Ella POV:
The next morning, I walked into school feeling lighter than I had in days. The weight of rumors, stares, and judgment that had been following me seemed to have lifted. Today, it wasn't me at the center of the whispers in the halls; all the attention had shifted to Amber. Her secrets were finally out, and I wasn't even disturbed about it. Honestly, it felt justified.
I hadn't gone halfway with this. People needed to know the truth, not some half-baked rumor. Unlike the baseless gossip about me, Amber's secret was real. She was adopted—nothing wrong with that—but the truth behind it was far more sordid. Her biological parents were drug addicts who had sold her for a fix. They didn't want her; they sold their own baby to get their next high.
