The Undercover Judge

The sting of disinfectant hit my nose as I stood outside the hospital ward door. Behind the glass window, Linda Collins lay in the ward bed, the right side of her face wrapped in thick bandages. She heard footsteps and painfully turned her head; her left eye was swollen red, barely open to a slit. "Jonas," her voice was hoarse like sandpaper, "Don't leave me, okay?" I didn't step into the ward, just leaned against the doorframe with my hands shoved deep in my pockets. "Why?" I tugged at the corner of my mouth, my tone cold as the winter outside, "You are no longer beautiful, and you still want me to stay with you?" Linda's body trembled violently, tears slipping from her left eye, dropping onto the pillow. "I know I'm ugly now, but I'll get recovered. The doctor said so..." "What exactly did the doctor say?" I cut her off, my voice rising a few decibels, "Did he say the scar could fade? Or that you'd turn back into the campus Belle?" The nurse in the ward stopped what she was doing and stole a glance in my direction. Linda bit her lip until it bled, "I don't care how I look—I haven't changed my love for you..." "But I changed." I locked eyes with her, enunciating each word, "I never liked you. I stayed with you only because you were the campus Belle and a status symbol for me." That sentence cut like a knife, stabbing deep into Linda's heart. Her body began to shake, her breath coming fast, and the nurse rushed over to soothe her. I turned and walked away, never looking back. In the hallway, Linda's crying leaked through the crack in the door—raw and heartbreaking. I clenched the voice recorder in my pocket, my nails digging into my palm. The next morning, I walked into the teaching building holding Rue George's hand. Rue wore a white dress with a smug smile. When she spilled sulfuric acid to Linda yesterday, it splashed onto her left hand, which was still wrapped in bandages. There were a lot of students in the square in front of the Teaching Building. When they saw us holding hands, the crowd immediately exploded. "Is Jonas insane? Linda is still in the hospital!" "Rue is the culprit! How can he be with the culprit?" "So heartless. Linda helped him so much before, and he treats her like this!" The gossip surged like a tide. Rue tried to hide behind me, but I deliberately pulled her forward. "Everyone, quiet down." I raised my hand, my voice quiet, but it silenced the crowd instantly. "Linda and I have long been over. Rue is the one I truly like." That sentence completely ignited the crowd's fury. A student threw a water bottle at me, and I dodged aside. "Jonas! You're ungrateful!" Linda's father, Morris Collins, suddenly charged over, pointing at my nose and yelling, "My daughter scrimped and saved to buy you study materials, and this is how you repay her?" Linda's mother, Jane, followed after, crying so hard she could barely stand: "You ungrateful b*stard, you'll get what's coming to you!" I sneered coldly at them: "What's coming to me? All I know is, people have to take responsibility for their own choices." After saying that, I grabbed Rue's hand and walked into the Teaching Building without looking back. Behind us, the insults grew louder, but inside, I felt perfectly calm. They didn't realize that this seemingly ruthless betrayal was just the first step in my revenge plan.