Chapter 4

My father shoved a sheet of paper and a pen at me. “Write it. Write a confession. You'll read it out loud in a bit.”

I took the paper and the pen and went back to my room.

I sat down at my desk, and the tears came in a steady stream.

I wrote the confession the way my father wanted it.

Really, it read more like a plea of guilt.

My father read through it first, then nodded.

The livestream began.

Facing the camera, my eyes rimmed red, I admitted it. I said I was a slut, that I'd slept my way up, that I'd thrown away every line I had to land the lead role.

I even promised everyone watching that from now on I would live an honest life, that I wouldn't let them down, that I hoped they could give me one more chance.

I read the whole thing out like a walking corpse.

More people cursed me than before.

“Confirmed. Willow Delgado really is a slut.”

“Shameless piece of trash, seducing other people's husbands. She deserves to die.”

“Blacklist her. A menace like this should never get another chance.”

But my father didn't see any of those comments.

He only saw that I'd obeyed again, and he nodded, satisfied.

The man who'd been raging a moment ago turned gentle and warm again.

He patted my shoulder. “Willow, you lost one role, but that doesn't matter.”

“As long as you walk the right path, you've still got a bright future ahead.”

“We do this clean, and we sleep easy at night.”

I made a small sound of agreement and walked slowly toward the door.

My mother called after me, her voice thick with tears. “Willow, where are you going?”

I forced a smile. “I'm a little thirsty. Going to grab a drink.”

The truth was, I didn't know where I was going either.

Outside, I put on a mask, hailed a cab, and slipped away from that place like a thief who couldn't be seen.

All day, my father kept refreshing his phone, waiting for the comments to turn, for people to warm back up to the actress who'd owned her mistake and changed.

But to his disappointment, all anyone noticed was that I'd admitted with my own mouth that I was a slut.

As for my apology, my promises, no one cared at all.

More and more people piled on, and they even started attacking my parents.

My father read it with his brow knotted tight, unable to stop himself from arguing back.

But his words were quickly drowned out under the flood of abuse.

Then, with a crash, someone outside smashed our window.

After it came a whole crowd of voices, cursing in the ugliest way they could.

Slut, whore……the filth filled the entire complex.

My father stood at the window and shouted down at them. “My daughter already apologized. She already made it right.”

The people outside shouted back over each other. “Like that means a damn thing.”

Right then, a push notification popped up on my father's phone.

It was a joint statement from the entertainment industry. : We will absolutely not work with tainted talent. As of today, Willow Delgado is officially blacklisted.

My father panicked.

Just then my mother came running over in a rush. “I just got a call from the police.”

“Someone recognized Willow out there and slashed her with a knife. They're rushing her to the hospital now.”

A roar went off in my father's head, and he bolted for the door, out of his mind.

My mother called out, “Bring her ID.”

My father stumbled into my room.

The first thing he saw was my trophies and my certificates.

First place in the dance competition, first place in the hosting competition, first place in the new-singer competition……

Behind every one of those awards was my own sweat.

None of it had come easy.

In that moment, my father truly regretted it.

He muttered under his breath, “I never thought it would come to this.”

He went to my desk to grab the ID, and that was when a sheet of paper caught his eye.

He glanced at it, and his face went white.