Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Mrs. Jones stood silently by the door, watching her daughter sleep. She turned to Sally with a tired sigh.

"Sally, please take care of her. I have an urgent business trip to Africa. I’ll be back next week."

Sally nodded. Once Mrs. Jones left, she stared at Beauty’s sleeping form. The girl who once had everything now looked so broken.

The next morning, Sally found Beauty on the balcony smoking — something she only did when she was furious.

"My lady…"

Beauty turned slowly. "Where’s my mom?"

"She left for Africa. She’ll be back next week."

Beauty let out a bitter laugh. "Everyone is leaving me now. Soon you’ll leave too."

Sally stepped closer. "I’m not going anywhere. I’m your friend. I’ll stay with you through the good and the bad."

"Shut up, Sally. Stop pretending." Beauty rolled her eyes. "Middle-class people like you are never trustworthy."

Sally’s expression hardened. "You know what, Beauty? I’ve tolerated your attitude for almost ten years. But this new look actually suits you. Maybe now you’ll understand what it feels like to be treated like you’re nothing."

Sally turned and walked out of the mansion.

Beauty stood frozen. For the first time, her words had cost her the one person who truly stayed.

Alone and desperate, she opened her laptop and began searching: “How people suddenly become ugly.”

Nothing matched — until she remembered the old woman at the supermarket.

"You are the one who is ugly…"

Beauty’s eyes widened. "A curse… She cursed me."

She quickly covered her face with a scarf, mask, and sunglasses and drove back to the supermarket. The old woman was nowhere to be found.

When she returned home, Jason was waiting outside, leaning against his car.

"What do you want?" Beauty asked coldly.

"So the rumors are true?" He smirked, looking at her covered face. "Let me see."

Beauty yanked off her scarf and glasses in anger. "Can you marry someone who looks like this?!"

Jason’s eyes widened, then he burst into loud laughter. "If I were you, I’d just kill myself. No man will ever want you like this."

He drove off, still laughing.

Beauty ran inside and cried until her eyes burned. Then she made a decision.

She sent Sally a message:

"Hey Sally, I’m really sorry for what I said. I was wrong. Please come back. Love, Beauty."

It was the first apology she had ever sent in her life.

The next morning, Sally returned. She was shocked to see Beauty jogging outside without covering her face.

"My lady… why?"

Beauty showed her the phone. The news was everywhere.

"Beauty Jones is officially ugly."

"I went out like this on purpose," Beauty said quietly. "People needed proof."

Later, she went live on social media.

"Hey everyone… it’s me. Ugly Beauty now." Her voice cracked. "You all wanted to see it, right? Here I am. I don’t know what happened to me, but… I hope I get better soon."

She ended the live quickly and broke down again.

Almost ten million people had watched.

Sally read some comments aloud. Some were kind. Most were cruel.

Beauty wiped her tears. "Sally… am I really rude and arrogant?"

Sally hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. You can be very mean."

Beauty was quiet for a long moment. "Then I have to change. I need to find that old woman from the supermarket. I insulted her badly… I think she cursed me."

Sally’s eyes widened. "We’ll find her. I’ll help you."

Beauty hugged her tightly. "Thank you… Sally."

In a quiet, old house on the outskirts of the city, an old woman entered a dimly lit room.

"Aren’t you leaving yet?" she asked with her shaky voice.

The handsome young man sitting on the bed smiled. "Tomorrow, Granny. I want to spend more time with you first."

She sat beside him and kissed his forehead. When she saw the picture on his phone — Beauty’s before and after photos — she smiled.

"Finally… she got what she deserved."

"You know her?" the young man asked, surprised.

"Yes. I made her ugly."

"What?! Why?"

"She was too proud. Too rude. This is the only way she can learn," the old woman replied.

The young man stared at the photos silently.

Then the old woman dropped a bomb.

"Dylan… I want you to marry her."

Dylan’s head snapped toward her. "What?"