Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I nodded. "Fine," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'll do it. But you better keep your promise, Simon. Because if you don’t, I swear I’ll find a way to make you pay."
Simon nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now, let's get this over with," he said, motioning for Scarlett to get up. "Scarlett, stop crying. Zara's going to take care of everything, just like always." Scarlett stood up, wiping her tears and gave me a grateful look. "Thank you, Zara," she said, her voice filled with false sincerity. "You’re saving my life."
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I was too busy trying to come to terms with what I had just agreed to do. As I was led away, I couldn’t help but wonder how I had ended up in this position. And more importantly, how I was ever going to get out of it.
I never thought I’d end up in this orange jumpsuit. Even during the years when I was almost dying of poverty, I never considered breaking the law.
But now, Simon personally sent me to prison. His eyes were slightly red as he approached to hug me and I didn’t move away. “Zara, as long as you admit it, I’ll marry you when you get out,” he promised.
I nodded, pretending to be touched, then turned away. I couldn’t react to the man who had personally sent me to prison; I just felt exhausted, a tiredness that ran deep. The orange jumpsuit felt like a shroud, suffocating me with its vivid reminder of my predicament. The bars clanged shut behind me, a harsh punctuation to my life as I had known it.
I met Simon in high school when he was a bully who made my life miserable.
Maybe it was because I was good-looking, or maybe he just saw how poor I was and decided he wanted to “support” me. He called it support, but really, it was just using me to clean up his messes. My role was to take the blame and occasionally make his dream girl, Scarlett, jealous.
I was content with the money and the promise of marriage. But while my reputation was in tatters, my grades were good enough that not many people bothered me. I relied on Simon’s money to get through high school and college, even managing to save some.