After I Became Pretty Chapter 01
My online boyfriend asked for my photo again.
Before I could answer, Seren—the school’s reigning beauty—
snatched my phone.
“You’re a walking blimp—200 pounds of it.”
“If he sees what you really look like, he’ll dump you on the spot.”
She held up her own photo. “Send this instead.”
“That way you won’t scare him off.”
The others joined in.
“You’re carrying that much weight and still dare to have an online boyfriend?”
“Isn’t that basically fraud?”
I pinched the rolls on my stomach, hesitating.
Then the comments appeared.
[This fat girl’s online boyfriend? A generous billionaire heir.]
[Seren knows. She set this up so she could send her own photo and later take her place.]
[Dorian will spoil her rotten. Ten thousand dollar transfers like it’s nothing.]
I snapped the phone back and pulled up a photo from three years ago.
“No thanks. When I’m thin again, I’ll look better than you.”
—
The laughter hit from all sides.
“Elara, take a look at yourself in the mirror—you look like a pig.”
“You’d blend right in with the pigs in a pen.”
Seren leaned in, laughing harder.
“Are you so fat that your brain’s gone soft? You can’t even tell reality from a filter?”
“Send a filtered photo and he’ll only be more disappointed when he meets the real you.”
Everyone crowded around my phone and decided instantly it was photoshopped.
“The face doesn’t even look like you. Have some self-awareness.”
“If you send that and he sees the real you, he might actually want to kill you.”
What they didn’t know:
Three years ago, I’d been the girl everyone stared at.
Then my parents died.
Back-to-back accidents. I fell apart.
Eating became the only thing that made me feel better.
Add exam pressure on top of that—I let myself go.
And I let myself enjoy it.
Now, I was out of that dark place.
I’d made it into university.
Maybe it was time to find the girl I used to be.
Not for them—for myself.
I ignored the noise and scrolled through my gallery, looking for the right photo.
Before I could pick one, Seren grabbed my phone again—and sent one of her own.
“You’re fat and ugly. I’m helping you.”
“If you keep stalling, your boyfriend’s going to get annoyed.”
[Dorian will fall for Seren at first sight.]
[He’s rich, obsessed, and six feet of pure good looks.]
[Pairing him with a pig like her is a waste.]
[Yes, Seren—go after him. A top-tier guy deserves a top-tier girl.]
My stomach dropped.
I grabbed the phone back, ready to unsend.
But Dorian had already replied.
“Baby, you’re gorgeous… I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“I can’t believe I got this lucky.”
Seren’s eyes sparkled with triumph.
“He’s already seen the photo.”
“Might as well roll with it. If you’re worried about the meet-up—”
“I’ll go instead of you.”