Chapter 3

Back at the apartment I bought with my own money, I called my former manager.

Katelyn was shocked to hear my voice.

"Betty? You vanished without a word. I couldn't even reach you. I asked Samantha."

"She told me you wanted to quit modeling. Is that true?"

Regret hit me like a physical blow. Tears welled up. "Katelyn, I was stupid. I want to come back to SKY Modeling."

After a long silence, Katelyn sighed.

"Come back. You're the most talented girl we’ve ever had. Since you left, we haven't found anyone with your potential."

After hanging up, I put my phone on silent, blocking out the noise of the world.

I stepped onto my dusty treadmill.

Half an hour later, Mario was pounding on the front door like a zombie, screaming, "Betty! Open the damn door!"

I grabbed the towel around my neck, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and ignored the deadbeat outside. I pressed the speed-up button on the treadmill.

When I finally ran out of breath and sat on the floor, chugging water, Mario used his spare key to burst in.

Seeing my flushed face and sweat-drenched clothes, he stared. "What the hell are you doing?"

I took another sip of water. "Are you blind? I’m losing weight."

Mario took a step closer, a flicker of unease in his eyes. "Why are you losing weight all of a sudden?"

I pulled up an old photo of my slim, high-fashion modeling days on my phone and thrust it in his face. "I'm a model. How am I supposed to work if I don't lose weight?"

Mario’s cheek twitched. He looked away guiltily.

"Didn't we agree you’d stick to Mukbang? A single sponsored video makes way more than your crappy modeling gigs."

Right. You brainwashed me into doing Mukbang, made me do sponsorships day and night, called me a giant white pig behind my back, and stole my money to spoil Samantha, didn’t you?

I smiled. "Oh, I changed my mind. I deleted that account."