What Is The Moral Of A Bad Case Of Tattle Tongue?

PART 2 - OWNED BY THE BULLY - IS OUT NOW! Alice only wanted to help her younger brother when she confronted his bully. She ends up agreeing to do whatever Adam wants in return for him leaving her brother alone. He goes one step further, befriending and protecting her brother, but only for as long as Alice agrees to follow his orders. Orders that become increasingly difficult for her to agree to.

When my mom married his dad, I promised myself I’d ignore the cocky, too-hot-for-his-own-good stepbrother who lived down the hall. But Jace Carter isn’t just good-looking—he’s trouble in a tight black T-shirt. And when we’re left alone in one house all summer, the line between hate and heat starts to blur. He’s off-limits. But that hasn’t stopped me from dreaming about what’s under his towel… Now he’s staring at me like I’m already his dirty little secret.

My daughter Lyra believed the Moon Goddess had given our kind one virtue above all others: honesty. So she never told a single lie. I put on a newly bought lipstick and turned in front of the mirror. "Sweetheart, does Mommy look pretty today?" She glanced up at me. "Honestly, Mommy, you were ugly to start with, and that color only makes it worse." One evening I was scrambling around the kitchen while my mother-in-law scolded me for not being able to cook a decent meal. I asked Lyra, "Grandma says Mommy's useless. Does that upset you?" She kept stacking her blocks. "Honestly, I'm actually glad you're getting scolded." That night, while my husband read her a bedtime story, he asked whether she would take care of me when I was old and could no longer walk. She thought it over seriously, then rolled onto her other side. "No way. A useless wolf should just go off and die on its own." Something in me went cold. She only grinned. "But I'm just telling the truth." Later, when a caseworker from the Pup Welfare Council came to register us for the census and asked Lyra a few routine questions, she insisted on telling nothing but the truth. This time, though, it was a truth she would regret for the rest of her life.

My mom tends to speak the truth no matter what the occasion it is. When my boyfriend visits our family, Mom makes small talk with him happily. "Tiffany once contracted HPV when she was in her second year of college. Please don't judge her for that. Haha!" When my friend comes over to hang out with me, Mom leans in to take a closer look at her face. "With those high cheekbones and hollow cheeks, you've got 'short life' written all over your face! I guess only Tiffany is willing to hang out with you." Later on, I finally nailed a job as a governmental employee after putting in hard work for half a year. During the background check, Mom starts running her mouth about the "truth" again. "I think there's something wrong with Tiffany's moral ethics. First of all, she loves lying. Second of all, she's disrespectful to me. If your department does end up hiring her, you've gotta be careful." Undoubtedly, I get disqualified because of her words. That's when I get into a huge fight with Mom. But that woman has the audacity to talk back to me. "All I did was speak the truth about you! The fact that your department doesn't want you means that you lack the capability! Don't ever think that you get to pin the blame on me!" I fall silent at her words. Since Mom loves telling the truth that much, I might as well use the truth to destroy her.

I couldn’t speak until I was eight years old. Everyone in the Sterling family called me dumb. Even my mother would secretly wipe away tears, convinced she had given birth to an autistic daughter. Whenever my father looked at me, his eyes were filled with nothing but disappointment. However, for the sake of the family’s reputation, he could never bring himself to send me away to a special education school. Then came the day someone from a prominent hedge fund company arrived to acquire our family company, Sterling Group. He was so arrogant that he chewed out everyone in the boardroom until all of them hung their heads low. The room full of corporate executives fell silent, too terrified to speak. Meanwhile, I stood there in the corner, listening to the whole thing until I felt sleepy and fed up. Taking a step forward, I spoke the very first words of my life.

I was the fat girl, the nerd who everyone bullied just for the fun of it. They even nicknamed me 'the ugly duckling.' They threw things at me, hurled insults at me and laughed at me. My parents choose my sister over me every time. My crush, Ashton Hill even humiliated me in front of the whole school. But I rose above it. I turned the pain into purpose—the humiliation into power. Now, the ball is in my court and I am about to make the game as hard as it can get for every single person who ever tainted me. Especially Ashton Hill! Everyone was about to know what regret meant because I would make sure to teach them a lesson they never forget!