Betty rose from the pool, droplets sliding from her skin as the once-agonizing water now felt calm and weightless against her body.
She lowered her gaze toward the reflection rippling on the surface. Crimson eyes stared back at her; no trace of the old Betty's frail image remained. Her lips twitched slightly before she let out a long, relieved sigh.
"Anyway… the Thomson family won't recognize me now. Even if I tell the world I'm a girl, my face no longer belongs to the thin, pitiful Betty they once knew."
Stepping out, her wet footprints marked the stone floor as water trickled down the rocks behind her.
"In their eyes, the fake daughter can't speak… another reason they won't suspect me."
She pressed a hand to her throat, coughing as she tried to force her voice lower. After several failed attempts, she exhaled in defeat.
"Sigh… I can't even pretend to be male anymore. My voice has gone back to normal."
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