The Plain Jane Everyone Mocked Was Actually the Queen of a Fashion Empire Chapter 02
I’d memorized Chloe’s face from that photo.
She was beautiful and poised, like a proud white swan.
Now the woman from the photo stood beside my bed, scissors in hand, pointing at me and cackling.
Horror hit me. I reached for my hair and found that whole chunks had been cut off.
I shot upright.
Ethan was lounging off to the side. The moment he saw my hair, he burst out laughing.
“Sorry, Nora. Let me introduce you. This is Chloe Sterling, my ex-girlfriend. She lost a game of Truth or Dare, and as punishment, she had to go to her ex-boyfriend’s place and cut his current girlfriend’s hair. Try to be understanding.”
I froze for a moment before racing to the mirror.
The hair I had just decided to grow out was now an uneven mess.
I shook with anger.
That dare couldn’t have been more obviously aimed at me.
Ethan laughed. “Nora, that hairstyle actually looks pretty good on you. Why didn’t I think of it before? I should’ve had you wear it like this ages ago.”
Chloe burst out laughing.
“Ethan, you really do love her. I can’t believe you can still sleep with her when she looks like that. Honestly, I’m impressed!”
The smile instantly vanished from Ethan’s face.
He stared straight at Chloe. “You know perfectly well whether it’s true love or not. Stop pretending you don’t.”
An unspoken tension simmered between them.
I stood in front of the mirror, completely forgotten.
Neither of them cared that I was a woman too, or that my hair mattered to me.
I had cried for days when I first cut off my long hair. Still, I had been willing to do it for Ethan.
Now, it all felt like a cruel joke.
While I stood there in a daze, Chloe filmed my hair.
“Guys, I finished my dare! I’ll be back to keep drinking with you!”
Ethan immediately said, “You’re drinking again? You know your stomach can’t handle it. Can you stop drinking so much? Don’t go back out tonight. Just stay here.”
His concern came so naturally to him.
So did inviting his ex-girlfriend to spend the night right in front of his current girlfriend.
I snapped out of my daze and blocked Chloe’s path.
“I don’t care who you are. You don’t get to cut my hair and just walk away.”
I picked up the scissors and moved toward her, one step at a time.
Ethan moved in front of Chloe, shielding her behind him as he looked down at me.
“Can you stop being ridiculous? Chloe takes really good care of her hair.”
He paused before adding, “Your hair’s already been cut, so what’s done is done. Chloe cares a lot about her looks. Her hair means everything to her.”
I stared at him, then burst out laughing.
“So her hair matters, but mine deserved to be hacked up?”
Chloe rolled her eyes and muttered, “That ugly bowl cut of yours was already dry and frizzy. So what if I cut it? What’s the big deal?”
A flicker of guilt crossed Ethan’s eyes.
He’d seen me when my hair was long. It had been smooth and soft.
After I cut it short, he stopped me from taking proper care of it. He wouldn’t even let me use conditioner.
He was determined to make me look as ordinary as possible.
I had thought he was afraid of losing me.
The truth was, he’d been afraid I wouldn’t look plain enough, and that would cost him his chance to get back together with his ex-girlfriend.
I said each word clearly.
“Ethan, either you let me cut her hair too, or we break up.”
My voice was surprisingly calm when I said those final two words.
Ethan immediately frowned.
“You’re breaking up with me over something this small?”
An unreadable emotion flashed in his eyes as he lowered his voice.
“Come on. We’re not breaking up. If you need to take it out on someone, cut my hair instead, okay?”
I froze for a moment.
Maybe he refused to break up because the bet still wasn’t over.
After all, three days from now, he could get back together with Chloe.
Beside him, Chloe’s eyes widened.
“Ethan, you never tried this hard to keep me when we were together.”
Her eyes reddened instantly.
Then she yanked open the door and ran outside.
