The Plain Jane Everyone Mocked Was Actually the Queen of a Fashion Empire Chapter 01
My boyfriend, Ethan Cole, was incredibly controlling.
He wouldn’t let me get my nails done or dye or perm my hair. I couldn’t post pictures on social media or wear shorts or skirts.
I even needed his permission to wear makeup.
Sometimes, I would complain, “I want to look pretty too.”
His voice would immediately soften as he tried to coax me.
“I’m just afraid someone will steal you away from me.”
“Can’t you just stay plain and stay by my side forever?”
I knew his ex-girlfriend had dumped him and left him deeply insecure, so I gave in again and again.
Then one day, I came across a post.
“I made a bet with my ex-boyfriend. If he could stay with a total Plain Jane for three years, I’d take him back.”
“He’s obsessed with looks, but he’s actually stuck it out with her for almost three years because of me.”
My heart sank as I read those words.
What did that make the girl they called “Plain Jane” in this twisted bet?
Then I saw an old photo in the post.
The man in it was Ethan.
He was kissing his ex-girlfriend, Chloe, with unmistakable tenderness.
That was when the truth finally hit me.
I was their wager.
That was why he’d never let me look beautiful.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the faded version of myself he’d slowly turned me into.
It was time for Nora Bennett to walk away from their game and reclaim the woman she’d once been.
When Ethan came home, his gaze immediately landed on my hair.
He frowned automatically. “You need a haircut. The sides are starting to cover your ears.”
In the nearly three years we’d been together, he’d never let me grow out my hair, style it, or even care for it properly.
He had told me, “I love bowl cuts. They’re adorable.”
Without hesitation, I had cut off my long, soft curls.
Whenever my hair grew long enough to brush my ears, he would remind me to get another haircut.
Back then, I had believed he genuinely liked it.
Now I finally understood.
A bowl cut was plain, unfashionable, and exactly what he wanted me to be.
I looked up at him and said calmly, “I’m growing my hair out from now on. I hate this bowl cut.”
Ethan stared at me in surprise.
“What’s gotten into you? I thought you loved having short hair.”
I had only claimed to love it because he did. It had all been a lie.
“No. I never liked it.”
I paused and looked him straight in the eye.
“You think it looks awful too, don’t you?”
He gave a quiet laugh and dodged the question.
“What’s upsetting my dear Plain Jane this time?”
He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him send it to someone before rapidly typing a message.
Ethan: [Third-to-last day of sticking it out with Plain Jane.]
As he scrolled through the conversation, I realized he had been taking a picture of me every day and sending it to his ex-girlfriend, Chloe Sterling.
It was his way of proving that he had truly managed to stay with someone as ordinary as me.
I watched him trade messages with Chloe, glancing over at me every so often with an appraising look.
Suddenly, the whole thing felt pointless.
I returned to the bedroom and typed my reply.
Nora: [I’m ready to join Élan Magazine. I can start in three days.]
Élan Magazine was one of the world’s leading fashion magazines, setting trends across the globe.
Ethan had no idea that I had studied fashion before we got together.
I’d once known exactly how to make the most of my looks. I’d even been the queen of the dance floor, turning heads all over campus.
Of all the men who had pursued me, Ethan had seemed the most sincere and passionate.
When I was putting together my graduation portfolio, he’d be waiting for me at the library at six in the morning with a cup of coffee.
Whenever I got stuck on something, he patiently worked through it with me, pulling even more all-nighters than I did.
I’d believed he was someone I could count on.
Now I knew it had all been an act.
At least I wouldn’t keep playing along with his charade.
That night, a faint rustling woke me from a deep sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I saw two people standing beside my bed.
