I, Ellyn Rosenberg, am a filthy person. At least that’s what I think of myself.
𝘧𝓇𝗲𝑒we𝙗noѵ𝑒l.𝐜o𝘮
It was night and I was lying on my bed as I continued to think about my past, and the present I was living right now.
In the end, nothing changed. It became even worse.
I was still facing the same thing I ran away from, doing the same things, keeping the same fake smile on my face, and making sure I fit the role of the heiress of the Rosenberg family.
Here, in the academy, everyone thought of me as a perfect girl. Whenever I was in a group with girls in my class, they showered me with praise, saying how beautiful and flawless I am.
Almost all the boys I’ve met had feelings for me and wanted to go out with me. The image they all had of me in their mind was of a girl who fitted to be from a higher-class noble family.
But…it was not me. I am not like that…that is the real me.
All that was just an act, an act I started playing right after I was born and was still playing it now. Even if I don’t want to.
In reality, I am just like a normal girl who wants to live her teen years to their fullest. Though it was not allowed, not to me.
You can’t behave like a normal average girl if you are from a higher-class noble family. You have to make sure you don’t displease people, you always have to treat others with kindness—even those whom you don’t like. You have to mind your manners, always wear the right dress and makeup so you look beautiful.
And these responsibilities keep getting bigger and bigger the more you move up in the noble hierarchy. You can only imagine what it was like for me, as a member of the Rosenberg family.
The pressure on me was too much, that’s why I…ran away. I escaped from that hell and came here to this academy in hope that I can finally drop the act.
But it turned out I was wrong all along. No matter where I escape to, the name of the Rosenberg family will always haunt me.
People think being born into such families is a blessing, but in reality, it’s even worse than a curse.
I’ll always have to keep up the act, that’s what I thought until I meet him; Leon. I don’t know if it was due to sheer coincidence, or if it was the work of fate, but he got to see my real self.
And the surprising thing is that he didn’t hate or criticized me for it, he accepted me as a friend. That was the only time I felt truly blessed, I did have my doubts about him but it turned out to be just my imagination.
Leon was someone I can trust, so much that now I was sharing a secret with him. A secret no one knows, except me, my family, and Leon.
As I thought about him, I fell asleep.
***
The next day Ellyn woke up, her mood was good as last night she slept while thinking of some good moments of her life. A refreshing smile was on her face when she left the bed.
After doing her usual things like brushing her teeth, taking a bath, and changing into her school uniform. And now, half an hour later she was ready to go for classes.
She took a few books with her and then left her room. Though just when she opened the door and was about to take a step outside, she noticed something lying on the doormat.
It was a rectangular piece of paper; a letter to be precise. She raised her brow as she stared at the letter down her feet.
It wasn’t that odd for her to receive letters like this, many of them were love letters written by the boys in her class or from even other classes. She wanted to ignore it but letting paper lay on the floor was bad manners, hence she bent and picked it up.
Then she turned around and checked the time on the wall clock; she wasn’t late, in fact, there were still 20 minutes left before the classes start. So she decided to take a look at the letter, her interest in this was piqued up when she saw that there was no name written on it.
She tore the envelope and pulled out another script from inside. It was not long, rather only a few sentences were written on it. Also, just like on the envelope, there was no name written here either.
Stepping inside the room again, she sat on her bed as she read through the contents of the letter.
The feeling she first had was curiosity, but as she kept reading word by word, that feeling changed into nervousness, then insecurity, then anxiety, panicking, and finally fear.
[Hello, Ms. Rosenberg. Let me get this straight and to the point, I know the secret you are hiding. I don’t really want to do this but since you are in my path, I was thinking was leaking that secret to the public and letting them see you for what you are.
You do know which secret I’m talking about, right? The one only you, your family, and your beloved Leon know about. Yes, that’s what I’m talking about.
Though I think we can come to an agreement, that’s why I’d like to talk with you in person. If you don’t want me to reveal it to everyone, then come meet me on the rooftop of the main building, right after the classes are over.
We will talk there.]
She was stunned, for a second it was as though her soul left her body.
How this person did know about it? Something only a handful of people should be aware of.
She…was scared, and filled with questions.
