The Beauty Beneath

Ugly. Freak. Fatty. I had been called those things and more for as long as I could remember. I didn’t mind it, though, because to the outside world, those words described me perfectly. But it was all a charade, a façade to keep people away. Never let anyone get too close. It had worked for twelve years of my life, ever since I caused my father’s death.

And then Carter Anderson pushed his way into my world. Gorgeous, of course, charming, naturally, and cocky, a given—he called himself my friend and broke through every one of my carefully constructed walls.

Cue the “happily ever after,” right? Wrong.

This isn’t some fairy tale where the ugly duckling turns into a beautiful swan, and once the beauty beneath is revealed, all is right in the world. This is real life. When things seem too good to be true, it’s because they usually are. And when people say your past will come back to bite you, they mean it. And trust me, it does.