her from the inside.
It hurt.

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