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She would have approached the competition differently if she could turn back time, but the damage has been done.
Fourth place.
After that heated exchange with Elijah, countless of unnecessary thoughts plagued her mind rendering her unable to focus. She knew the answers but small distractions wore out her concentration.
And with no excuse in mind, she absentmindedly stepped in her father's office, meeting with two silhouettes she dared not to look directly on.
"I'm sorry."
She closed her eyes instinctively the moment her mother's palm swung and landed on her left cheek.
"You promised," the woman gripped her chin, forcing Yulia to face her. "What's the reason this time? There's no Chen, no Xia. They were the same people you beat last year!"
Yulia had no answer.
She had no excuse.
But why was a part of her screaming inside?
"You're... you're damn useless."
Word by word, she was forced to take everything in under a situation she couldn't escape. She didn't want what happened, but she also had no choice but to face the consequences of her shortcomings.
But where did she even lack?
Things she had never heard before flooded her mind yet never in her wildest imaginations did she expect that only a few mistakes would turn her parents away from her.
It was as if the pride she gave them were all erased and replaced by the imprints of her mistakes. If she would put it into ratio form, it would be a thousand achievements to one mistake.
That was her worth.
♟
It felt horrible.
She wanted to scream but her sobs remained silent. She had never been comforted by the darkness but now, she wanted nothing more than to hide the marks contrasting her pale skin.
Was she not supposed to fail?
Was that even a fail?
What's considered a fail?
Thoughts turned into whispers lingering in her mind. Every good luck she had heard a while ago resounded into mocking comments in her head.
