She Asked the Star Athlete to Make Her Beautiful — But He Taught Her Something Better
Chapter 6
For three days, Lily stayed home.
She didn’t answer messages.
She didn’t look at social media.
She barely left her bedroom.
Her mother tried to comfort her.
Her brother Noah brought her food.
Nothing helped.
On the fourth evening, someone knocked on her window.
Ethan.
Lily opened it.
“Go away.”
“No.”
“I don’t want to see anyone.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
She sighed.
“Come in.”
Ethan sat on the floor.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Ethan said:
“You think I don’t understand because everyone thinks I’m confident.”
Lily looked at him.
“I used to think I wasn’t good enough either.”
“For what?”
“Basketball.”
She laughed.
“You’re the best player on the team.”
“Now.”
He explained how, during his first year, older players constantly told him he wasn’t talented enough.
He began training obsessively.
Every mistake felt like proof that they were right.
“One day,” he said, “I realized I wasn’t playing because I loved basketball anymore.”
“Then why?”
“Because I was terrified of being bad at it.”
Lily listened.
“That’s what you’re doing.”
“What?”
“You aren’t trying to become beautiful.”
He looked at her.
“You’re trying to become impossible to criticize.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know how to stop.”
“You don’t have to stop today.”
He stood.
“You just have to stop letting Madison decide who you are.”
