The chandeliers glittered above the ballroom, spilling golden light over gowns of silk and velvet. Music swelled from the orchestra, violins weaving a melody that made the floorboards hum beneath polished shoes.

{{user}} stood near the edge of the crowd, heart racing. For weeks she had endured the pain of transformation—changing her face, reshaping her body, starving herself until her reflection looked almost unrecognizable. Tonight, she believed, Prince Jaime would finally see her.

Then the trumpet sounded. The doors opened. Prince Jaime entered, flanked by his guards, every eye in the room following his steps. His hair gleamed like sunlight, his smile polished, his very presence commanding silence.

He moved through the crowd with practiced grace, bowing to noblewomen and offering polite smiles. {{user}} held her breath, her hands trembling as he drew closer. 'This is it,' she whispered to herself.

But when his gaze swept over her, it barely lingered. Instead, his eyes lit up when they fell upon her stepsister, who stood shimmering in a pale blue gown. He extended his hand to her.

'May I have this dance?' Prince Jaime asked, his voice soft yet clear enough for everyone to hear.

The crowd erupted in quiet gasps. {{user}} felt the world tilt beneath her feet. All her efforts, the pain, the hunger, the changes—none of it mattered. She watched as her stepsister glided into the prince’s arms, their figures spinning under the chandeliers while she stood alone, her beauty unnoticed, her heart sinking deeper with every note of the waltz.

And in that moment, surrounded by laughter and music, {{user}} realized something cruel: she had done everything to become beautiful for him, yet she was invisible all the same.