"I ruined my life."

That was the only thought running through Sage’s mind as she watched the crowd at her high school reunion. She had gotten her revenge for her mother, sure—but it hadn’t brought her the satisfaction she expected. It hadn’t changed anything. This wasn’t the life she had imagined at the finish line. This wasn’t it.

"Yen," she whispered with a small smile, hoping the friendliest person in their class would notice her. But Yen only spared her a brief glance—distant, unfamiliar, like she was looking at a stranger.

A dull ache settled in Sage’s chest. Weren’t they best friends? They used to do everything together—bathroom trips, lunch runs, gossiping between classes. Hell, even Yen’s husband was someone Sage had introduced her to.

Her eyes brightened when she saw a familiar face approaching. Brother Dar—

"Excuse me, ma’am. One of our chairs is broken. Could you get it replaced?"

The words hit her like a slap. He was polite, kind, but there was no recognition in his eyes. He didn’t remember his high school little sister.

Sage forced a smile. "Sorry, I’m not part of the crew here."

He flashed an apologetic smile. "Ah, sorry for mistaking your identity. Uh… are you here with your kid?"

Sage stiffened. Do I really look that old?

She let out a forced chuckle, waving her hands in mock amusement. "Oh, yeah, yeah." She played along.

The moment her high school brother turned away, her smile faded. Her chest tightened. Don’t cry. She pressed a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

She blended into the crowd, clapping when everyone else did, but it was mechanical—empty. The laughter, the cheers, the buzzing conversations around her felt like they belonged to a world she no longer recognized.

She stayed in the shadows, tucked away in a dark corner of the function hall. The dim lighting barely reached her, as if even the room itself was pushing her to the sidelines. The center stage was bright, alive—the real heart of the event, where everyone else belonged.

Slowly, she pulled on the hooded jacket she had brought with her, fingers gripping the fabric tighter than necessary. The snap of her sandal heels breaking echoed faintly in her ears. I don’t belong here anyway.

The words sat heavy in her chest, pressing down, pressing in. She forced a breath, a shaky smile—like if she just kept pretending, the ache in her throat wouldn’t spill over.

On her way out, she stopped by the restroom and froze. Yen was there—chatting, laughing with their old toilet buddy like nothing had changed. Like Sage had never been part of it.

She kept her face blank, unreadable, but the people who had just walked in glanced at her, startled, as if sensing something off.

Sage finished up quickly and stepped outside. She rarely smoked, but tonight felt like one of those nights. Finding a quiet spot, she noticed a few batchmates huddled together, cigarettes glowing in the dark.

"Can you light mine, brother?" she asked, holding out her cigarette.

One of them obliged, pressing the tip of his to hers before puffing gently to help it catch.

She exhaled a stream of smoke, then spoke casually—too casually. "Didn’t you end up in the hospital for lung cancer?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The man paused mid-inhale, caught off guard.

Sage just smirked, blowing out another puff of smoke.

"Yeah. What are you, some kind of fortune-teller?" The man chuckled, but there was genuine surprise in his eyes—almost admiration.

"Nah," Sage shrugged. She took another drag, exhaling slowly. "I’ll tell you a story." She didn’t wait for his response, just dove right in. "How does someone who used to be so popular in high school become a nobody at their own reunion? Funny, right? Anyway… I saw a girl earlier, standing alone behind everyone. She had this beautiful, flowy purple dress and an aura you couldn’t ignore."

She was obviously talking about herself. A smirk played on her lips, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Before she stubbed out her cigarette, she threw in a casual compliment. "You look good in your suit, Jake."

Then, without giving him a chance to react, she flashed the brightest smile she could muster and walked away.

The moment she stepped out of sight, the mask cracked. Her emotions swirled in a storm of exhaustion, grief, and bitter acceptance.

She had just lost her home—kicked out of her tiny, rundown apartment after a fire. And to make it worse, the fire had started in her unit. She had spent the night at the police station, answering endless questions, feeling like a criminal in her own misfortune.

And then—just when she thought she had nothing left to lose—she woke up to a brutal reality.

Her father had died. The only person who had ever been patient with her, the only one who hadn’t turned his back on her. And she hadn’t even known.

Not until she saw her sister’s cold, detached post.

No call. No warning. Just a few words on a screen.

And even in death, they wouldn’t let her in.

Her mother and sister made it clear—she wasn’t welcome at the funeral. They hated her. They always had.

She meant nothing to them.

Sage clenched her fists. She had no home, no family, and no place in a room full of people who once knew her name.

So where the hell was she supposed to go now?

Sage didn’t even deserve to cry.

She went to work at the small cafeteria inside a large company. Luckily, the guard knew her and let her in, even though she had shown up in pajamas. She changed into her uniform and started her day as usual.

But something felt different. Her routine, normally dull and monotonous, suddenly felt a little brighter. Everyone was kind to her after hearing that she had lost everything in the fire. Some even donated clothes—including the dress she had worn to the reunion.

She had nowhere to stay for the night, but she knew one place with a good view, where no one would care if she stayed there. Carefully, she trekked two miles until she reached an old, abandoned skeleton of a building.

Sage climbed the stairs in silence, making her way up to the fifth floor. A few beggars were scattered around, huddled in their corners. The stench of human waste and garbage hit her nose, sharp and unforgiving, but she didn’t complain.

She deserved this.

Peeling off her dress, she kept only her white tank top and black cycling shorts. She laid the dress down like a makeshift blanket and sat on it, lifting her head toward the open sky.

For the first time, she saw the constellations she had only ever read about in textbooks.

Heh, I’m still lucky. Is that the Big Dipper? She squinted, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips. Wow, I thought that tiny one I saw before was the Big Dipper.

So, she could still find something to be happy about?

A real smile stretched across her face as she stared at the sky, taking in the quiet beauty of it all. Slowly, her eyes drifted shut, and she fell asleep.

Then—

The sharp sound of shattering glass rang out, followed by a sudden, piercing pain at the side of her head.

Sage’s eyes fluttered open, her vision hazy, her mind sluggish. A drunk old man loomed over her, a jagged piece of glass clutched in his hand.

She blinked, the pain sinking in, her heart pounding.

"Sir," she muttered, still lying down, her voice eerily calm as her gaze turned sharp, deadly.

"Did you just fucking try to kill me?"