Reputation is a fragile thing. You can polish it, protect it, wear it like a crown… but all it takes is one spark to watch it burn.
For me, it started with a ping. Then another, And another.
At first, I thought it was just work emails or one of the influencer group chats blowing up. But then my screen filled with mentions, tags, and messages — too many, too fast. And then I saw it.
My heart dropped. My fingers froze.
There, on the screen, was me. Or at least it looked like me. Naked. Exposed. Violated.
I didn't remember posing like that. But… years ago, when I was sixteen and stupid, I did send someone something. One picture. Private. Vulnerable. I never thought I'd see it again.
Now it was everywhere — except worse. It wasn't just one photo. There were multiple. And I didn't recognize most of them. But they had my face. My body. My name.
The internet didn't care about the truth. It only needed a headline.
"ASTOR HEIRESS LEAKED — EVIE ASTOR STRIPS IT ALL"
That was the one that broke me. I dropped my phone, but the damage was already done. Every corner of the internet was filled with strangers analysing my body, debating my character, laughing at my downfall.
I tried calling him — Alex — the only one I ever sent anything to. He didn't answer. I called again. And again.
Nothing.
That silence was louder than any scream.
My friends texted. Some called. "Evie, are you okay? "Don't look online. We're here for you. "We're going to fix this."
I didn't reply.
I couldn't.
I sat in my room, knees pulled to my chest, head spinning, stomach churning. Embarrassed. Devastated. Terrified. There was a tightness in my chest I couldn't explain — like the walls were closing in and every breath hurt. I didn't eat. I didn't move. Hours passed, but I didn't feel time.
Then the door burst open.
My father stormed in, holding a printed-out article like it was covered in filth. His face was twisted in a way I'd never seen before — not angry, but repulsed. Like I was something disgusting.
"You've tarnished the Astor name," he snapped. "Do you even understand what you've done?"
I opened my mouth, tried to explain, but nothing came out. What was I supposed to say? That I didn't remember taking most of them? That I thought they were fake but couldn't even be sure anymore? That I hadn't sent those to anyone recently?
He didn't give me the chance.
"You've embarrassed me, this family, everything we've built. My daughter—" he spit the word out like poison, "—has her nudes all over the internet."
"It's not what it looks like," I finally choked out. "Dad, please. I don't even know where they—"
"Enough. "His voice cracked through the air. "You're leaving. I want you out of this house by morning."
"What?" My voice broke. "You're serious?"
He didn't even blink. "This isn't up for discussion. As of today, you're no longer my problem."
I turned to my mother, the one person who might've saved me.Her arms were crossed tightly, her eyes red. She didn't look at me.
"Mum—please. I didn't ask for this."
"She's right, Richard. Maybe we should—" she started, but the second he shot her a look, she went quiet. Her loyalty, like always, belonged to him.
That was the final blow.
I packed in silence that night. Not my usual luggage — not the monogrammed Louis Vuitton sets I used for vacations. Just a plain black duffel I found at the back of my closet, like I was already fading into someone else. Someone less.
I searched online for the farthest, quietest place I could go. A small town popped up. Barely a dot on the map.
I didn't have a plan. No one helped me. My dad sure as hell didn't care where I ended up. I grabbed my laptop and booked the cheapest hotel I could find in a small, nowhere town upstate — a place no one would think to look for me.
The kind of place that wasn't on billboards or Instagram travel posts. I didn't care what the room looked like or how small it was. I just needed quiet. I needed to disappear.
When the car pulled into the town limits, a small, creaky wooden sign came into view.
"Welcome to Rosebridge."
That's when it hit me: this was real. I was no longer Evie Astor, the girl everyone watched. Here, I was just a shadow. A rumour. A girl with a ruined name and nowhere else to go.
I told myself it would only be for a little while. Just long enough to figure out what to do next. To breathe. To stop feeling like the world was closing in.
But the thing about secrets? They always find a way back. And mine was just getting started.