The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights by Brick Moving Ant

Chapter 2

While the nurse dressed my wounds, I caught fragments of conversation between Caspian and Dad in the hallway.

“Jesus, Dad,” Caspian whispered harshly, “Val’s already destroyed. Do we seriously need to leak the assault footage to TikTok and Twitter?”

After a calculated pause, Dad responded with chilling detachment.

“Post it. No reputable ballet school will touch a student with that kind of viral scandal.”

Something shattered inside me as fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

“Am I hurting you?” the nurse asked, alarmed by my sudden reaction.

I couldn’t even form words, unable to separate the searing pain in my legs from the gaping wound in

my soul.

The two men I’d built my entire world around weren’t satisfied with breaking my body–they were methodically erasing everything I’d ever been.

My entire existence reduced to collateral damage.

Within minutes, my phone exploded with notifications. Hands trembling, I unlocked it to find clips of my torture trending on TikTok, spreading across Twitter, and dissected in gruesome detail on multiple university subreddits.

comments beneath them

acting so perfect at Manhattan Dance Academy. Karma’s finally caught up!

can 100% confirm she’s TOXIC af. Constantly undermining other dancers,

crash and burn this spectacularly. Guess money can’t

91.5%

lungs until I was hyperventilating, my vision tunneling as my entire identity was shredded

role. He gently

Award–worthy performance beginning: “Caspian, what the

team scrubbing everything, but someone must’ve saved footage. Don’t panic, Val–I’ve already called in favors at Twitter and Reddit to nuke every

synchronized deception was flawless–practiced,

bile rise in my throat.

same shade of blue as mine–locked onto my face with practiced sincerity: “Valentina Catherine Dagonet, listen to me. No matter what

“We’ll destroy anyone who tries to hurt you,

does.”

primary videos disappeared within

reposted, remixed with cruel

it had been completely obliterated. The digital assassination had worked perfectly–even if my body somehow recovered,

at SAB had

Dagonet has sustained compound fractures to both tibias, two broken ribs,

her arms.”

Fifteen distinct knife wounds, methodically inflicted. We’re looking at significant permanent disfigurement without extensive reconstructive surgery…”